Dönhoff
Encyclopedia
Dönhoff or Denhoff (Polish) (sometimes also Doenhoff) was a German nobility
family, a branch of which moved to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
in 16th century and became recognized as a Polish noble (szlachta
) there.
Some of the most notable members of the family included:
Polish branch:
German branch:
German nobility
The German nobility was the elite hereditary ruling class or aristocratic class from ca. 500 B.C. to the Holy Roman Empire and what is now Germany.-Principles of German nobility:...
family, a branch of which moved to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
in 16th century and became recognized as a Polish noble (szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
) there.
Some of the most notable members of the family included:
Polish branch:
- Ernst Magnus DönhoffErnst Magnus DönhoffMagnus Ernst or Ernst Magnus Dönhoff was a Baltic German who served the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Livonia and the Duchy of Prussia....
(1581-1642), voivode of Parnawa (1640-1642) - Kasper Denhoff (1587-1645), voivode of Dorpat (1627-1634)
- Stanisław Ernest Denhoff (1673 – 1728), voivode of Połock (1721-1728), Field Hetman of Lithuania, 1709-1728
German branch:
- Alexander von DönhoffAlexander von DönhoffAlexander Graf von Dönhoff was a Prussian Lieutenant-General and confidant of King Friedrich Wilhelm I.-Biography:...
(1683-1742), Prussian Lieutenant-General - Sophie von DönhoffSophie von DönhoffSophie Friederike Juliane von Dönhoff was a German lady-in-waiting and a morganatic spouse by bigamy to King Frederick William II of Prussia....
(1768-1838), morganatic spouse of Frederick William II of PrussiaFrederick William II of PrussiaFrederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:... - August Heinrich Hermann von DönhoffAugust Heinrich Hermann von DönhoffAugust Heinrich Hermann von Dönhoff was a Prussian diplomat....
(1797-1874), Prussian diplomat - Marion DönhoffMarion DönhoffMarion Hedda Ilse Gräfin von Dönhoff was a German journalist who participated in the resistance against Hitler's National Socialists with Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, and Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. After the war, she became one of the leading German...
(1909-2002), a German journalist