Hohenlohe

:"For the district in Germany, see Hohenlohe (district). For other uses, see Hohenlohe (disambiguation)."

Hohenlohe is the name of a German princely family.

At first rulers of a county, its two branches were raised to the rank of principalities of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and 1764 respectively; in 1806 they lost their independence and their lands formed part of the Kingdoms of Bavaria and of Württemberg. At the time of the mediatization the area of Hohenlohe was 680 mi² and its estimated population was 108,000.

Hohenlohe Island (Остров гогенлоэ), an island in Franz Josef Land, Russia, was named after this dynasty by the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition.

History

The family is first mentioned in the 12th century as possessing the castle of Burg Hohlach (Hohenloch or Hohenlohe), near Uffenheim, and its influence was soon perceptible in several of the Franconian valleys, including those of the Kocher, the Jagst and the Tauber.

Heinrich I (d. 1183) was the first to take the title of count of Hohenlohe, and in 1230 his grandsons, Gottfried and Conrad, supporters of Emperor Frederick II, founded the lines of Hohenlohe-Hohenlohe and Hohenlohe-Brauneck, names taken from their respective castles. The latter became extinct in 1390, its lands passing later to Brandenburg, while the former was divided into several branches, only two of which, however, Hohenlohe-Weikersheim and Hohenlohe-Uffenheim-Speckfeld, need be mentioned here. Hohenlohe-Weikersheim, descended from Count Kraft I (d. 1313), also underwent several divisions, that which took place after the deaths of Counts Albert and George in 1551 being specially important. At this time the lines of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein and Hohenlohe-Waldenburg were founded by the sons of Count George. Meanwhile, in 1412, the family of Hohenlohe-Uffenheim-Speckfeld had become extinct, and its lands had passed through the marriages of its heiresses into other families.

The existing branches of the Hohenlohe family are descended from the lines of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein and Hohenlohe-Waldenburg, established in 1551. The former of these became Protestant, while the latter remained Roman Catholic. Of the family of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, which underwent several partitions and inherited Gleichen in 1631, the senior line became extinct in 1805, while in 1701 the junior line divided itself into three branches, those of Langenburg, Ingelfingen and Kirchberg. Kirchberg died out in 1861, but members of the families of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen are still alive, the latter being represented by the branches of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen and Hohenlohe-Öhringen. The Roman Catholic family of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg was soon divided into three branches, but two of these had died out by 1729. The surviving branch, that of Schillingsfürst, was divided into the lines of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst and Hohenlohe-Bartenstein; other divisions followed, and the four existing lines of this branch of the family are those of Waldenburg, Schillingsfürst, Jagstberg, and Bartenstein. The family of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst possesses the Duchies of Ratibor and of Corvey, inherited in 1834.

Family members

Notable members of the von Hohenlohe family include:
*Heinrich von Hohenlohe, 13th century Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
*Gottfried von Hohenlohe, 14th century Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
*Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1746-1818), Prussian general
*Louis Aloy de Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein (1765–1829), marshal and peer of France
*Prince Alexander of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst (1794-1849), priest
*Kraft, Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1827–1892), Prussian general and writer
*Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1819–1901), Chancellor of Germany

References

*
* See generally A. F. Fischer, "Geschichte des Hauses Hohenlohe" (1866–1871);
* K. Weller, "Hohenlohisches Urkundenbuch. 1153–1350" (Stuttgart, 1899–1901), and
* "Geschichte des Hauses Hohenlohe" (Stuttgart, 1904). (W. A. P.; C. F. A.)