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The Carpelan family is a Finnish noble family from Middle Ages. Members of the family were awarded with the title of Baron on 15 October 1771 by Adolf Frederick of Sweden.
Squire Paval Karppalainen from Vehmaa, Varsinais-Suomi was ennobled in 1407 by king Eric XIII of Sweden. After the extinction of his male line, his granddaughter's son continued the family name and took up his mothers arms.
His descendants were registered under number 38 among the untitled nobility at the Swedish House of Nobility when it was established in 1625.
Vilhelm Karpelan, lieutenant general and commander of the Westrobothnian Regiment, was created friherre Carpelan, together with his fraternal nephew Karl Ephraim Karpelan, lieutenant colonel, by king Adolf Frederick of Sweden on 15 October 1771. In 1776 the family was registered under number 281 among baronial class of the House.
When Finland had in 1809 become a Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire, those members of the Carpelan family who resided there and swore fealty to the Grand Duke, Emperor Alexander I, were confirmed in their noble privileges and titles as to the grand ducal estates of Finland. Accordingly, when the Finnish House of Nobility was established, the baronial family of Carpelan was registered there under number 19 among the baronial class ( vapaaherrallinen suku numero 19, friherrliga ätten nummer 19).
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, but lower than a viscount or count. Often, barons hold their fief – their lands and income – directly from the monarch. Barons are less often the vassals of other nobles. In many kingdoms, they were entitled to wear a smaller form of a crown called a coronet.
Riksdag of the Estates was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Four Estates, which historically were the lines of division in Swedish society:
The history of Sweden from 1772 to 1809 is better known as the Gustavian era of kings Gustav III and Gustav IV Adolf, as well as the reign of King Charles XIII.
The Swedish nobility has historically been a legally or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called frälse. The archaic term for nobility, frälse, also included the clergy, a classification defined by tax exemptions and representation in the diet. Today the nobility does not maintain its former legal privileges although family names, titles and coats of arms are still protected. The Swedish nobility consists of both "introduced" and "unintroduced" nobility, where the latter has not been formally "introduced" at the House of Nobility (Riddarhuset). The House of Nobility still maintains a fee for male members over the age of 18 for upkeep on pertinent buildings in Stockholm.
Fabian Gotthard von Steinheil was a Baltic German who served as a Russian military officer and the Governor-General of Finland between 1810 and 1824.
Freiherr, Freifrau and Freiin are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire and in its various successor states, including Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, etc. Traditionally, it denotes the titled rank within the nobility above Ritter (knight) and Edler and below Graf. The title superseded the earlier medieval form, Edelherr.
The Adlercreutz family is a Swedish and Finnish noble family.
The Igelström family is a Swedish noble family from Nylödöse, which also belonged to the Russian and German nobility.
The House of Nobility either refers to the institution of the Finnish nobility or the palace of the noble estate. The Finnish nobility was from 1809 until 1906 the first of the four estates of the realm.
The Finnish nobility was historically a privileged class in Finland, deriving from its period as part of Sweden and the Russian Empire. Noble families and their descendants are still a part of Finnish republican society, but except for the titles themselves, no longer retain any specific or granted privileges. A majority of Finnish nobles have traditionally been Swedish-speakers using their titles mostly in Swedish. The Finnish nobility today has some 6,000 male and female members.
The Creutz family is a Swedish noble family with the title friherre with its roots in Swedish-governed Finland. The family, both a branch of counts and a baronial branch, continues in Finland and Sweden.
The Fleming family or Flemming is a Swedish noble family with a medieval frälse origin.
The Kurki family or Kurck, also known as the family of Laukko, is a Finnish noble family tracing its lineage back to the late 14th century. It produced several historically prominent persons. The family is usually divided into several lineages, as it continued through female succession.
The Stålhammar family is a Swedish noble family with roots in the province of Småland. Its founding member was Per Stålhammar, who was knighted in 1650 after a long and distinguished military career under Charles X and Charles XI as a soldier and officer. His service included actions in the Thirty Years' War in Poland, one of the several wars between Denmark and Sweden in the 17th century and the Scanian War.
The Jägerhorn af Spurila family is a noble family, registered with number 114 in the Swedish House of Nobility and number 5 in the Finnish House of Nobility. Members of this family live in Finland, Sweden, France and the United States.
Danish nobility is a social class and a former estate in the Kingdom of Denmark. The nobility has official recognition in Denmark, a monarchy. Its legal privileges were abolished with the constitution of 1849. Some of the families still own and reside in castles or country houses. A minority of nobles still belong to the elite, and they are as such present at royal events where they hold court posts, are guests, or are objects of media coverage, for example Kanal 4's TV-hostess Caroline Fleming née Baroness Iuel-Brockdorff. Some of them own and manage companies or have leading positions within business, banking, diplomacy and NGOs.
The Aminofffamily is a Swedish-Finnish noble family of Holy Roman and Russian origin. The family has produced statesmen, officers, academics, merchants, industrialists, and landowners. The Aminoff family has been granted the titles of count and baron. The Aminoff family is known for its active participation in commerce and industry.
Count Adolf Andreas Woldemar Freedericksz was a Finland Swedish-Russian statesman who served as Imperial Household Minister between 1897 and 1917 under Nicholas II. He was responsible for the administration of the Imperial family's personal affairs and living arrangements, as well as the awarding of Imperial honours and medals.
The Toll family was a Baltic German noble family of possible Hollandish origin. According to legend, the family's name originated from a castle near Leiden. The family held Swedish and Russian baronial and comital titles, Austrian baronial titles, Prussian, Oldenburgish, Finnish untitled noble status and also possibly belonged to Dutch nobility.
Johan Fredrik Aminoff was a Finnish Count, Baron, General, and Statesman who had major influence in Finland during the Kingdom of Sweden, and later in the newly formed Grand Duchy of Finland in Imperial Russia.