Adelsgeschlechter

An Adelsgeschlecht, in the German-speaking world, is a noble house or noble lineage. It denotes a family that historically possessed noble rank and is typically identified by a hereditary surname linked to a coat of arms, estates, and a place in the social hierarchy of feudal and monarchical polities.

Noble houses formed in the Middle Ages from feudal lords and knightly lineages and could rise into ruling dynasties through royal service, strategic marriages, and landholding. Members often bore titles such as Ritter (knight), Edler, Graf (count), or Fürst (prince), and the family name was frequently prefixed by von or de to signal noble status. A single Adelsgeschlecht could span multiple territories and generations, with genealogies tracing patrilineal lines and cadet branches.

Heraldry and landholding were central to a house’s identity. Many Adelsgeschlechter played significant roles in politics, military affairs, and culture. In modern German-speaking states, noble privilege ended with the abolition of legal nobility after World War I; titles survive as part of surnames, and some families retain historic estates and archives, while others continue mainly as part of cultural or genealogical heritage.

Examples of well-known Adelsgeschlechter include the houses Habsburg, Hohenzollern, Wettin, Wittelsbach, and Liechtenstein, among others. The concept remains important for historical studies, heraldry, and family history, even as contemporary societies treat nobility as a historical rather than a legal governing class.