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Schoenaich-Carolath

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Coat of arms of the Princes of Carolath-Beuthen and the Princes of Schoenaich-Carolath

The House of Schönaich-Carolath or Schoenaich-Carolath is an ancient German noble family from Lower Lusatia, a branch of which came to Silesia in the 16th century. The Silesian branch was elevated to the rank of Imperial Count in 1700 and to the rank of Prince in the Kingdom of Prussia, in 1741.[1]

History

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Original Coat of arms of the Schöneich family

The Schoenaich family descends from the ancient nobility of Lower Lusatia and is first documented in 1329 with Tytzko (Dietrich) von Schoenaich. A village of the same name, known since 1945 as Piękne Kąty, is now part of Carolath. Another village of the same name is located near Sorau in the Neumark region, today's Sieciejów.[2]

Around 1550, Fabian von Schoenaich (1509–1591) from the Sprottau line of Franz von Rechenberg acquired the Lower Silesian Lordships of Carolath and Beuthen an der Oder, which belonged to the Duchy of Glogau, a fiefdom since 1344 and reversionary to the Bohemian Crown in 1490. The sovereign confirmation of the entail took place in 1601 with the title "Baron of Beuthen" (Freiherr von Beuthen). On 28 June 1616, the hereditary Austrian baronial status was confirmed. Fabian appointed the son of a cousin, Georg von Schönaich, as his heir. In 1595, he married Fabian's widow, Elisabeth von Landskron (d. 1614), and in 1597, he had Carolath Castle built. In 1613, he acquired the Amtitz estate in Lower Lusatia, and in 1614, he founded the university-like educational institution known as the Schönaichianum in Beuthen an der Oder, where both Lutherans and Calvinists taught. His nephew, Johannes (1589–1639), paid homage to the Bohemian King Frederick V ("Winter King") during the Bohemian Revolt in 1618. As a result, he was fined in 1637, his lands confiscated, and the Schönaichianum handed over to the Jesuits during the Counter-Reformation. In 1697, the Bohemian ruler, Emperor Joseph I, granted the two estates legal status as Free Estates.[3]

Baron Hans Georg von Schoenaich-Beuthen was elevated to the rank of Imperial Count in 1700. His son, Hans Carl zu Carolath-Beuthen (1688–1763), swore an oath of homage to the sovereign, Emperor Joseph I, in Breslau in 1710 and purchased the position of Privy Councilor in 1730. He also acquired the estates of Padligar and Ostreritz. After the conquest of Silesia by Frederick II in 1742, the Reformed Count was one of the first important Silesian magnates to pay homage to the Prussian king. In gratitude, he was elevated to the Prussian princely rank in 1741, receiving the title "Prince of Carolath-Schönaich" (Fürst zu Carolath-Schönaich), and from 1753 "Prince of Carolath-Beuthen" (Fürst zu Carolath-Beuthen), as well as the unlimited title of "Prince/ess of Schoenaich-Carolath" for his descendants—a unique honor from Frederick the Great. Hans Carl zu Carolath also rose to become the first President of the Higher Administrative Government (Oberamtsregierung) and President of the Constituent Assembly in Breslau. His son, Johann Carl Friedrich (1716–1791), served the king as a General and Envoy.[4]

The brothers Karl (1785–1820) and Friedrich (1790–1859) founded the two lines of the house: the elder inherited the three Lordships of Carolath, Beuthen and Amtitz, the younger Saabor Castle and the Lordship of Saabor. A further division of the inheritance took place when the 5th Prince, Karl (1845–1912), received Carolath and Beuthen, and his younger brother Prince Heinrich (1852–1920) received the Lordship of Amtitz. The primogeniture title "Prince of Carolath-Beuthen" was confirmed to Prince Heinrich of Carolath-Beuthen in 1861 when the Prussian title of Serene Highness was awarded. The later-born members bear the name Prince or Princess of Schoenaich-Carolath. In 1854, the family achieved hereditary membership in the Prussian House of Lords.[5]

In 1896, the estate and manor of Haseldorf (with Haselau and Hetlingen) in Schleswig-Holstein, as well as Palsgaard Castle (Schloss Palsgård) in Denmark, passed to Prince Emil von Schoenaich-Carolath-Schilden (1852–1908), son of Emilie von Oppen-Schilden. Haseldorf remains in the family to this day.

The widow of Prince Johann Georg (1873–1920) of Saabor, Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz (1887–1947), became the second wife of the former German Emperor and Prussian King Wilhelm II in 1922.

With the flight and expulsion in 1945, the Silesian possessions were expropriated.

Properties

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Members

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Notable members

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Princes of Schoenaich-Carolath (1741) / Princes of Carolath-Beuthen (1753)

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Princess Sabine zu Carolath-Beuthen, daughter of the 5th Prince of Carolath-Beuthen, and, later, wife of Prince Emich zu Salm-Horstmar, by Philip de László, 1898

References

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  1. ^ Martin Jung (2007). "Schoenaich, von". Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 23. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. p. 380. (full text online).
  2. ^ Klopsch, Christian D. (1847). "History of the Schönaich family, Part 1". Reisner Verlag Glogau. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  3. ^ Sommersberg, Friedrich Wilhelm von (1729). Silesiacarum rerum scriptores aliquot adhuc inediti, Volume 2. Leipzig. p. 315. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  4. ^ Gothaischer genealogischer Hofkalender nebst diplomatisch-statistischem Jahrbuch (in German). Perthes. 1879. p. 234. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  5. ^ Gothaischer genealogischer Hof-Kalender: auf das Jahr ... (in German). Justus Perthes. 1841. p. 82. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  6. ^ Bernhard von Poten Schönaich-Carolath, Johann Karl Friedrich Erbprinz. Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, herausgegeben von der Historischen Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Band 32 (1891), S. 256, Digitale Volltext-Ausgabe in Wikisource, (Version vom 16. Februar 2017, 02:23 Uhr UTC)
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