Windisch-Graetz

The House of Windisch-Graetz, also spelled Windisch-Grätz, was a princely family in the Austrian Empire, serving the Habsburg dynasty.

The name derives from the town of Windischgrätz in the Duchy of Styria, which is today Slovenj Gradec in the Carinthia region of Slovenia. According to the Almanach de Gotha, the family was first recorded in 1242.

Alfred Candidus Ferdinand zu Windisch-Graetz was elevated to the rank of Imperial Prince in 1804. The Holy Roman Empire having been abolished, he and his brother Veriand were both created Princes of the Austrian Empire in 1822, Alfred and his successors being the first line of Princes of Windisch-Graetz and Veriand and his successors the second line.^[1]

Great Britain's Princess Michael of Kent is descended from this family through her maternal grandmother, while her husband, Prince Michael of Kent, is a first cousin once removed of Archduchess Sophie Franziska of Austria, Princess of Windisch-Graetz.

(Mediatized) Princes of Windisch-Graetz^[2]

Elder Line

Alfred, Count 1802-1804, 1st Prince 1804-1862 (1787-1862)
- Alfred, 2nd Prince 1862-1876 (1819-1876)
  - Alfred, 3rd Prince 1876-1927 (1851-1927)
- Prince Ludwig (1830-1904)
  - Ludwig Aladar, 4th Prince 1927-1968 (1882-1968)
    - Prince Alfred (b.1939) - renounced his succession rights
    - Anton, 5th Prince 1968-present (b.1942)
- Prince Joseph (1832-1906)
  - Prince Franz (1867-1947)
    - Prince Otto (1913-2011)
      - Prince Johann-Nepomuck (b.1953)

Younger Line

Weriand, 1st Prince 1822-1867 (1790-1867)
- Hugo, 2nd Prince 1867-1904 (1823-1904)
  - Hugo, 3rd Prince 1904-1920 (1854-1920)
    - Hugo, 4th Prince 1920-1959 (1887-1959)
      - Maximilian, 5th Prince 1959-1976 (1914-1976)
        Mariano Hugo, 6th Prince 1976-present (b.1955) married 1990 with Archduchess Sophie Franziska of Austria
        Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Windisch-Graetz (b.1990)
        
        Prince Manfred (b.1963)
        Prince Nicolò (b.1997)
        
        Prince Brando (b.2008)
  - Princess Marie (1856–1929)

House members

File:Prince Hugo Coat of Arms.jpg

Arms of Prince Mariano Hugo of Windisch-Graetz

Joseph Nicholas of Windisch-Graetz (1744-1802), Chamberlain of Marie Antoinette
Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1787–1862), Austrian Field Marshal
Alfred III, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1851–1927), Austrian Statesman
Otto Weriand, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1873–1952), who was married to Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria.
Stephanie, Princess of Windisch-Grätz (1909–2005)
Franz Joseph, Prince of Windisch-Graetz
Ernst, Prince of Windisch-Graetz
Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz (1856–1929), married 1881 with Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg
Mariano Hugo, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1955), married 1990 with Archduchess Sophie Franziska of Austria

Coat of arms

Gules, a wolf's head couped argent.^[3]

Windisch-Graetz castles in present Slovenia

Haasberg, Planina (Hošperk Castle)
Haasberg, Planina (Hošperk Castle)
Luegg, Postojna (Predjama Castle)
Herberg, (Podsreda Castle)
Wagensberg, (Bogenšperk Castle)
Wagensberg, (Bogenšperk Castle)
Trebnik Mansion (Slovenske Konjice)

External links

Marek, Miroslav. "family tree". Genealogy.EU. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)

References

^ Almanach de Gotha, 1910 edition, pp.245-248, Justus Perthes
^ Online Gotha - Windisch-Graetz
^ Simple Heraldry Cheerfully Illustrated. Thomas Nelson. p. 54. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)