Alexander | |||||
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Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn | |||||
Born | Salzburg, Austria | 22 November 1943||||
Spouse | Countess Gabriela of Schönborn-Wiesentheid | ||||
Issue | Heinrich, Hereditary Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn Princess Alexandra Prince Casimir Princess Filippa Prince Ludwig Princess Sofia Prince Peter | ||||
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House | Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn | ||||
Father | Ludwig, 6th Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn | ||||
Mother | Baroness Marianne von Mayr-Melnhof | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Alexander Konrad Friedrich Heinrich Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn [1] [2] (born 22 November 1943), is a German businessman, who is head of the Princely House Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
He was born in Salzburg as the first son of Ludwig, 6th Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (1915–1962) and his wife Baroness Marianne von Mayr-Melnhof (born 1919). [3] Following Prince Ludwig's death in 1962, Alexander succeeded as head of the princely house and, by tradition, as the 7th Prince (German: Fürst) zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. [1]
Alexander is a descendant of James II of England and his illegitimate son James Fitzjames, 1st Duke of Berwick, through his father's grandmother Marie Auguste Yvonne de Blacas d'Aulps, daughter of Louis, Duke of Blacas.
Prince Alexander is vice president of Europa Nostra [4] and president of Europa Nostra Germany. From 1986 to 2013, he served as president of the German Castles Association, [1] which elected him on 28 April 2013 honorary president as well as president of the "Stiftung der Deutschen Burgenvereinigung" (Foundation of the German Castles Association).
In 1969, Alexander married Countess Gabriela von Schönborn-Wiesentheid (b. 1950) at Schloss Weißenstein, Pommersfelden. [1] They have seven children: [5]
Ludwig Adolf Friedrich, 2nd Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg, from 1861 Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, was a Russian and German aristocrat. Among his properties were the famed Mir Castle Complex and Verkiai Palace.
Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern North Rhine-Westphalia.
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn was a county of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, comprising the lands of the region of Sayn. It was created as a partition of Sayn-Wittgenstein in 1607, although it was not until the next year that it obtained fully the Countship of Sayn. The succession was never clear, leading to the annexation of the county in 1623 by the Archbishop of Cologne. It was not until a treaty in 1648 that it was decided the county would pass to the sisters Ernestine and Johanette of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, under the regency of their mother, Countess Louise Juliane von Erbach (1603–1670). They partitioned the county into Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen and Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg soon after.
Prince Dominik Hieronim Radziwiłł was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman who was Ordynat of Nesvizh and Olyka and owner of Biržai, Dubingiai, Słuck and Kapyl estates. He took part in Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 and later died of wounds after the Battle of Hanau.
Ludwig Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher.
The House of Chigi is an Italian princely family of Sienese origin descended from the counts of Ardenghesca, which possessed castles in the Maremma, southern Tuscany. Later, the family settled in Rome. The earliest authentic mention of them is in the 13th century, with one Alemanno, counsellor of the Republic of Siena.
Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was the head of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark.
Christian Louis Casimir, 2nd Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg was a reigning Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg line of Sayn-Wittgenstein family from 1750 to 1796.
Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, is the eldest child and only son of Princess Benedikte of Denmark and Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg.
Alexander, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe is the head of the House of Schaumburg-Lippe.
Bernhart Otto Peter, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein is a German businessman and the current head of the Princely House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein.
Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg from 1904 to 1918.
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein was a county and later principality between Hesse-Darmstadt and Westphalia.
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein.
Prinz Ludwig Ferdinand Paul Franz Stanislaus Ulrich Otto Ludolf zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Ludwig-Ferdinand Prinz von Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was killed on 22 November 1943 near Zhytomyr, Ukraine. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 20 January 1944 and was also promoted to Oberst.
Leonilla Ivanovna Baryatinskaya, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, was a Russian aristocrat who married Ludwig, Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. She was the subject of a number of portraits by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.
Wolfgang-Ernst Ferdinand Heinrich Franz Karl Georg Wilhelm, VIII. Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen in Wächtersbach is a German aristocrat. He is currently head of the House of Ysenburg and Büdingen.
Princess Anna of Bavaria, known professionally as Anna von Bayern, is a German journalist and author who has been serving as the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Coty Inc. since 2020. A member of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg by birth, she became a member of the House of Wittelsbach in 2005 through her marriage to Prince Manuel of Bavaria.
Maria Anna, Dowager Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, is a German noblewoman, socialite, a professional photographer, member of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and the mother of Alexander, 7th Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
Prince August Fredrik zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, known professionally as August Wittgenstein, is a German-Swedish actor and member of the princely House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Wittgenstein has appeared in English, German, and Swedish language films, starring in the 2013 German television movie Open Desert. He is known for his portrayals of Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse in The Crown and Count Alfred Eckbrecht von Dürckheim-Montmartin in Ludwig II as well as his roles as Karl Tennstedt in Das Boot and Andreas Wolf in Deadwind.