The true scourge for the unfortunate disciples are the German rulers of the 18th century. We have not seen a single student who did not receive, in the most pitiful way, a unit for "the German rulers in the 11th century."

Even the writer of these lines, who considers himself a capable and quick-witted person, an experienced and knowledgeable historian - and he, moving away from his manuscripts and dusty parchments, immediately began to confuse "German rulers in the 18th century."

Let someone try to remember this gibberish, suitable only for dry Teutonic brains: the great elector of Brandenburg Friedrich Wilhelm was succeeded by his son simply Friedrich. This Friedrich was again succeeded by Friedrich Wilhelm. It looks like it could stop there. But no! Friedrich Wilhelm is succeeded again by Friedrich!!

A diligent student looks tired... Sweat rolls off him like a hail... Ffu! He imagines a boring country road, a fine autumn rain and monotonous milestones, endlessly flashing in two annoying combinations:

- Friedrich Wilhelm, just Friedrich. Friedrich Wilhelm again, just Friedrich...

When the student learns that "again Friedrich" was succeeded by his nephew Friedrich Wilhelm, he weeps long and diligently over the old, ink-stained Ilovaisky ...

My God, he thinks. “What am I killing my youth, my freshness for?”

The historian writing these lines can once again repeat the names of the Friedrich dynasty. Here you go… Let someone remember…

The great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm had a son, Friedrich. The latter was succeeded by Friedrich Wilhelm, who in turn was succeeded by Frederick; Friedrich was succeeded by Friedrich Wilhelm... Those who wish can continue this list.

Even history, an impartial history, got confused in Friedrich: it is still unknown under which Frederick it happened. Seven Years' War. It is only known for certain that he was not Wilhelm.

Seven Years' War (1756 - 1763)

Compared to the Thirty Years' War, the Seven Years' War was just a girl. She would have been fit for her mother.

They fought like this: on the one hand, Frederick (which one is unknown), on the other, France, Russia, Austria and Sweden.

Sweden, in fact, was of no use to the allies, but she, too, following the big ones, got into a fight, seeding with weak legs somewhere behind the adults ...

Big mustachioed allies, grinning into their mustaches, asked her:

– What else do you need?

- And I, uncle, - Sweden murmured sniffling, - I also want to fight (Brown. The Seven Years' War. P. 21).

They fought badly. Frederick won - in a very easy way: he quarreled with the allies and defeated them. For example, Russians and Austrians attack him. He immediately sits down at the table and writes a letter to the Austrian commander:

“Dear colleague! You want to get involved with these Russian pigs ... You and one will beat me perfectly. By God! And how can you allow someone else to command your army. You are a smart, handsome, handsome person, and your friend is just an uneducated fool. Drive him away as soon as possible, and start commanding yourself."

There was not a single commander who would not have fallen for this bait: having received a letter, he drove the allied general away. attacked Friedrich and then, defeated, quickly ran away from him with the remnants of the army and resentment in his soul.

The Seven Years' War was ended on time: just seven years had passed since it began.

Purely German accuracy in fulfilling the obligations assumed.

Results of the Seven Years' War.

When the war ended, they saw that it was not necessary to fight: the allies wanted to chop off Silesia from Friedrich, but when they made peace (in Hubertusburg), “Silesia remained with Frederick (as Ilovaisky says) and each power remained with its own.” And sorry for all of them, and funny.

Germany is a state in Central Europe, which received its name from the Romans by the name of the people who lived in it. In the VIII century, it became part of the empire of Charlemagne, in 843 it separated from it into a separate kingdom. In the middle of the 9th century, the kings of Germany became emperors Holy Roman Empire , and this designation of Germany lasted until the start XIX century. FROM XIII century, the fragmentation of Germany into separate principalities began, which was especially intensified due to the Thirty Years' War XVII century. AT XVIII century Germany consisted of 350 principalities and free cities. In the second half of the 19th century, it was united by Bismarck, since 1871 - an empire.

Essay on the history of the XVI - XVII centuries

Germany (German: Deutschland) is a state in the Center. Europe. Beginning 16th century was marked in G. by the strengthening of the reformers. movements in the church. life: Martin Luther published (1517) his 95 theses, and in 1519 entered into an open struggle with Rome. In 1519, the grandson of the emperor was elected to the throne. Maximilian I Charles V of Spain (1519-1556), on whom G. had high hopes. However, he found himself at the center of events that were completely alien to Germany. In 1531, hoping for support in the fight against France, Charles decided to rely on Roman Catholicism. Church and at the Diet of Worms laid disgrace on Luther. Immediately after this, the war with France began. During it, Charles lost German-Austrian. the possessions of G. to his brother Ferdinand, and the management of G. handed over to the imp. pr-va, which did not prevent the spread of the new doctrine. However, the attempts of petty chivalry and the peasantry to take advantage of reform activities Luther, for their own purposes, did not justify their hopes of changing their plight. At the Diet in Speyer (1529), the Catholics succeeded in canceling a large number of concessions to the reformers. Supporters of church reforms protested against this decision, after which they began to be called Protestants. Charles, in alliance with Rome, decided to deal with the Protestants, but at the Sejm in Augsburg (1530) it turned out that the emperor did not have the forces necessary for this. In addition, relations with France and the Turks did not contribute to Karl's undertaking, and he resigned himself. Moreover, when the Protestants formed the Schmalkaldic League and protested together with Bavaria against the election of Ferdinand to Rome. kings, after which they began to draw closer to France, Hungary and Denmark, Karl was forced (1532) to go to religion in Nuremberg. a peace that guaranteed freedom of religion for Protestants until the next council. Busy French. and tour. campaigns, Charles no longer had the opportunity to influence the course of events in Georgia, where Protestantism was rapidly gaining strength and even helped the emperor conclude a profitable peace with France after the victory at Crepi. After that, however, Charles made an agreement with Rome to eradicate Protestantism in Georgia, which again turned the whole of Greece against him. His own project for the transformation of the church forced not only Rome, but also allies inside the country to turn away from him. Meanwhile, France took away 3 Lorraine from him. duchies, which prompted Charles to transfer control of the country to his brother, who in 1555 concluded the so-called. Augsburg Relig. world. During the reign of Ferdinand I (1555-1564), the Turks captured most of Hungary, France continued to hold the Germans. territories; trade was dealt a severe blow in connection with the discovery and the beginning of the development of America; German the Hanseatic cities lost the championship to Scand. cities; The Netherlands were first captured by Spain, and then completely independent; Balt. provinces fell under the glory. influence. His son, Maximilian II (1564-1576), who succeeded him, tried to maintain peace between the warring parties, which only contributed to the strengthening of the internal. strife and the spread of Protestantism in Bohemia and Austria. Entered the imp. the throne, the son of Maximilian Rudolf II (1576-1612), who was under the influence of the Jesuits, decided to put an end to the Reformation with one blow and created an alliance of Catholics. princes in order to fight the Protestants. Those, in turn, united in a union and successfully resisted the efforts of the emperor, and only death saved him from the loss of all his crowns. His brother and successor, Matthew (1612-1619), who was still in opposition to the emperor, proved unable to curb the mutual bitterness of the parties or gain influence even on one of them. The violation of the “letter of majesty” caused a revolution in Bohemia (in the spring of 1618), which served as an external. cause for the 30 Years' War. Shortly thereafter, Matthew died, leaving as his successor in the hereditary lands a friend of the Jesuits - Ferdinand of Styria. Ferdinand II (1619-1637), whom the Czechs recognized as deposed from the throne, managed, however, in the most difficult circumstances, not only to establish himself in Austria, but also to become German. emperor. Supported Catholic. league, he pacified the uprising of the Czechs, defeated the cor. Frederick (Elector of the Palatinate) and achieved the disintegration of the Protestants. union. Following this, both in Bohemia and Austria, as well as in many other parts of Germany, the merciless eradication of the Reformation began, which gave the foreign. goswam - first of Denmark (1625- 1629), and then of Sweden and France - an occasion for intervention in it. affairs. Ferdinand II, meanwhile, was able to throw off his dependence on the league and, with the help of Wallenstein, create independent empires. military force. However, he had the imprudence to dismiss Wallenstein at the very moment when, on the one hand, he quarreled with the leaders of the league, and on the other, published in the highest degree untimely restorative edict (1629), which aroused the deep hatred of the Protestants. It helped the Swede. box Gustav II Adolf to support the perishing Protestantism and at the same time to approve the Swede. dominance in Germany coast Baltic Sea. With great difficulty, Gustav-Adolf made his way to Saxony, defeated the supporters of the league at Breitenfeld (1631), victoriously marched to the Rhine, Swabia and Bavaria, and defeated imp. troops under the command of the newly appointed Wallenstein. Death of a Swede The king was saved by the Habsburgs. After the victory at Nordlingen (1634), the emperor succeeded, according to the Prague Peace Treaty (1635), to win over at least part of the Protestants; but, until the foundations of the "restorative edict" were finally eliminated, foreign. it was easy for the powers to continue the war. Indeed, the war continued to rage after the death of Ferdinand, under his son Ferdinand III (1637-1667). Means. part of Germany was completely ruined; the most flourishing areas on the Rhine, Main and Neckar turned into deserts. Finally, the peace congress that opened in Münster and Osnabrück ended after years of negotiations with the Peace of Westphalia (1648). Protestants were given a religion. equality, the exiled princes were restored in their rights. However, this peace was achieved at the cost of full political. atrophy of the empire. The mediating powers, Sweden and France, received a generous reward from him. lands, and germ. sovereign princes acquired the rights of independence. sovereigns. With the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia, the authority of the imp. power existed only nominally; the empire turned into a union of states, barely connected with each other. At the permanent Diet in Regensburg, which opened in 1663, German. the sovereigns participated no longer personally, but through their representatives. Meetings were conducted with such pedantic painstakingness that the Diet was completely useless for the urgent needs of the nation. The emperor lived almost without a break in his hereditary lands and became more and more a foreign element in the empire; in parallel with this, the influence of foreign powers. The very education and spiritual development of the people became dependent on foreigners, primarily the French. The empire, constrained on all sides by the Turks, French and Swedes, played a completely passive role in the events that soon followed. Many Zap.-German. sovereigns directly took the side of France, so that after death Ferdinand III cost great work to elect his son Leopold I (1658-1705) as emperor. Even aggressive policy French box Louis XIV could not inspire him. people to a united resistance. At first, only the leader stood up for the interests of G.. the elector of Brandenburg and under Ferbelin (1675) inflicted a sensitive defeat on the allies of France, the Swedes. When, finally, the emperor and the empire decided to take part in the war, then the rivalry of individual him. state-in at every turn interfered with the success of military operations. Needing troops against the Hungarians. rebels and Turks, the emperor accepted the Peace of Nimvegen (1678) and forced Friedrich Wilhelm to return the Balts conquered from them to the Swedes. provinces. Taking advantage of the complete lack of unity, Louis XIV with the help of his "attachment chambers" (Chembres de Reunion), he weakened the empire in the West and annexed Strasbourg to France (1681). Finally, his claims to the Palatinate inheritance forced him to. state-wa to stick to a new coalition against France. According to the Peace of Ryswick (1697), however, Georgia did not get back the provinces taken from her. Louis returned only Freiburg and Breisach. War for Spain inheritance again took place mainly on the territory. G., sev. and east. border lands to-swarm at the same time were devastated as a result Northern war, which Russia led with Sweden.

Vladimir Boguslavsky

Material from the book: "Slavic Encyclopedia. XVII century". M., OLMA-PRESS. 2004.

Not immediately Germany was built

In 843, as a result of the division of a vast Frankish Empire between the three grandsons of Charlemagne, the territory of modern Germany - the East Frankish kingdom - went to Louis the German. This is how the Germanic, or, as it was later officially called, the Roman kingdom arose. Initially, it consisted of only four duchies: Saxony, Franconia, Swabia and Bavaria. Later, the Duchy of Lorraine was added to them. In 939, King Otto I liquidated the Duchy of Franconia and annexed its lands to the royal domain. Later, as a result of a centuries-old offensive to the east, several more large German possessions were formed on the lands inhabited by Slavs, Lithuanians and Prussians.

In 961, King Otto I of Germany crossed the Alps and defeated the Italian king Berengari II. In 962 he entered Rome and was crowned imperial there by the Pope. The empire, in addition to Germany, included Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic (Bohemia), and from 1032 the Burgundian kingdom of Arelat.

Until 1125, the king of Germany, if the throne remained vacant, was elected at a congress of spiritual and secular nobility. But then the election procedure was changed - from that time on, the electors received the right to choose the king (the elector is a prince, spiritual or secular, who has the right to vote in the election of the king). The right to vote was granted not to a certain prince or dynasty, but to the territory - the subject of the empire. Initially, there were seven Electors: the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier, Cologne, the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg, the Palatine Count of the Rhine (Palatinate), the King of Bohemia. In 1692, the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg received the electoral dignity of Hanover. In 1723, instead of the King of Bohemia, the Duke of Bavaria became elector. In 1803, the Imperial Diet redrawn the map of Germany. The spiritual electors were deprived of the right to choose a king, and instead of them, the rulers of Baden, Württemberg, Hesse-Kassel, Salzburg (in 1805 instead of Salzburg - Würzburg) and Regensburg, the ruler of which became the archchancellor of the empire, Archbishop of Mainz Karl Theodor von Dahlberg, presiding over the Sejm, became electors. Elected to the throne received the title of King of Germany (officially - King of Rome). However, in order to receive the imperial crown, he had to be crowned in Rome by the Pope. And this was not always possible to do, since the relationship of many kings of Germany with the Popes was often not the best. Therefore, the list of kings of Germany (Roman) does not quite coincide with the list of emperors of the Holy Roman Empire.

Germanic (Roman) kingdom

Suppression of the Carolingian dynasty in Germany. At the congress of princes, the majority was ready to elect the Duke of Saxony Otto as king, but he, citing old age, renounced the throne and advised to elect the Duke of Franconian Conrad, which was done.

Conrad I of Franconia 911-918

Conrad III 1138-1152

Frederick I Barbarossa 1152-1190

Ludwig IV Wittelsbach 1314-1347

Dynasty Luxembourgish, 1347-1437

Luxembourg since 1310 were the kings of the Czech Republic. About the Luxembourg dynasty - in the chapter "Benelux".

Charles IV 1347-1378

Wenceslas 1378-1400

Ruprecht of the Palatinate 1400-1410

Sigismund 1410-1437

After the death of Sigismund, there were no male heirs. His son-in-law Albrecht of Habsburg was elected king, who, during the life of his father-in-law, was recognized as the king of Hungary and the governor of the Czech Republic.

Dynasty Habsburg, 1438-1806

More about the Habsburg dynasty - in the section "Austria".

Albrecht II 1438-1439

Friedrich III 1440-1486

Maximilian I 1486-1519

Charles V 1519-1531

Ferdinand I 1531-1562

Maximilian II 1562-1575

Rudolf II 1575-1612

Matthias 1612-1619

Ferdinand II 1619-1636

Ferdinand III 1636-1653

Ferdinand IV 1653-1654

Ferdinand III (secondary) 1654-1657

Leopold I 1658-1690

Joseph I 1690-1711

Charles VI 1711-1740

Charles VII of Bavaria 1742-1745

Franz I 1745-1764

Joseph II 1764-1790

Leopold II 1790-1792

Franz II 1792-1806

Napoleon I Bonaparte 1811-1814

Used materials of the book: Sychev N.V. Book of dynasties. M., 2008. p. 192-231.

German states and their rulers:

Holy Roman Empire(this state formation included Germany, and the German kings became its emperors).

Austria, in the 10th century, the Bavarian Eastern Mark arose, which later became a duchy and received the name Austria. Since 976, the Babenberg dynasty has established itself there, lateral branch Bavarian Wittelsbachs.

Prussia and Brandenburg, the German state in 1525-1947.

Saxony. The ancient Saxon duchy occupied large areas in the northern part of Germany. Mainly modern earth Lower Saxony, but also included Magdeburg.

Meissen(margraviate). In 928/29 Emperor Henry I established the Margraviate of Meissen.

Hanover- a historical region in the north-west of Germany.

Bavaria(Duchy of Bavaria) - a medieval kingdom, later a duchy in southwestern Germany, which took its name from German people Bavarians.

Rhenish Palatinate. County Palatinate of the Rhine, since 1356 - Electorate of the Palatinate.

Swabia, duchy 920-1268

Württemberg, before 1495 - county, 1495-1803 - Duchy, 1803-1806 - Electorate, 1806-1918 - kingdom.

Baden, margraviate, from 1803 - electorate, from 1806 - grand duchy.

Hesse, since 1265 the Hessian landgraviate, and since 1292 the imperial principality.

Lorraine. As a result of the division of the Frankish Empire between the grandchildren of Charlemagne to Lothair I, except for imperial title, got: Italy, Provence, Burgundian lands, the border region between France and Germany, later known as Lorraine, the lands of the Frisians. Later, Lothair I divided his possessions between his sons, giving each of them a royal title. He proclaimed Charles the king of Provence, Louis II - the king of Italy, Lothair II - the king of Lorraine.

58 BC e. The emperor of Rome, Julius Caesar, led his legions to the Rhine. Military camps arose, which soon turned into the first cities - Trier (18 BC), Bonn (11 BC), Cologne (50 AD), Worms (c. 75 AD).

9 AD e. Arminius, prince of the Germanic Cherusci tribe, defeated three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest.

800 The king of the German tribe of the Franks, Charlemagne, united the tribes and peoples in the vast lands of Europe. The Frankish state emerged.

962-1806 First Reich (Reich - state). The Saxon king Otto I forced Pope John XII to crown him in order to receive the title of Emperor (Kaiser) of the Holy Roman Empire. (From the 15th century, it became known as the Holy Roman Empire German nation- By this time, Italian possessions had been lost.) The history of Germany under the First Reich is the history of individual principalities on its territory.

1356 german king Charles IV of Habsburg promulgated the Golden Bull. According to it, seven electors received the exclusive right to elect the king. The Pope could no longer interfere in elections. The power of petty princes, counts and knights was steadily falling, but the role of cities was increasing.

1358 Founding of the Hansa - a union of 160 port and trading cities in Northern Europe. Cities grew and developed, the princes who ruled them wanted independence. In 1598 the last conference of the Hansa was held in London.

1517 The Augustinian monk Martin Luther (1483-1546) attached 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. The main thing in them: a speech against indulgences, according to which the church absolved the sins of parishioners for money. Luther denied papal authority and all external Catholic worship, such as altars, the veneration of saints. The Reformation (Protestantism) began, which led to a religious split. According to Augsburg religious world(1555) the Protestant religion became equal with the Catholic.

1618-1648 Thirty Years' War devastates Europe, the population of Germany was reduced by a third.

1789 The revolution in France proclaimed the freedom, equality and brotherhood of all citizens. Austria and Prussia unsuccessfully tried to suppress the "Paris mob" by intervention.

1806 Emperor Francis II laid down his crown. The states from the collapsed First Reich united in the Confederation of the Rhine under Napoleon's protectorate. In Prussia and the Confederation of the Rhine, equality of all before the law was established, serfdom, introduced freedom of trade and city self-government.

1844-1849 A wave has swept through Germany popular uprisings. In Frankfurt am Main, in the Paulkirche on March 27, 1849, the all-German national assembly adopted a constitution. Prussian king was elected "emperor of all Germans." But Friedrich Wilhelm IV refused to accept the "lumpen crown" from "shoemakers and glovemakers", which deserves only "disgust and contempt".

1866-1870 Prussian army defeats the Austrians, the head of government Otto von Bismarck (1818-1898) becomes a national hero. September 1, 1870 at the Battle of Sedan french army is defeated, German troops enter Paris.

1871 In the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, the German Empire was proclaimed - the Second Reich. Wilhelm I of Hohenzollern, the 74-year-old king of Prussia, became emperor. Bismarck was appointed the first Reich Chancellor. Imperial Constitution adopted; 5 billion francs indemnity from defeated France stimulate the German economy. The agrarian state becomes industrial.

1910 Germany ranks second in the world in terms of industrial development. The empire's population increased from 41 million in 1871 to 67 million in 1913. Growing rapidly industrial centers: Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Lübeck, Rhine-Westphalian region, Silesia.

1914-1918 World War I. German losses amounted to 3 million killed and 4.2 million wounded. In November 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II renounced power, power in Berlin passed into the hands of the Social Democratic Council of People's Deputies. The Second Reich no longer existed.

1919 Under the Treaty of Versailles, Alsace and Lorraine were transferred to France, part of West Prussia to Poland, and part of Silesia to Czechoslovakia. Germany had to pay unbearable reparations: 132 billion marks over 66 years, its armed forces were severely limited. Following Berlin, where the revolutionaries Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were killed, uprisings in Bremen, Düsseldorf and other cities were suppressed. Weimer proclaimed a republic and adopted a new constitution. The severe consequences of the war and the world economic crisis crushed German industry. The German currency collapsed, there was a moment when 1 dollar was worth 4.2 billion marks! Economic crisis contributed to the political collapse Weimar Republic. The Communist Party of Germany turned into a party of the unemployed, and the National Socialists (members of the NSDAP) managed to win over millions of people from the middle strata, as well as young people.

1933-1945 Third Reich. After the death of President Hindenburg, Hitler proclaimed himself Fuhrer and Chancellor of the Third Reich. He promised to "do away with the Marxists and Jews", to eliminate unemployment, to win for Germany " living space to restore it to its former glory. All political parties, except for the NSDAP, were banned, trade unions dispersed. After the arson of the Reichstag in 1933, emergency laws were introduced and civil liberties were limited, a secret state police - the Gestapo - and the first concentration camps were created.

1938 On Kristallnacht from November 9 to 10, synagogues were set on fire throughout the country, and discriminatory laws against Jews were introduced. Later, almost all the Jews of Germany were deported to the east, to concentration camps, many were destroyed there in gas chambers. Hitler carried out the "Anschluss": the annexation of Austria to the Third Reich. The Munich Agreement was signed to partition Czechoslovakia. Munich agreement”), which was signed by the heads of government of Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

1939 August 23 The Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact entered into force - an economic agreement and a secret protocol on the delimitation of spheres of interest. Hitler secured his rear, a week later Germany attacked Poland - the Second World War began.

1940 The capture of Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg.

1941 June 22 the USSR was attacked. In the first months of the war, hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war found themselves in the "cauldrons" of the encirclement, later Leningrad was taken into the blockade, and the battle for Moscow unfolded. But Hitler's generals did not take into account the will Soviet people protect the Motherland at any cost.

1942 In the summer, the Wehrmacht reached the banks of the Volga and the foothills of the Caucasus. Field Marshal E. Rommel was approaching Alexandria and the Suez Canal.

1943 In February, the encircled 6th Army of Field Marshal F. Paulus surrendered at Stalingrad - a decisive turning point in the war occurred.

1944 In June, the Allies landed more than 3 million people in Normandy. July 20 - Failed assassination attempt on Hitler.

1945 On the night of May 8-9, Marshal Zhukov signed the Act on unconditional surrender Germany. World War II claimed 55 million human lives. July 17 - August 2, the Potsdam Conference took place with the participation of Stalin, Truman, Churchill (later Attlee).

1945-1946 In Nuremberg, the International Court of Justice for the main war criminals worked. The whole world learned about the monstrous crimes of National Socialism. The NSDAP, its ideology, symbols, Hitler's book "Mein Kampf", the Gestapo, SS security units and other organizations were banned. Field Marshal Keitel, Ribbentrop, Kaltenbrunner and other leaders of the Third Reich were hanged by the verdict of the tribunal. Many former party and statesmen put in jail. Later, Chancellor Willy Brand in Warsaw knelt in front of the monument to the victims. Warsaw ghetto. So Germany, before the eyes of the whole world, repented for terror and unleashed world war; millions of people innocently tortured in concentration camps and killed at the fronts; destroyed countless cities and villages.

1949 May 23 proclaimed federal Republic Germany (FRG), and October 7 - German Democratic Republic(GDR).

1955 Chancellor Konrad Adenauer paid a visit to Moscow, where it was decided to return the prisoners German soldiers to the homeland. Hundreds of thousands of workers were invited to Germany from Italy, Greece, Portugal, Yugoslavia, and later from Turkey. Recovery National economy provided assistance and assistance under the "Marshall Plan" - Germany received $ 1.4 billion. Revival of the country in the west a short time called the "economic miracle". Many citizens of the GDR emigrated to the West, where there were civil liberties and a more prosperous life.

1961 August 13 erected Berlin Wall, stretching for 136 km and equipped with last word sentry technology. It was extremely difficult to overcome it, people risked their lives. More than a hundred defectors were shot dead by border guards.

1989 After the “perestroika” in the USSR, Hungary opened its border with Austria, and a stream of refugees from the GDR poured west. On November 9, with the unbridled jubilation of the townspeople, the Berlin Wall was destroyed.

1994 The first President of Russia Boris Yeltsin received the parade Russian troops who left Germany forever.

2005 For the first time in the country's history, a woman has been elected to the post of Federal Chancellor - Angela Merkel.

I was a little late today with a story about queens. But hopefully Saturday night is the right time to read about the queens and empresses of Germany.

Barbara Zilli (1395-1451)
Barbara was the daughter of Hermann II, Count of Celje and Countess Anna Schaunberg. She was engaged in 1401 and at the age of ten she married Sigismund, King of Hungary, the youngest son of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who later became the ruler of Germany (1410), Bohemia (1419) and Holy Roman Emperor in 1433. Barbara was described as intelligent and beautiful. She was well educated and spoke Slovene, German and Latin. She was a convinced atheist and, they say, forbade her ladies-in-waiting to pray. At 14, Barbara gave birth to Elisabeth, Sigismund's only surviving heiress and successor, who married Albrecht II, King of Germany. She spent the rest of her life as Queen Dowager in Bohemia, where she was accused of plotting against the regime. She spent her last years in alchemy and the occult. She died of the plague.

(artist unknown)

Elizabeth of Luxembourg (1409-1442)
Daughter of Barbara Zilli and Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. On 28 September 1421 (at age 12) in Bratislava, Hungary, Elizabeth married Albrecht V, Duke of Austria and became Duchess of Austria. After the death of her father, Albrecht was chosen as king of Hungary, Bohemia and Germany. Accordingly, she became queen of Hungary, Bohemia and Germany. Elizabeth was crowned on January 1, 1438 by the Bishop of Veszprém. She gave birth to two daughters. In 1439, her husband Albrech led a campaign against the Turks. However, at the end of October 1439, in a military camp near Komarom, he suddenly fell ill with dysentery and died on October 27. The only son of Albrecht - Ladislaus Postum - was born four months after the death of the king. In 1442, during the negotiations, Vladislav of Poland presented Elisabeth with a fur. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth died. There were rumors that she had been poisoned.

(artist unknown)

Eleanor of Portugal (1434-1467)
Daughter of Duarte, King of Portugal. Since 1452 the wife of Frederick III. She gave birth to five children, but only Masimilian and Kunigunde survived.

Eleanor and Friedrich (artist Pinturicchio)

Bianca Maria Sforza (1472-1510)
The second wife (the first died before his accession to the throne) of Emperor Maximilian I, daughter of the Duke of Milan Galeazzo Maria Sforza. The widowed Maximilian, who not so long ago lost his beloved wife, Mary of Burgundy, married Bianca in a second marriage, according to sources, solely for the sake of a rich dowry. The dowry received by the new relative from Ludovico Moro amounted to 400,000 ducats. The wedding took place in 1494 in Milan. The marriage was not happy. There were no children. The emperor did not feel the slightest affection for his wife. Bianca died at the age of 38.

(artist Ambrogio de Predis)

Isabella of Portugal (1503-1539)
The wife of Emperor Charles V (in Spain - Charles I), the eldest daughter of King Manuel I of Portugal and his second wife Mary, Infanta of Castile and Aragon. Her husband, Carl, was her cousin. Despite the fact that it was a political union, it turned out to be a love match. Isabella was famous for her intelligence and beauty. She died on May 1, 1539 in Toledo, after the birth of her fifth child, from influenza or pneumonia.

(portrait by Titian)

Anna Jagiellonka (1503-1547)
She was the eldest child and only daughter of Vladislav II and his third wife Anna de Foix. She was the elder sister of Louis II, King of Hungary and Bohemia, and his heiress. Since 1521 she has been married to Ferdinand I, King of Germany, who later became Holy Roman Emperor, Queen of Germany. Anna and Ferdinand had 15 children.

(artist Hans Maler)

Mary of Spain (1528-1603)
Eldest daughter of Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal. In 1548 she married her cousin Maximilian. Maria and Maximilian had 16 children. She exerted on her sons, the future emperors Rudolf and Matthias, big influence. Mary was a devout Catholic and often disagreed with her more tolerant husband. After the death of her husband in 1576, she returned to Spain in 1582. Upon her return, she said that she was very happy to live in a country free from heretics.

(portrait by Antonis Moreau)

Anna of Tyrol (1585-1618)
She was the wife of Matthew, Holy Roman Emperor. Matthew and Anna were married on December 4, 1611. Matthew was already in his fifties. Anna was a cousin of Matthew, his father, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, was the elder brother of Anna's father, Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria. Matvey and Anna had no surviving children.

(artist Frans Pourbus the Younger)

Eleonora Gonzaga (1598-1655)
She was the youngest daughter of Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and Eleanor de' Medici. Known for her extraordinary beauty, she married Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, in Innsbruck on February 2, 1622. Ferdinand's former wife Maria Anna of Bavaria died in 1616. The Royal Family had no children, but Eleanor became stepmother to Ferdinand's four surviving children from a previous marriage.

(artist Justus Sustermans)

Maria Anna of Spain (1606-1646)
Maria Anna was the youngest daughter of Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria. Younger sister of Anne of Austria and Philip IV. Elder sister of Cardinal Infante Ferdinand. James I considered Maria Anna as a possible bride for his son and heir Charles I. Charles I even visited Madrid to meet her. However, since Charles I refused to accept Catholicism, and Maria Anna refused to marry a heretic, this union was not destined to take place. On February 20, 1631, Maria Anna married her cousin, the future Emperor Ferdinand III, with whom she had 6 children.

(portrait by Diego Velasquez)

Margarita Teresa of Spain (1651-1673)
Spanish Infanta of the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs. Elder sister of Charles II, the last representative of the Habsburg dynasty on the Spanish throne. Margherita Teresa married in the established tradition of the Habsburg dynasty, after long negotiations, by Easter 1666, her maternal uncle and paternal cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. She was 14, he was 26 years old. Despite the difference in age and the unattractive appearance of Leopold, according to numerous testimonies, it was a happy marriage, the couple had numerous common interests especially in art and music. During the six years of marriage, Margarita gave birth to six children, of whom only the only daughter, Maria Antonia, survived. Margarita was very fragile and her numerous pregnancies soon weakened her greatly. On top of that, she had a goiter - a change in the thyroid gland. After the sixth birth, she never recovered, she died at the age of 21.

(portrait by Juan Bautista Martínez del Maso)

Claudia Felicita of Austria (1653-1676)
After the death of Margaret, Leopold I was forced to remarry. An heir was needed. The choice was made on Princess Claudia Felicitata, who was the emperor's paternal relative (she was the daughter of Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria). The marriage took place on October 15, 1673 in Graz. The couple had two daughters who died in childhood. Claudia died after giving birth to a second girl.

(artist unknown)

Eleanor of Neuburg (1655-1720)
Third wife of Leopold I. Daughter of Count Palatine Philip Wilhelm of Neuburg and his second wife Elisabeth Amalia, nee Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. She gave birth to ten children, of whom seven survived. In 1701, the empress expressed her desire to get one of the Russian princesses for her son, Archduke Charles. In Moscow, they made portraits of the daughters of Tsar Ivan - eleven-year-old Catherine, nine-year-old Anna and seven-year-old Praskovia. However, this project did not continue.

(artist unknown)

Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1673-1742)
Wife of Emperor Joseph I. She was the youngest daughter of Johann Friedrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Benedicta Henriette of the Palatinate. The marriage was unsuccessful. Joseph had many favorites. Being five years older than her husband, Wilhelmina Amalia did not exert any influence on Joseph I, either in family or in public affairs. The relationship between the spouses finally ended after the birth of the third child. It is believed that the Empress became barren due to a venereal disease that her husband infected. She died on April 10, 1742, having outlived her husband by thirty-two years.

(artist unknown)

Elisabeth Christina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1691-1750)
Princess Elisabeth Christina was the first child of Duke Ludwig Rudolf of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his wife Christina Louise of Oettingen. Since 1708 the wife of Emperor Charles VI. She gave birth to four children, including the well-known Maria Theresa.

(artist Rosalba Carriera)

Maria Amalia of Austria (1701-1756)
Daughter of Emperor Joseph I. Wife of Emperor Charles VII. She gave birth to seven children.

(artist unknown)

Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780)
Eldest daughter of Emperor Charles VI and his wife Elisabeth Christina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, heir by virtue of the Pragmatic Sanction. Wife and later widow of Francis I Stephen of Lorraine. From 1737 (the year after the wedding) to 1756 she gave birth annually. She gave birth to 17 children. Four died in infancy. Three from smallpox, which raged at that time in Europe. Ten children survived their mother. Energetic, active, intelligent, Maria Theresa possessed great tact and charming charm of address, which acted in a charming way on those around her. “Little knowing herself,” says Michelet, “she knew how to surround herself with capable people who guided her policy.”

(artist Martin van Meytens)

Maria Luisa of Spain (1745-1792)
Daughter of King Charles III of Spain. Wife of Emperor Leopold II. The marriage produced 16 children.

(artist unknown)

Maria Theresa of Bourbon-Neapolitan (1772-1807)
The second wife of Emperor Franz II (the first died before his coronation). The eldest daughter of Ferdinand I, King of Naples and Sicily, and Maria Carolina of Austria, was named after her maternal grandmother, Maria Theresa. For 17 years she gave birth to 13 children, seven survived. One of them is Marie Louise, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.

(portrait by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun)

Augusta Maria Louise Katherine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1811-1890)
Daughter of Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna. On June 11, 1829, she married Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, who later became King of Prussia (1861) and German Emperor (1871). She received an excellent upbringing, and thanks to her intelligence, artistic taste and her charity, Princess Augusta soon took a prominent place at court and gained the sympathy of the people. She was zealous in raising her children, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and Princess Louise. Died of the flu (influenza).

Ascania- one of the most ancient families in Europe, known since the 6th century, named after the castle of Askania (near Aschersleben, demolished in 1444). The indigenous lands of the House are located in Anhalt (Anhalt). In the XII century. The Ascanians became Margraves of Brandenburg and Electors of Saxony, thanks to which the family became one of the most influential German families. They also held the duchies of Saxe-Wittenberg and Saxe-Lauenburg. In the XIV century. Brandenburg passed to the Hohenzollerns, Saxony to the Wettins. Only the Duchy of Anhalt remained in the possession of the Askanis. The sons of Duke Bernhard founded in 1252 the Anhalt-Aschersleben (extinguished in 1315), (Anhalt-Bernburg (first) (extincted in 1439) and Anhalt-Zerbst branches, from which the Anhalt-Dessau (in 1586), Anhalt-Bernburg (second , in 1603, died out in 1863) and Anhalt-Kethe (in 1650, died out in 1818). Separated from the second Anhalt-Bernburg branch in late XVII in. the Anhalt-Bernburg-Choim branch (faded in 1812). In the 19th century The Dukes of Anhalt-Dessau united all the lands of Anhalt under their control and became the Dukes of Anhalt. The united Duchy of Anhalt was among the founders German Empire. The Dukes of Anhalt lost their throne in 1918.

One of the representatives of the House of Askani, Princess Sophie Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, became Russian Empress Catherine II in 1762.

Religion Lutheran.

Brabant- an ancient Flemish family, people from which were appointed counts in the Maasgau. The first historically reliable representative is Count Giselbert (IX century). Representatives of the family were the counts of Gennegau, the dukes of Louvain (since 1106) and Brabant (since 1183), as well as the dukes of Lorraine. The eldest, Flemish line of the family was cut off in the male knee in 1355. The last duchess from the House of Brabant, Johann, hung her possessions with one of the lines of the Burgundian ducal House.

In 1265, Prince Henry of Brabant, by marriage, became Landgrave in Hesse, the fief of the Duke of Thuringia, and founded the German line of the House of Brabant. From 1292 the landgraves of Hesse were imperial princes, independent of Thuringia.

The German line in 1567 was divided into two main lines - Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Darmstadt. The Hesse-Rheinfel branch separated from the Hesse-Kassel line in 1649 (extinct in 1834), and in 1685 the Hesse-Philippstal branch (extinct in 1925). Of the latter, the Hesse-Philippstal-Barchfeld branch emerged in 1721.

The Hesse-Homburg branch separated from the Hesse-Darmstadt line in 1622 (it ceased in 1866). In 1858, the offspring of Prince Alexander of Hesse-Darmstadt from a morganatic marriage received the title of Princes of Battenberg. The son of the founder of the branch Alexander in 1879-86 was the Prince of Bulgaria. In the second half of the XIX century. The Battenbergs moved to Great Britain, where they are known as the Princes Mountbatten and the Marchionesses of Milford-Haven. The Grand Ducal line died out in 1968.

The landgraves of Hesse-Kassel became electors in 1803, but their electorship (the so-called Kurgessen) was annexed by Prussia in 1866. Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1806 - Grand Dukes (from 1866 - Grand Dukes of Hesse). Hesse was among the founders of the German Empire; its monarchs lost their throne during the revolution of 1918.

Religion Lutheran.

Valdeks descended from the Thuringian family of the counts of Schwalenberg, who annexed the counties of Pyrmont (1184), Waldeck (1223) and Sternberg (1243) to their possessions. Of the counts of Schwalenberg, Wienekind and his brother Hermann were already mentioned in 1189 under the name of counts V. The lines of the counts of Schwalenberg, Pyrmont and Sternberg died out in the XIV-XV centuries, all the mentioned possessions were united by the counts of Waldeck. In 1397, a branch of the counts of Waldeck-Landau and Waldeck-Wildungen separated from the Waldeck line, which died out in 1598. In 1736, the branch of the princes of Waldeck-Berkheim separated, which was cut off in 1966. in some sources, the House is called Waldeck-Pyrmont. The real ancestor of the present V. was Count Adolf (1214-1270), whose possessions remained undivided until 1307. Around this time, Henry the Iron died, and his sons, Adolf and Henry, founded two lines: Landau and V., of which the first ceased in 1495. In 1526, during the reign of Count Philip IV, the Reformation was introduced in Waldeck, and Philip joined the Schmalkaldic League. Count Friedrich-Anton-Ulrich received the title of imperial prince from Emperor Charles VI. Georg-Friedrich-Heinrich replaced the old estate constitution with a new one in 1814, but met with strong resistance from the estates, who saw this as a violation of their rights. The result of consultations with the nobility and cities was a new constitution of April 19, 1816, which lasted until 1848. In the war of 1866 V. took the side of Prussia. Since, due to its poverty, the country could not take on the new hardships associated with joining the North German Confederation, then, according to the agreement of July 18, 1867, the management of Waldeck was ceded to Prussia for 10 years. This treaty was renewed twice: in 1877 and 1887. The Principality of Waldeck (Waldeck-Pyrmont) was among the founders of the German Empire. The princes of Waldeck lost their throne during the revolution of 1918. The princes since 1712. The confession is Lutheran.

Welfs(Welfen, in Italian Guelfi) - two sovereign houses in Germany.

• The ancestor of the first is Ega († 646), major of Neustria under King Dagober I. His grandson Leudis († 680) moved to the banks of the Moselle, increased his possessions and thus enabled his successor Adalrich († 720) to take the ducal title; younger son he, Count Ethico, did not receive an inheritance, but his grandson, Count Eberhard, inherited several patches of land in Switzerland and became the ancestor of the houses of Habsburg, Zähringen, Vaudemont and Teck. The eldest son of Adalrich Adalbert († 741), succeeded his father, split the possessions between the children, and his successor, Duke Eberhard († 747), lost his life and crown in the fight against King Pepin the Short. His exiled sons, Ruthard and Varinus († 780), took refuge in Switzerland among the Alemanni, and the latter's grandson, Welf I († 824), gained importance as count of Argengau-Altorf-Ravensberg; his eldest son, Conrad († 862), moved to Burgundy, where he founded the house of Stratlingen, and the youngest son, Ethiko (870), went to the banks of the Danube to the Swabians and created for his son, Henry I († 910), the duchy of Niederbayern (Lower Bavaria) . The descendants of Henry ruled the duchy for almost a hundred and fifty years, but the last Duke of Welf IV († 1055) was childless, and the heiress, his sister, Hunitsa (or Kunigunda) (sk. 1055), transferred her rights to her husband, Count Azzo II Este. The younger brother of Welf IV, Ethiko (sk. 1060), received the county of Botzen as an inheritance and founded the House of Greifenstein.
• Duke Bonifacio of Tuscia († 828), the son of a Bavarian who came to seek his fortune in Italy, is considered to be the ancestor of the second house. Bonifacio's great-great-grandson, Lamberto (sk. 931), was the last marquis of Tuscia, as he lost his possessions in the struggle with various Italian princes. His son, Oberto Obizzo, became count of Este near Padua. The name of the castle became generic for his descendants, who were very numerous and founded the houses of Pallavicino, Pallodo and Malaspina. The grandson of Oberto Obizzo, Azzo I, acquired the Marquisate of Milan, which he handed over to his son Azzo II († 1097). The first wife of Count Azzo II, Kunigunde, transferred to him, as mentioned above, the rights to the duchy of Lower Bavaria, where he completely moved in his old age. His eldest son, Welf V († 1101), inherited the German lands after his mother and achieved the Duchy of Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria) from Emperor Henry IV. His eldest son, Welf VI, died childless; Bavaria went to his brother, Henry III the Black († 1126), who married Wulfhilde, daughter of the last Saxon duke Magnus of the house of Stubeckeshorn, and received half of Saxony (now ducal appanages), thereby strengthening his importance in Germany. His son, Henry IV the Proud (died 1139), married the daughter of Emperor Lothair II, who made him heir to his ancestral lands and hoped to give him the crown. However, the German princes, outraged by the duke's arrogance, chose Conrad III of Hohenstaufen as emperor, who was to start a brutal war that engulfed all of Germany. Henry lost all his possessions and died of grief, bequeathing revenge to his brother, Duke of Welf VII. The desperate struggle with Hohenstaufen continued, as each of the rivals had supporters in Germany and Italy. The Imperial Diet outlawed Welf VII, and under the walls of Weinsberg (near Heilbronn) Conrad III won a brilliant victory over the enemy in 1140; during this battle, for the first time, battle cries were heard: "For the Welfs! For Weiblingen!" (in Italy - Guelphs and Ghibellines). The defeated Welf had to accept and confine itself to Lüneburg and Braunschweig, the legacy of Lothar II. The son of Henry IV, Henry V the Lion (sk. 1195), managed to ingratiate himself with Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, who returned Bavaria and Saxony to him in 1152. The young duke restored the splendor of his house, ruthlessly pressed the Baltic Slavs and enjoyed great influence in the empire; but arrogance killed him. Barbarossa demanded help from him for the war in Italy, but was refused in a sharp form, and therefore in 1180 took from Henry V, at the Imperial Diet, both duchies; the proud duke yielded and withdrew to Lüneburg-Brunswick. His son, Otto, reached the imperial throne (1198), but died childless. The only son of his brother, Wilhelm, Otto the Child († in 1252) was the founder of the house of Este-V., or Lüneburg-Brunswick. - His eldest son, Albrecht I († 1279), received the duchy of Brunswick, which broke up under his sons into the principality of Grubenhagen and the duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The descendants of Albrecht were divided: Duke Henry I (sk. 1428) founded the first house of Wolfenbüttel, and Duke Bernhard I (+ 1434) received Brunswick-Lüneburg, which he handed over to his son Frederick II (sk. 1478). The great-grandchildren of the latter were divided again: Otto IV received Harburg, which was owned by his sons and grandsons until 1642, Franz († 1549) - Lüneburg, and Ernst I († 1546) - Brunswick-Celle. The children of the latter founded two branches: the eldest inherited the Duke of Wolfenbüttel Friedrich Ulrich and formed the second house of Wolfenbüttel, and the youngest retained Brunswick-Lüneburg, which was owned by Duke Wilhelm II († 1592). His grandson, Ernst I († 1698), married Sophia, daughter of Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate (married to Elizabeth, daughter of King James I Stuart), and received in 1692 the title of Elector of Hanover, and Ernst's son, George I († 1727 ), as Stewart's great-grandson and non-Catholic, ascended the English throne in 1714, passing Braunschweig to the senior branch, but retaining Hanover. Upon the death of King William IV († 1837), the great-great-grandson of George I, the union of the kingdom with the electorate completely ceased: the daughter of the third son of George III, Duke Edward of Kent, Victoria I Alexandrina, who rules Great Britain at the present time, entered the English throne, and on the Hanoverian throne (declared royal in 1814), the fourth son of George III, the Duke of Cumberland, entered under the name of Ernst-August († 1851). Woke up in it old spirit V., and he cared deeply for the dynastic interests of his family. His son, King George V the Blind († 1878), acted in the same spirit, but, taking the side of Austria, was defeated by the Prussians, lost his kingdom (1866) and died in Paris. His only son, Ernst-August (born 1845), bears the title of Duke of Cumberland-Teviotdal, lives in Gmunden (Austria), is married to the Danish Princess Tire, sister of the Empress Empress Maria Feodorovna (mother of Emperor Nicholas II), and had six children.

Wittelsbach- South German clan, named after the Wittelsbach castle on the Saale River in Upper Bavaria (destroyed in 1209). The first historically reliable representative of the Wittelsbach family is Luitpold, Margrave of the Eastern Mark, Duke of Bavaria in 907. By his name until the 13th century. were called Luitpol-dings. They were Margraves of Meissen, Landgraves of Thuringia, after the fall of Henry the Lion (1180) they entrenched themselves in the Duchy of Bavaria. In 1214 they established themselves in the Rhine Palatinate. In 1329 they were divided into two main lines - the older (Palatinate, counts palatine of the Rhine) and the younger (Bavaria, dukes of Bavaria).

The counts palatine of the Rhine (Palatinate) became electors in 1356; this title in 1623 passed to the dukes of Bavaria, but in 1654 the counts palatine again received the title of electors. The senior line broke up into several branches, as they faded, the crown of electors passed from branch to branch. The junior line (Dukes of Bavaria) died out in 1777, after which the ducal title passed to the senior line (Palatinate-Zweibrücken branch). In 1806, the dukes of Bavaria became kings, and the ducal title passed to the Palatinate-Zweibrkzhen-Gelnhausen branch. The Kingdom of Bavaria was among the founders of the German Empire. The last Bavarian king lost the throne during the revolution of 1918.

Representatives of the House were Electors of Brandenburg (1351-64), Counts of Holland (1353-1417), Kings of Denmark (1440-48), Czech (1619-20), Swedish (1654-1741), Greek (1832-62), and also Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire (in 1314-47 and 1742-45). They did not gain a foothold on any European throne.

During the Reformation, the older line became Calvinists, while the younger line remained Catholic. In the 18th century, in connection with the acquisition of the title of the Dukes of Bavaria, representatives of the senior line returned to Catholicism.

Wettins(Wettin) - the oldest sovereign house in Germany. Its ancestor is considered to be the Saxon duke Witigizel († 434), father of Gengist († 474), who founded the Kingdom of Kent in Britain; Gengist's eldest son, Hartwaker († 480), returned to Germany, where his descendants continued to rule the Saxons on the Weser and the mouths of the Elbe. One of these descendants, Vitekind the Great († 807), was defeated by Charlemagne, and the Saxons, in obedience to the will of the Frankish king, moved almost all south along the Elbe; the son of Vitekind, also Vitekind († 825), was the first burggrave V. in the land of the Lusatians. The descendants of Vitekind established themselves in Meissen (Mishno) and Merseburg (Mezhibor); one of them, Henry the Serene († 1287), was Landgrave of Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen. By clever policy and successful marriages, Heinrich's successors increased their political significance, so that when Elector Albrecht III of Saxony died without issue in 1421, Emperor Sigismund transferred his possessions not to his relatives from the same Askanian house, but to the Margrave of Meissen, Frederick V. Grandchildren him, Margrave Albrecht III of the Heart and Elector Ernst I, became the founders of two lines: Albertine and Ernestine, which exist to this day. A) The grandchildren of Albrecht III, the founder of the Younger, or Albertine, line, Moritz († 1553) and August († 1586), took away the electorate from the older line, which remained in the genus of August. The descendants of the latter now own the kingdom of Saxony. B) The Elder, Ernestine, line was started by Elector Ernst I († 1486), whose great-grandson Johann Friedrich († 1554) had to yield the electorate to the younger line and be content with small possessions, which were even more fragmented under his successors. Currently, the descendants of Ernst own Vel. the duchies of Saxe-Weimar and the duchies of Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. From this house came: Prince Albert, husband of the English Queen Victoria I; Ferdinand, who married the Portuguese Queen Mary II (grandfather of King Charles I), and Leopold, who was elected King of Belgium on July 21, 1831.

Württemberg. Swabian family, named after the castle of Wirtinberg near Rothenburg (near Stuttgart, destroyed in 1321). AT late XIII in. rulers of Württemberg became counts. The first historically reliable representative of the House is Count Ulrich (1226-65). In the XIII century. a branch of the counts von Grüningen-Landau emerged from the House (extinguished in 1378). In 1617 the younger sons of Duke Frederick founded the Mompelhard and Julian branches of the House; the first stopped in 1723, the second - in 1792. In 1649 the Neustadt line stood out (it died out in 1742). Despite the existence of branches of the House, the Duke of Württemberg remained the supreme overlord of their possessions: in 1482 the indivisibility of the County of Württemberg was established.

From 1495 Württemberg was a duchy, from 1806 a kingdom. Württemberg was among the founders of the German Empire. The Württemberg kings lost their throne during the revolution of 1918. The offspring of King Frederick I formed the royal line of the House of Württemberg, and the descendants of his brothers formed the ducal lines. With the suppression of the royal line in 1921, the leadership in the House passed to the representatives of the ducal line.

In the 19th century a branch of the Dukes of Teck was formed - the descendants of the morganatic marriage of Duke Alexander of Württemberg. The Dukes of Teck do not have sovereign status, but are related to certain sovereign Houses.

The religion of representatives of the main (royal) line and descendants of Duke Eugene of Württemberg since 1534 is Lutheran, the line of the Dukes of Teck and the Marquesses of Cambridge is Anglican, and other ducal lines are Catholic.

Hohenzollerns- one of the oldest houses in Germany. Already in the XI century. Counts von Zollorin (Zollern) owned many lands and castles in Swabia. The indigenous lands of the Hohenzollerns are on the southwestern edge of Swabia, a few kilometers from Switzerland.

In 1191, Count Frederick III acquired the Burgraviate of Nuremberg by marriage. His eldest son Friedrich IV continued the line of counts von Zollern (from the middle of the 15th century - von Hohenzollern), the younger Conrad I founded the line of Burgraves of Nuremberg (the Franconian line of the House). In 1415 Burgrave Frederick VI acquired the Mark of Brandenburg, and in 1417 he became elector. Brandenburg gradually expanded, strengthened, gained influence in German and European affairs, in 1701 the electorate of Brandenburg became the Prussian kingdom. In 1871 Prussia became the core of the German Empire.

The Swabian line of the House in 1575 was divided into three branches - Hohenzollern-Ehingen (faded in 1869), Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Heigerloch (faded in 1634). In 1623 the branches acquired imperial princely dignity. In 1849, the heads of the two existing branches renounced their sovereign rights in favor of Prussia and merged into the Prussian royal house. One of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen became the founder of the Romanian Royal House. A branch separated from the Franconian line in 1486, whose representatives were the Dukes of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Prussia (it ceased in 1618). In 1603 branches of the Dukes of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (extinct in 1769) and Brandenburg-Ansbach (extinct in 1806) emerged.

The religion of the Franconian line is Lutheran, the Swabian line is Catholic.

The Hohenzollern family, from which the Prussian and Romanian royal houses emerged, is one of the most ancient in Germany and already in the 11th century. owned many estates and G.'s castle in Swabia. It is believed that he was in family relations with the Swabian surname Burhardinger (the first G. often has the name Burchard), who owned Swabia from 914 and died out in 973. For the first time in history, with the surname "von Zolorin" Counts Burchard and Wezel, who died in 1061, during civil strife under Henry IV. Of the grandsons of Burchard, one founded the Hohenberg line, the other, Frederick I († 1115), who got family estates with the castle of G., continued the Zollern family, or G. His grandson, Frederick III, a trusted adviser to Frederick Barbarossa and Henry VI, acquired the Nuremberg burghry by marriage (1191) and called himself Frederick I. His sons Frederick and Konrad founded in 1227 two main lines of the Hohenzollern house: the eldest, the Swabian, which got ancestral lands G., and the youngest, Franconian, who received Nuremberg. The power of the Franconian line was laid by Frederick III (1261-1297). He acquired Bayreuth and Kadolzburg by marriage, bought Schwabach and Kammerstein, received many Franconian lands from Rudolf of Habsburg as a reward for his assistance in elections and help in the war against Ottokar of Bohemia. His son, Frederick IV († 1332), was in the elections of 1314 on the side of Ludwig of Bavaria and helped him win at Mühldorf over Frederick of Austria. He acquired Hof, Wunsiedel and Ansbach. His grandson Frederick V († 1397) was elevated by Charles IV to imperial princes (1363). Frederick VI († 1440) began a new page in the history of Germany with the acquisition of the Margraviate of Brandenburg; having received the rank of elector in 1415, he called himself Frederick I. He was followed by 11 Hohenzollern electors in Brandenburg; the last of them, Frederick III, took over on January 18. 1701 Prussian royal crown. Exactly 170 years later, the 7th Prussian king, Wilhelm, was proclaimed German emperor. The Ansbach, Bayreuth, and Swedish branches separated from the Brandenburg main line of Germany.

In the Swabian line already in the XIII century. partitions began, significantly weakening it. Discord between Friedrich Oettinger and Eitel-Friedrich I led to the destruction of the castle of G. and the occupation of the Hohenzollern lands by the Württembergers (1423). Eithelfriedrich's son Jodok († 1488) rebuilt the castle and united Hohentz. earth. His grandson Charles I († 1576) received from Charles V the counties of Sigmaringen and Werigen (1529). The sons of Charles I founded two lines, G. Gechingen and G. Sigmaringen. The first remained faithful to Catholicism and received a princely title from Emperor Ferdinand II. In 1695, Friedrich-Wilhelm G. concluded an inheritance agreement with the House of Brandenburg and the G.-Sigmaringen line, according to which, in the event of the termination of the Swabian line, all its lands were to pass to Brandenburg. 1848 also caused unrest in G. Gechingen. The successor of Friedrich-Hermann, Prince. Friedrich-Wilhelm-Konstantin, gave the country a constitution on May 16; but the riots did not stop, and on 6 Aug. Prussian troops occupied the principality. Under the treaty of 1849, the prince ceded the country to Prussia and died in 1869, leaving no male offspring. The founder of the G.-Sigmaringen line was Charles II, the youngest son of Charles I. In 1623 his son John was elevated to imperial princes. Prince Karl in 1833 gave the country a constitution, but heavy taxes (from 1818 to 1848 they were sixfold) caused a revolution in 1848. The prince abdicated in favor of his son Karl Anton, but even he could not calm the unrest; the country was occupied by the Prussians, and on 7 Dec. In 1849, the prince ceded it to Prussia, and he himself joined Prussia. service. From 1858-62 he was the Prussian min.-president, then, until 1871, the military governor of the Rhine Prov. and Westphalia. Mind. in 1885. Of his sons, the eldest, Leopold (born in 1835), was in 1870 chosen by the Cortes to the Spanish kings, but refused the crown; nevertheless, his election served as the immediate cause of the Franco-German war. The second son, Karl (born 1839), has been reigning since 1866 in Romania, and the son of Leopold Ferdinand, the husband of the daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh Mary, is the heir to the Romanian throne.

Lippe- count family, dating back to the 10th century. The current Principality of L., which received its name from the river. L., in antiquity was inhabited by the Cherusci, whose leader, Arminius, won here in the year 9 A.D., in the Teutoburg forest, a victory over the legions of Varus. Subsequently, L. was part of Saxony. In the wars to conquer the Saxons, Charlemagne at Tiatmelly (Detmold) gave the penultimate, decisive battle. As the name of the region, L. is mentioned for the first time in 1123. Bernard II, known as a military leader under Henry the Lion, built Lippstadt. Acquisitions made in the 14th and 15th centuries his successors, were again lost due to divisions, family strife and participation in bloody strife. Simon V in 1529 was recognized as an imperial count. The current composition of the country was established in the 16th century. Bernhard VIII joined the Lutheran confession in 1556. His son, Simon VI, introduced the Reformed confession, which has prevailed ever since. Although the birthright was introduced in the XIV century, however, Simon VI divided his lands between three sons, of whom the eldest, Simon VII, continued the main line, L.-Detmold, the second, Otto, founded the Brak line, and the third, Philip - the line Schaumburg or Bückeburg. The Braque line died out in 1709. Lateral lines separated from the main line - L.-Bisterfeld and L.-Bisterfeld-Weissenfeld. In 1720, Simon-Heinrich-Adolf was elevated to the princely dignity. Princess Paulina, ruling the principality during the minority of her son, Pavel-Alexander-Leopold, abolished serfdom, updated the educational part and in 1819 granted representation to the country, which was opposed, however, by the nobility and Schaumburg relatives, as a result of which the order was canceled by the allied diet . Paul-Alexander-Leopold took over the government in 1820 and in 1836 granted the country a constitution, amended in a liberal spirit in 1848, but restored in its original form in 1853 by Paul's son and successor, Leopold. In 1866, the prince joined Prussia and then joined the North German Union. Leopold was succeeded in 1875 by his brother Voldemar, who agreed with the Landtag on a new electoral law. The erection of a monument to Arminius on Grotenburg, near Detmold, in August 1875, the construction of the Herford-Detmold railway line and the exhibition in Detmold, in the summer of 1881, contributed greatly to the economic upsurge of the country. In 1905, with the death of Prince Alexander, the main line of the House was cut short in the male tribe. The regency in the principality of Lippe-Detmold since 1895 was carried out by the counts of Lippe-Bishterfeld; Count Leopold in 1905 became Prince of Lippe-Detmold.

Reformed religion.

Mecklenburgs- the only (not counting the Balkan) Western European dynasty of Slavic origin.

The lands of modern Mecklenburg were inhabited by Germanic tribes, ousted in the 7th century. Polabian Slavs - Bodrichs. The city of Mikilinbor, founded by the Slavs, gave the name to this territory. The Principality of the Bodrichs was subjected in the XII century. the invasion of Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony. The Slavic prince Niklot fell in battle; the principality was subordinated to Saxony. Niklot's son Pribyslav received back his possessions as a vassal of Henry the Lion.

Since 1348 Mecklenburg has been an independent duchy. The princes of Werl (1230, ceased in 1436), the dukes of Mecklenburg-Stargard (1352, ceased in 1471), Mecklenburg-Gustrow (1611, ceased in 1688) and Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1701) separated from the main line. To early XIX in. the duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz were preserved, which became grand duchies by decree of the Congress of Vienna (1815). Both countries were among the founders of the German Empire. Both Grand Dukes lost their thrones during the Revolution of 1918.

Religion in Mecklenburg-Schwerin is Lutheran and Catholic, in Mecklenburg-Strelitz - Lutheran.

Nassau- a West German family from which the Dutch royal and Luxembourg grand ducal dynasties originate. Representatives of the family were also emperors of the Holy Roman Empire (Adolf, 1292-98) and kings of Great Britain (William II, 1689-1702).

Descended from the count family of Lauenburg. Around 1100, Counts Dudo and Drugwin of Lauenburg erected Nassau Castle on the banks of the Lahn River, after which the descendants of the younger Count Drugwin began to be called. From the second half of the XII century. Nassau is an independent county, Nassau House separated from the Lauenburgs. In 1255, the sons of Count Henry II divided the inheritance of their father and founded two main lines of the House - Walram (South of the county) and Otton (North of the county).

The offspring of Count Walram, who ruled in Saarbrücken, ceased in 1574. In 1355, the Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein line separated from the Walram line (extinct in 1605), and in 1442, the Nassau-Weilburg line. The Nassau-Saarbrücken (in 1629, died out in 1728), Nassau-Usingen (in 1659, died out in 1799) and Nassau-Idstein (in 1629, died out in 1721) branches separated from it, in turn. In 1688, the counts of the Walram line received the title of prince. By the beginning of the XX century. in Germany, one Principality of Nassau was preserved - Nassau-Weilburg, which became a duchy in 1816, and in 1866 annexed by Prussia.

The offspring of Count Otto, who ruled in Hadmar and Belyptein, played big role outside of Germany. The main Ottonian line came to an end in 1561, and the Ottonian Nassau were led by representatives of the Nassau-Dielenburg line, which separated in the first half of the 14th century. In 1405, Engelbert I, Count of Nassau-Dilenburg, inherited Breda, vast lands in North Brabant by marriage, and became one of the largest Dutch landowners. In 1515, Henry III, Count of Nassau-Breda, also received the French Principality of Orange by marriage, after which this line of the House became known as Orange. The line of stadtholders of the Netherlands separated from Nassau-Dielenburg (Oran) (in 1545, died out in 1650). In 1606, the line split into branches Nassau-Siegen (princes from 1664, died out in 1734), Nassau-Dietz (princes from 1654) and Nassau-Hadmar (princes from 1650, died out in 1711). The Nassau-Dilenburg line became a princely line in 1652 and ended in 1739. In 1748 the heads of the Nassau-Dietz branch became stadtholders of the Netherlands, and in 1815 they became kings of the Netherlands.

Until 1890 there was a union between the Netherlands and Luxembourg. In 1890, Wilhelmina came to the Dutch throne, but since, according to the laws of Luxembourg, a woman could not occupy his throne, the Luxembourg crown passed to the Duke of Nassau-Weilburg Adolf. Thus the Nassau-Weilburg Line became the House of Luxembourg Grand Ducal.

The religion of the Netherlands House is Reformed, the members of the Luxembourg House are Catholics and Lutherans.

oldenburgs- one of the most extensive Houses in Europe, whose representatives ruled in Oldenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Sweden (1457-1532 and 1751-1818), Greece (1863-1973), ruled in Denmark (from 1448) and Norway (1450-1814 and since 1905). Representatives of one of the lines of the House (Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovs) ruled in Russia in 1761-1917.

The first historically reliable Oldenburg - Count Egilmar (end XI-beginning HP centuries). His successors were vassals of the Saxon dukes until the fall of Henry the Lion (1180). In 1243, the counts of Oldenburg annexed the county of Delmenhorst to their possessions, which became an integral part of Oldenburg in the 17th century. Duchy of Schleswig from the beginning. 12th century ruled by Danish princes. Since 1106, the County of Holstein was owned by the House of Schauenburg. In 1386 the Schauenburgs united Schleswig and Holstein. Count Dietrich, having married in 1423 Hedwig of Schleswig-Holstein, a representative of the House of Schauenburg, who had died out in the male tribe, annexed Schleswig and Holstein to the possessions of the House.

The son of Count Dietrich Christian was elected king of Denmark in 1448 and founded the line of Danish kings (extinct in 1863). In 1460 he was also elected Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (Holstein became a duchy in 1474). After the death in 1667 of the childless Count of Oldenburg Anton Ponter, all the lands of the Oldenburg House united under the Danish crown. In 1544 King Frederick I's son Adolf became Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and founded the Holstein-Gottorp line of the House. In 1761 Duke Karl Peter Ulrich became the Russian Emperor Peter III and the founder of the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov dynasty.

In 1773, the grandson of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Christian-August Friedrich August became count of Oldenburg, and Oldenburg separated from Denmark. Friedrich August founded the House of the Counts of Oldenburg, who became dukes in 1777 and Grand Dukes in 1815. Representatives of one of the branches

Home in late XVIII in. settled in Russia. The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg was among the founders of the German Empire. Its rulers lost their throne in 1918.

In 1564 the son of King Christian II Johann founded the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg line of the House. In 1622, Schleswig-Holstein seceded from Denmark, and it was established that Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark could not be jointly owned. In 1622-1624, the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg line was divided into seven lines - Norburg (extinct in 1722), Glücksburg (extinct in 1779), Plönskaya (extinct in 1761), Franzhagen (extinct in 1709), Augustenburg, Beck and Weisenberg (extinct in 1744).

Representatives of the Augustenburg line in 1863 received the title of Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein. The line was cut short in 1931. Representatives of the Beck line - since 1825 the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. In 1863 Duke Christian became Danish king and founded the Danish Royal House, from which, in turn, they separated: in the same 1863 - the Greek Royal House and in 1905 - the Norwegian Royal House.

Religion Lutheran, in the Greek line - Orthodox.

Schwarzburgs- Thuringian clan, descending from the Thuringian count Günther von Kafernburg (near Arnstadt), converted to Christianity by St. Boniface. Count Günther I (+ in 1114), having attached Schwarzburg Castle to his possessions, began to be titled Count of Schwarzburg. Gunther II's sons Henry III († in 1236) and Gunther III († in 1218) were the founders of the S. and Kafernburg lines. The latter died out in 1385 and its possessions went to Thuringia. In 1275, the older Blankenburg line separated from the Schwarzburg line. Gunther X of Schwarzburg acquired in 1306 Arnstadt, Ilmenau, Waxenburg and the Black Forest. His offspring broke up into the lines of Sh., Waxenburg and Leitenberg; all these lines died out by 1564. Of the representatives of the Blankenburg line, the prestige of the house was especially raised by S. Gunther XXI, elected on January 30, 1349 to the German emperors, but who died on June 14 of the same year. Henry XIII, son of Günther XXI, died childless in 1357 and his possessions fell to him cousins Henry XIV and Gunther XXIV. When the Saxon possessions were divided in 1445, sovereignty over Sh. went to Duke Wilhelm; during the second partition, in 1485, sovereignty over the Upper Sh. went to the Electoral Saxon line, and over the Lower - to the ducal line. Heinrich XXVI (1444-1488) was the ancestor of the younger Blankenburg line and returned to his house the possessions of the Kafernburg line. His grandson Henry XXXII was a zealous champion of the reformation. He was married to Countess Catherine of Genneberg, who became famous in 1538 for her courageous resistance, in Rudolstadt Castle, to the Duke of Alba. Günther XLI († in 1583) served as military leader under Emperor Maximilian II. After his death, his sons Johann-Günther and Albrecht divided the hereditary lands and became the founders of the two lines Sch.-Arnstadt (later Sondershausen) and Sch.-Rudolstadt. Johann Günther, the ancestor of the Sch.-Sondershausen line, received 2/3 of the Lower Sh. and 1/2 of the Upper Sh. during the division. He died in 1586, leaving 4 sons who ruled together and bought in 1631 the county of Gleichen. Only the youngest of the brothers, Christian Gunther I, left offspring, 3 sons who founded 3 lines: Arnstadt, Sondershausen and Ebeleben. Two of these lines died out (1669 and 1681) and their possessions went to the descendants of Sondershausen. In 1681, two lines were formed again - Sondershausen and Arnstadt; their ancestors were the grandchildren of Christian-Günther I, Christian-Wilhelm and Anton-Günther II. Both of them in 1697 and 1710 were elevated to imperial princes. The elector of Saxony (in 1699 and 1702) renounced his sovereignty over Switzerland for a monetary reward. In 1713, both main lines, Sch.-Sondershausen and Sch. In the order of succession, a majority right was established, in order to avoid fragmentation of possessions, and a mutual right of inheritance in the event of the termination of male offspring in one of the lines. In 1716, Anton-Günther II of Arnstadt died childless and his brother Christian-Wilhelm Sondershausen inherited his possessions; since then, one of the two main lines of the Schwarzburg house is not called Arnstadt, but Sondershausen. The great-grandson of Christian Wilhelm, Günther-Friedrich-Karl (born in 1760), together with the Rudolstadt prince Ludwig-Friedrich, joined the Confederation of the Rhine. In 1815, both principalities were recognized as members German Confederation. On September 25, 1830, Prince Günther-Friedrich-Karl issued a new estate constitution, which, however, next year canceled because it caused displeasure in the country. In 1835 (August 14) he resigned from the administration of the country. His successor, Prince Günther-Friedrich, gave the country a new constitution, on the basis of which the first Landtag was opened in 1843. In 1848, a revolutionary movement arose in the principality, which led to the fact that the Upper Sh. was occupied by the Saxon troops, and the Lower - by the Prussians. On December 12, 1849, a constitution was proclaimed in a democratic spirit, but in 1857 it was reformed. In 1850 the domains were taken over by the government; the prince was determined the content, first at 120 thousand, then at 150 thousand thalers. On June 14, 1866, Sch.-Sondershausen voted against the Austrian proposal to mobilize an allied army against Prussia and became part of the North German Confederation, and then the German Empire. Since 1880, Prince Karl-Günther (born in 1830) has ruled the principality. The founder of the second main line, Sh.-Rudolstadt, Albrecht VII, died in 1605. His grandson Albrecht-Anton II was elevated in 1710 to the imperial princes. In this line, the administration of the principality during the XVIII century. passed, with one exception, in a straight downward line. Ludwig-Friedrich died shortly after joining the Confederation of the Rhine (1807). His son Friedrich-Günther, having joined the German Confederation, liquidated his vassal relations with Prussia, to which the former suzerain rights of Saxony had passed, and with Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Coburg. On January 2, 1816, the prince gave the country a constitution. revolutionary movement in 1848 it did not take on a large scale and was quickly suppressed. The new constitution of 1856 repealed some of the democratic laws issued in 1848. In the dispute between Austria and Prussia in 1866, the prince took the side of Prussia and on August 18 was recognized as an independent member of the North German Confederation, and from January 18, 1871 - of the German Empire. In 1870 (August 16), the Landtag, by refusing to approve the budget, secured a freer electoral law. Since 1890, Prince Günter-Victor (born in 1852), who succeeded his cousin, Prince Georg, has ruled the principality.

The principalities of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt were among the founders of the German Empire, the rulers of the principalities lost their thrones in 1918. The Schwarzburg-Sondershausen line was cut short in 1909, the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt line - in 1971.

Religion Lutheran.

Zähringen- Swabian count family, known from the X century. In 1056, Count Berthold I the Bearded became Duke of Tseringn, under him the family gained wealth and influence. His eldest son Hermann became Margrave of Baden by marriage, the third son Gebgard inherited Zähringen; the line of the dukes of Zähringen died out in 1218. In 1187, a branch of the dukes of Teck separated from it, which died out in 1439. The offspring of Herman of Baden (margraves of Baden-n-Baden) ceased in 1771.

At the beginning of the XIII century. a branch of the margraves of Baden-Hochberg separated from the margravial line and lost its sovereign status in 1418; in turn, a branch of the margraves of Baden-Sauenburg separated from it in 1305 (it died out in 1503).

In 1533 the line of margraves of Baden-Durlach became independent, the rulers of which in 1803 became electors and in 1806 the Grand Dukes of Baden. Baden was among the founders of the German Empire. The Grand Dukes of Baden lost their throne in 1918.

Evangelical religion.

este(d "Este) - one of the oldest princely families in Italy, reflecting the characteristic features of Italian civilization and the Italian "principate". The fate of the d "E. - this is a page not only of Italian, but also of European history; detailed acquaintance with them gives an understanding of many phenomena that created them themselves, and those in the creation of which they participated. The family traditions of E. trace the origin of the family from the Carolingian governors in northern Italy. Very early they acquired the title of margraves (marquises). Subsequently, during the greatness of the family, court poets composed genealogies for them, which called them descendants of Charlemagne himself and even the Trojan kings. Little by little, they acquired seigneurial rights to the following northern Italian cities and territories (mainly in the Verona region): Este (hence their name, and this is the oldest grain of their power), Rovigo, Montagnana, Casale Maggiore and Pontremoli. Oberto I († in 972) and his son Oberto II († around 1015) claimed possession of the Tuscan margraviate as a "patrimonial" position and land. They fought with the German sovereigns, standing up for their opponents, Berengar and Arduin of the Jews. Azzo, son of Oberto II († in 1029), and his brother Hugh, who stubbornly continued the same struggle, were captured by Emperor Henry II; freed, they tried to force him out of Italy, putting forward the candidacy of King Robert of France for the Italian throne. Their further descendants supported the popes in their Italian policy. Hugh's son, Azzo II († in 1097), energetically helped Gregory VII and Matilda of Tuscany against Henry IV and was present at the famous scene at Canossa (1077). Such precedents for a long time painted the surname d "E. in Guelph colors. Azzo II married Kunigunde, the sister of one of the influential German princes, Welf III. Their sons, Welf IV and Fulco I, became the founders of two branches of the surname E. - German (Welf received Duchy of Bavaria) and Italian.