Generalleutnant des Edlen Ordens des Heiligen Sergius für die ehemalige österreichisch-ungarische Monarchie
" Für den Kontakt mit Adligen aus den Ländern der ehemaligen österreichisch-ungarischen Monarchie wird eine Vertretung eingerichtet. "
13.8.2023: THE CULTURAL AND ACADEMIC PRESTIGE OF THE CULTURAL WORK OF THE CORPS OF THE NOBILITY OF CANTABRIA IS STRENGTHENING.
The Corps of the Nobility of Cantabria, through its Institute of Moral Sciences Pablo VI, develops a cultural, educational, academic, debate and thought activity of the highest level. Thus, the activities for the members and those awarded by our institution or the entrance speeches of the members of the Institute have been reaching remarkable academic excellence over time, we will soon publish a book with the compilation of the thoughts that our members have expressed in their speeches. admission to the Institute over the years. Our "publications" section will become a periodical edition on topics of heraldry, ethics, nobility or genealogy that will live up to the cultural prestige to which the institution aspires. The Conference on Ethics and Jurisprudence or the Conference on Ethics and Legislation have been a success for debate and sharing of ideas, a brilliant laboratory, the Basic Noble Law Master Course, with the priceless and disinterested help of the Hon. Santillana del Mar City Council, in its two editions, has guaranteed essential training for our members, the Master Course on values in the Habsburgs: Blessed Carlos of Austria, given by His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Carlos Felipe de Habsburgo-Lorena, approached history directly from its protagonists, the International Law Seminar of the Orders of Chivalry and the Seminar on the Regulation of Lordships reached surprising and innovative conclusions as a result of the research that the speakers carried out on the topics and the novelty of the Congresses International, where we hope to get the participation of young people, will undoubtedly be a pleasant intellectual surprise. All of this makes our Institute a reference cultural organization that is constantly being renewed, expanded, and that is already working on new exciting and surprising projects that we hope to be able to announce soon as a reality.
18.12.2022: "El señorío de la Ilustre Villa, Antigua Casa y Solar de Tejada"
(The Lordship of ancient and illustrious Village, Old House and Solar of Tejada)
The Lordship of ancient and illustrious Village, Old House and Solar of Tejada is the most ancient nobility title/institution in Spain.
This noble title was founded (according to the legend) in the year 844 by the hero of the Reconquista Sancho Fernández, a member of the Royal House of Asturias, who was also the Lieutenant of King Ramiro I of Asturias in the legendary Battle of Clavijo.
In the year 1460 the Henry IV, King of Castile confirmed the privileges of this ancient institution and its members who bear the title of “Señores Caballeros Diviseros”1). In this document of 1460 is mentioned a previous confirmation of the year 872 that specifies for the first time the foundation of the Lordship of Tejada and their privileges:
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the Lordship of Tejada would be inherited by the descendants of Sancho Fernández de Tejada until the end of times.
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All of them are recognized as noblemen and noblewomen,
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lords of their lands who would also have the right to bear the coat of arms as it is described in the confirmation of Henry IV of Castile.
1) An approximation of the meaning of this title is that of Feudal Lords related by blood who possess in equal measure rights over their lands but ruled by a council made of their own members.
Since that time all the descendants of Sancho Fernández de Tejada are inscribed in the famous "Libros Becerros" as Lords and then given the right to bear the coat of arms of Tejada.
The Solar de Tejada is located in Cameros, La Rioja surrounded by Pinillos, Almarza de Cameros, Muro de Cameros, Cabezón de Cameros and Laguna de Cameros. (Solar meaning primitive noble house or noble house of origin.)
Tejada has a size of 500 Hectares and has a house where the ceremonies of new Lords and Ladies are celebrated every October. Among them you can find the late Queen Consort Fabiola of Belgium, D. Froilán and Dña. Victoria de Marichalar y Borbón, nephew and niece of King Felipe VI of Spain, and many others.
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coat of arms of the Señorio de Solar de Tejada by Ilmo. Sr. D. Kreuz
coat of arms of the Señorio de Solar de Tejada
coat of arms of the Señorio de Solar de Tejada (1542)
Sancho Fernández de Tejada in Battle of Clavijo (5/23/844)
Concession of privileges 1491 for the Solar de Tejada signed by the Catholic Monarchs
Land of Tejada
Laguna de Cameros (near this village is located Casa Solar de Tejada)
the newly renovated Casa Solar de Tejada (where the annual meetings of the members of the Señorio de Solar de Tejada are held)
the newly renovated Casa Solar de Tejada
the interior of the Casa Solar de Tejada (where the annual meetings of the members of the Señorio are held)
an iron-doored place in the Casa Solar de Tejada where important Señorio de Solar de Tejada documents are kept
participants in the annual meeting of members of the Señorio de Solar de Tejada in front of Casa Solar de Tejada
3.10.2022: Castles in Cantabria (Ilmo. Sr. D. Stepanek) :
Castles and fortifications of the "castillo" type in Cantabria
Cantabria, a province and autonomous region of Spain with its capital, the port of Santander, has a rich history. Since the High Middle Ages, the royal power or the nobility built various types of fortifications here. Here we find mostly smaller fortresses - "torres" (defensive towers), however, we would also find several (6) more extensive fortifications of the "castillo" (castle) type:
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Castillo de Agüero. The Agüero Castle is a fortification at the junction of the fortress "torre" and the "castillo" located in Agüero, and served to defend this city. The fortification dates back to the 13th century and was built in the Gothic style. In the 14th century, the castle was modified. Since the time of Don Pedro González de Agüero, the castle belonged to the powerful Agüero family. Structurally it is a four-sided stable located in a meadow, with the corners protected by battlements. In reality, it looks more like a "torre", but its type is different from other "torres" in Cantabria, which is why this fortification is classified as a "castillo".
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Castillo de San Vicente de Argüeso, más conocido simplemente como Castillo de Argüeso (Argüeso Castle), is a medieval fortification of the Spanish community of the Hermandad de Campoo de Suso in southern Cantabria. It is located on top of an oval hill. On this oval hill near the town of Argüeso, a hermitage dedicated to San Vicente stood in the 9th century. The castle is characterized by its two towers. The right tower is believed to have been built in the 13th century and the left tower was built in the 14th century. In the 15th century, both towers were connected by a lower residential building. The castle belonged from the beginning to the powerful de la Vega family, and thanks to the marriage of Doña Leonor de la Vega with Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, it came to depend on another powerful family, the Mendoza family. In 1475 the noble title of Marquis of Argüeso was created.
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Castillo del Collao was a medieval castle that existed between the 8th and 12th centuries, located on the hill of El Collao near the town of Camargo. Not much of the castle has been preserved, only the foundations and lower parts of the walls of the entire complex are preserved. This fortification was the largest of its kind in Cantabria, its location allows you to have a great view of the bay of Santander.
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Castillo de Pedraja, (Castillo de Liencres o Castillo de Hércules), (Pedraja Castle) was a castle-type fortification located on the La Picota mountain, dominating the town of Liencres. The castle was probably founded by Don Garcilaso I de la Vega in the late 13th or early 14th century as part of the defense of the Señorío de la Vega. The existence of the castle is explicitly documented in 1403, when it became the administrative and judicial center of the Señorío de la Vega. The castle is considered the largest fortification in the eastern region of Asturias de Santillana. The castle now stands alone in the modest ruins of the castle walls. At present, the remains of the tower and the remains of the wall and the moat are preserved. The architecture of the castle is a transition between Romanesque and Gothic. The castle was surrounded by a moat 5m wide and 2m high, which protected a more or less square area. A rectangular tower protected the entrance to the castle grounds.
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Castillo de Santa Ana (Santa Ana Castle) is a fortress on a rocky promontory in the town of Castro-Urdiales. The castle building stands on a peninsula where there is the fortified church of Sta. Mª de la Asunción from the 13th century and at the same time also the ruins of an even older church (San Pedro from the 12th century). The castle has very good views of the sea, the port and the town of Castro-Urdiales. Due to this favorable location, in 1853 a lighthouse was built on the castle. The castle building has a pentagonal plan with cylindrical corner towers 15 meters high. It is one of the best preserved castles not only in Cantabria, but in all of northern Spain.
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Castillo de San Vicente (San Vicente Castle), also known as Castillo Real (the Royal Castle, the castle is a royal foundation), is located in the municipality of San Vicente de la Barquera. It is believed that the first castle in this place must have been built by King Alfonso I of Asturias. However, its current walls are later, from the 13th century. The castle was part of the defensive system of the city of San Vicente de la Barquera, it was connected to the city walls. Currently, the castle serves as a museum and as a venue for holding exhibitions. The castle itself is located on a rocky hill. The general shape of the castle is elongated, with more than 50 m long and about 20 m wide. The castle has two towers: one with a square plan in the east and another in the form of a pentagon in the west. The two towers are connected by a central building.
Castillo de Agüero
Castillo de Argüeso
Castillo de Argüeso
Castillo del Collao
Castillo de Pedraja
Castillo de Santa Ana (Castro-Urdiales)
Castillo de Santa Ana (Castro-Urdiales)
Castillo de San Vicente (San Vicente de la Barquera)
Castillo de San Vicente (San Vicente de la Barquera)
An article (original is in Czech language) about His Imperial and Royal Highness - Carlos Felipe de Habsburgo-Lorena y Arenberg written on the Czech portal iDnes.cz by JUDr. Ladislav Kolačkovský:
Carlos Felipe Habsburg, grandson of the last Emperor Charles I - "Ibero-American" branch of the family
30. 04. 2022 22:11:09, Autor: Ladislav Kolačkovský
An interesting personality of the Habsburg family is the cousin of Charles Habsburg and grandson of Blessed Charles I, who is the son of the late Felix Habsburg-Lothringen (Otta's younger brother) Carlos Felipe Habsburgo-Lorena y Arenberg.
In the last few days, Karl Habsburg-Lothringen visited Prague and took part in the mass in the Church of Our Lady before Týn in Prague and the mass in the Cathedral of St. Vitus to Prague Castle associated with the burial of the remains of Bl. Charles I, the last emperor of Austria-Hungary and king of Bohemia.
Karl is the best-known representative of the Habsburg-Lothringen family here, certainly because he is the eldest son of the late Otto Habsburg-Lothringen, whose titles were Kaiserlicher Prinz, Erzherzog von (zu) Österreich, Königlicher Prinz von Ungarn. From 1930 until the end of 2006, Otto was the head of the House of Habsburg-Lothringen (and the "Habsburg Archdom", which ceased to exist in 1919) and on 31.5.1961 he renounced in writing any claims to power and pledged allegiance to the Republic of Austria as its loyal citizen . After his death in 2007, it was Karl who took over the role of head of the family.
However, other direct male and female descendants of the last emperor Charles I live abroad. An interesting personality is the cousin of Bl. Charles I and the grandson of Bl. Charles I, the only son of the deceased Archduke Felix Habsburg-Lothringen (Otta's younger brother) Don Carlos Felipe Habsburgo-Lorena y Arenberg. I am writing his last name in the Spanish language because Archduke Karel Filip was born in Mexico City in 1954. His father Archduke Felix lived here after World War II, worked here as a successful businessman in Mexico and Belgium, and also died in Mexico in 2011, he is buried in Switzerland.
It is interesting that Archduke Felix, unlike his brother Otto, never gave up his claim to power and throughout his life refused to declare allegiance to the Republic of Austria. Only in 1996 did he conclude an agreement with the Austrian government, the subject of which, however, was not the renunciation of the right to power (figuratively, the throne).
His son Don Carlos Felipe studied business and finance at universities in Mexico and Spain. Subsequently, he worked in Vienna, Bonn and Montreal in the field of finance. He is the president of Habsburg Financial Services (the company that manages the family assets of the Habsburgs). He speaks several languages fluently. He is married to Mrs. Annie-Claire Lacrambe, who shares a job with her husband in finance and comes from France. He has two sons, Don Julián Lorenzo and Don Luis Damián. The couple lives alternately in Europe and Mexico and can rightfully be called global citizens, thanks to their language skills, perspective and frequent travel and living on different continents.
So much for the "Ibero-American" branch of the House of Habsburg-Lothringen and Archduke Karl Philip, grandson of the last emperor Bl. Charles I.
source: https://kolackovsky.blog.idnes.cz/blog/blog.aspx?c=786750&x=socialky_facebook_c
An article (original is in Czech language) about the knights of the famous and ancient Spanish Order of St. James (Orden de Santiago)in Prague, written on the Czech portal iDnes.cz by a writer and well-known Czech lawyer JUDr. Ladislav Kolačkovský:
Knights of St. James in Prague – Los caballeros de Santiago en Praga
8. 01. 2022 23:39:17, Autor: Ladislav Kolačkovský
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spanish knights of the little-known chivalric Order of St. James - caballeros de Santiago. They had red St. James crosses on their black coats and were a bridge between Madrid and Prague.
With the election of Ferdinand I Habsburg as King of Bohemia, the Hispanic influence also comes to our region. King Ferdinand I was a native Spaniard and Castilian was his mother language. Our lands become part of the Habsburg possessions in the broadest sense of the word from Prague to the New World. After all, the king's brother was Emperor Charles V, and his maternal grandparents were Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, at whose court he was brought up and considered Spain his native land. The Spanish influence on our country continued even under his son King Maximilian II. The Spaniards came to the Central European area mainly as part of the royal court. Under King Ferdinand I, they were still members of the lower nobility from the Iberian Peninsula, under King Maximilian II. they were already members of really important noble families, such as the supreme court mistress of Maria Habsburg - Maria Manrique de Lara (namesake of court lady Marie Manrique, later wife of Vratislav of Pernštejn), thanks to the prestige of the Bohemian royal title, which the married couple had held since 1549.[ 1] The numbers of Spanish courtiers may not seem high at first glance[2], but they enjoyed greater trust from the monarch and occupied more influential positions and were also the subject of the monarch's marriage policy, who tried to connect the personal and family ties of his courtiers and the nobility from Central Europe. where the future Habsburg state was born. They then promoted his interests and policies.
Among the mentioned courtiers from the Iberian Peninsula were also members of chivalric orders, which were then unknown or perhaps only marginally known in our country. These were mainly knights of the Order of St. James - Orden de Santiago. At the same time, the Orden de Santiago belonged to the largest, best-known, and most prestigious chivalric orders that arose on the Iberian Peninsula in the 12th century (founded in 1170 by the King of Leon, Ferdinand II). The patron of the order was St. James the Elder, the symbol of the order is the red cross of St. James on a white field, was created as a religious and military community for the purpose of fighting Muslim troops during the times of the so-called reconquista, i.e. the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the hands of Muslim states. Knights took part in practically all battles with Muslims in the Middle Ages. Gradually, the Order spread to the territory of the Kingdom of León, Castilla, Aragón and Portugal. Order owned castles and lots of other real estate. It was headed by the Grand Master and the Council of Thirteen (Gran Maestre y trecenazgo). At the end of the Reconquista, the original purpose of the Order disappears, and under Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, the function of Grand Master of the Order passes to the Spanish Crown. The King of Spain is also the Gran Maestre de la Orden de Santiago, as stipulated by the bull of Pope Alexander VI. The Order was incorporated into the Spanish crown with its extensive property and all property revenues. The Catholic kings thus partly compensated for their literally astronomical costs of war and the conquest of Granada, the last bastion of Muslim rulers in Spain.[3]
In the 16th and 17th centuries, membership in this elite order was the goal of many noble men. It was very demanding, because they had to prove the Christian-Catholic faith of their ancestors, an impeccable aristocratic origin, merits for the Catholic faith and the Church and the royal house, and last but not least, that the source of their income is not obtained by manual labor. Therefore, they then wore with due pride the red cross of St. James on their black clothing, it was an outward sign of the elite among the Spanish nobility.
In our country we can also see figures of knights with the cross of St. James on paintings and tombstones.
These are mainly epitaphs in the Cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague. Tombstone of Don Luis de Tobar von Enzesfeld (+ 1553/1554) in the nave of the cathedral. D. Luis de Tobar (also referred to as Tovar) was the court master of the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol. The tombstone is made of red marble and is very well made, the deceased kneels on it and prays in front of the cross and has the cross of St. James on his armour. D. Luis was born around 1503 in the Castilian town of Roa in the province of Burgos. His parents were Álvaro de Sosa and Anna Tobar, his grandparents were Luis de Vaca and Blanca de Sosa. The Sosa family was a Portuguese noble family and the Vaca family was Spanish. From a young age he served Ferdinand I at the Castilian court, then came to Vienna and Prague with his court. In 1533, Luis becomes a knight of the Order of St. James. After making a trip to Spain in order to take over this order, in February 1534 he married Susan Ottwein von Freienwald (about 1510 – 1588), originally from a Silesian noble family, in Prague. Susan was a lady-in-waiting to Ferdinand's wife Anna, and later, as a widow, she worked between 1560 and 1566 in the position of chief court mistress of the emperor's daughter in Innsbruck. On February 4, 1537, Luis de Tobar received the Enzesfeld estate and castle in Lower Austria as a pledge from Ferdinand I. In 1544, Luis reached the pinnacle of his career when he became hofmeister to Ferdinand's son, Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, at his court in Prague. In 1546, Tobar received the imperial noble title of the lord (baron/Freiherr) in Regensburg, and in the fall of 1547, he obtained the Kašperk castle in Bohemia as a pledge. In addition to the office of the supreme hofmeister of Ferdinand of Tyrol, he also served until 1549 as a court councilor in Vienna. Tobar died on March 5, 1553 in Prague. He was buried in the Cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague Castle.[4] His son Luis II. de Tobar contributed to the rebuilding of the Milotice castle in Moravia.
Furthermore, we can in the cathedral of St. Vitus to see the epitaph of the baron/Freiherr Bernardo Menesio de Toledo, in the southern wing of the transept, opposite the western entrance to the chapel of St. Wenceslas. This is an extremely artistically valuable, magnificent tombstone depicting the nobility and grace of the late Spanish nobleman (1526-1564). Don Menesio was also a courtier of Emperor Ferdinand I and Maximilian II, he came with Archduke Ferdinand to Bohemia and held the office of imperial butler. We know far less about him than about Luis de Tobar. He married the Hungarian noblewoman Catharine Dersfi, with whom he had daughters Catharine, Gasparína and Elisabeth. The deceased is shown leaning against a column with a helmet in armor with a distinct cross of St. James on his chest.[5]
In conclusion, it should be mentioned that the Knights of St. James appear in Prague even in later times. The most famous was probably the Spanish ambassador D. Guillermo de San Clemente y Centellas, who served in the Spanish fleet and from 1581 worked as an ambassador in Prague. He died in Prague in 1608 and was briefly buried in the church of St. Thomas in Prague, which served as a kind of parish church of the Spanish embassy and the Spanish community in the then capital of the kingdom. Later, his remains were taken to his native land. Knight of the Order of St. James became in 1589, together with Wolfgang Rumpf of Wielross, the highest court chamberlain of the emperor.
These caballeros de Santiago were the bolts between Madrid and Prague and mediated the cultural and spiritual exchange between the Hispanic world and our countries.
[1] In particular, it was necessary to change the court of the Infanta Maria Habsburg, which was composed mainly of Spanish women, in contrast to the court of her husband Maximilian. The composition of the court was discussed, many Spaniards refused to go to the Danube region, our country had a stereotypical reputation in the Roman world at the beginning of the modern age as an inhospitable, cold and mostly heretical country, inhabited by not very civilized rude people,
Pavel MAREK, Pernštejnské ženy. Maria Manrique de Lara and her daughter in the service of the Habsburg dynasty, Prague,. Lidové noviny Publishing House 2018, p.26
[2] Under Ferdinand I it was about 5% of all courtiers, at Marie's court it was already about 27%, Pavel MAREK, Pernštejnské ženy. Maria Manrique de Lara and her daughter in the service of the Habsburg dynasty, Prague,. Publishing house Lidové noviny 2018, page 42
[3] Today, Philip VI is the honorary grand master. and it is an honor bestowed by the sovereign. He is the Gran Maestre de las Órdenes de Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara y Montesa and for that title awards the Premio Órdenes Españolas. The Order itself is a civic association. https://www.larazon.es/espana/felipe-vi-nuestras-ordenes-son-expresion-historica-de-la-diversidad-NI18452852/
[4] Korotin, Ilse (Eds.): Lexikon österreichischer Frauen. Wien 2016, pp. 3314–3316
Pavel ŠTĚPÁNEK Chapters from the history of Czech-Spanish cultural contacts and relations Prague, Karolinum 2018, pp. 142-143
Pavel MAREK, Pernštejnské ženy. Maria Manrique de Lara and her daughter in the service of the Habsburg dynasty, Prague,. Lidové noviny Publishing House 2018, pp. 37-38
Testimonios sobre las Ordenes de Caballería españolas en Austria y estados vecinos. 3441371. HYE, Franz-Heinz von, 2005, in La España Medieval, 1993, 16, pp. 169-172
[5] Pavel MAREK, Pernštejn ženy. Maria Manrique de Lara and her daughter in the service of the Habsburg dynasty, Prague,. Lidové noviny Publishing House 2018, p. 37
Pavel ŠTĚPÁNEK Chapters from the history of Czech-Spanish cultural contacts and relations Prague, Karolinum 2018, pp.141-142
source: https://kolackovsky.blog.idnes.cz/blog.aspx?c=781484
His Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduke Charles Philipp of Habsburg-Lorraine (in Spain: Su Alteza Imperial y Real Don Carlos Felipe de Habsburgo-Lorena) and His Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduchess Annie-Claire of Habsburg-Lorraine (in Spain: Su Alteza Imperial y Real Doña Annie-Claire de Habsburgo-Lorena)
HIRH Archduke Charles Philipp and his wife HIRH Archduchess Annie-Claire befor the Castle of Chapultepec in Mexico City
His Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduke Charles Philipp of Habsburg-Lorraine (spain: Carlos Felipe María Otón Lucas Marcos de Aviano Melchor de Habsburgo-Lorena y Arenberg), Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Duke of Lorraine, etc., is second child and first male of His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Felix of Habsburg-Lorraine and Princess and Duchess Anna-Eugenia of Arenberg.
By paternal line, HIRH Charles Philipp is the grandson of Blessed Charles I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, etc. (he was beatified in Rome by the Pope John Paul II himself on October 3, 2004) and of Empress Zita and great-great-nephew of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and Empress Carlota, and of Emperor Francis Josef I of Austria and the Empress Elisabeth („Sisi“).
/The Emperor, Blessed Charles I (1887-1922) is widely remembered for his fight for peace during the World War I. It is also known that during the time of worst famine he had all the court horses killed to feed the people of Vienna and to give pieces of firewood for carriages and furniture so that the people could warm themselves during the winter./
The Archduke’s academic background consists of a Bachelor in International Relations (1973-1975), El Colegio de México, Mexico City, Mexico; a Bachelor of Business Administration (1975-1978), Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico; a Master of Business Administration (1978-1980), from the prestigious Jesuit insitution Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas, Barcelona, Spain, and a Diploma Financial Derivatives (2011-2012), Mexico City, Mexico.
The Archduke worked at AWT Internationale Handels and Finanzierung A.G., Vienna, Austria from 1988 to 1990, was a Delegate of the Foreign Trade Bank (BANCOMEXT) in Vienna, Bonn, and Montréal and is currently President of Habsburg Financial Services, a wealth management firm.
The Archduke is fluent in several languages such as Spanish, German, French, English and Catalan, besides understanding several other European languages. In addition, his great taste for music has also led him to be a member of the Board of Trustees of the Music Festival of Morelia, over which he has presided since March 2012.
The Archduke and his first wife Martina, neé Donath have one child:
HIRH Julián Lorenzo Pedro de Habsburgo-Lorraine (born May 29, 1994 in Montréal)
and with his second wife HIRH Annie-Claire Andree Christine, neé Lacrambe (got married on May 12, 1998 in the Cathedral of Seville) have also one child:
HIRH Louis-Damien Henri Maria Marcos d'Aviano Melchor de Habsburgo-Lorraine (born September 23, 1998 in Montréal).
The Archduke is an intellectual and aficionado of the history of the House of Austria and his family traditions which has led him to give numerous lectures about his uncle, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, along with the European branches of his family. Moreover, he delivers conferences around the world on financial derivatives and asset management using derivative or structured financial products.
His Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduchess Annie-Claire Andree Christine of Habsburg-Lorraine (neé Lacrambe)
The Archduchess was born in Pau, France, on February 15, 1959, she was the first daughter of Dr. Henri Lacrambe, general practitioner of the French armed forces, knight of the Legion of Honor and officer of the National Order of Merit, veteran of the Algerian War of Independence, and Fanny Pruvost de Montrichard.
The Archduchess studied management at the Pau School of Commerce, in her hometown. She moved to Mexico for professional reasons in the 1980s, where, among other positions, she served as a professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana and deputy director of the business school at Universidad Anáhuac, both in Mexico City.
The Archduchess was Director of international and industrial logistics projects, member of the Board of Directors, vice president and General Secretary of the Franco-Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Industry; She is Chancellor of the Mexican Association of the Order of Malta in Mexico and commercial attaché of the National Bank of Foreign Trade (Mexico) (BANCOMEXT) in Montreal, Canada. She currently accompanies her husband in different events representing the Habsburg family, and as a delegate in Mexico of the Prayer League of Blessed Carlos of Austria for peace between the Nations.
father of HIRH Archduke Charles Philipp of Habsburg-Lorraine
His Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduke Felix Frederick Augustus of Habsburg-Lorraine, Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, etc.
His Imperial and Royal Highness, Archduke Felix Frederick Augustus of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Felix Friedrich August Maria vom Siege Franz Joseph Peter Karl Anton Robert Otto Pius Michael Benedikt Sebastian Ignatius Marcus d'Aviano), Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, etc. (31 May 1916 – 6 September 2011), and great-nephew of the Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico (1832-1867).
His father was the Blessed Charles I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, etc., the last Emperor of Austria (1887-1922).
The Archduke Felix was only three years old when the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire occurred, which would lead his family into exile, first in Switzerland and Madeira (Portugal), where his father died (1.4.1922), and then in Belgium.
Later he lived in the United States and Mexico. Unlike his brother the Crown Prince Otto, (who died on July 4, 2011 in Bavaria, Germany), the Archduke Felix of Habsburg-Lorraine never renounced his rights to the Austrian throne (!)
As a result of this refusal, he was never able to obtain permission to return to his country, except for a brief three-day stay in 1989 to attend the funeral of his mother, Empress Zita.
Later, in 1996, when the European Union freed its borders, he was able to enter illegally from Germany. On that occasion, he gave a press conference, for which the Austrian government warned him that if he illegally re-entered the country he would be persecuted (!)
Finally, an agreement was reached between the Archduke Felix, his brother the Archduke Charles Lewis, and the Austrian government, in which declared loyalty to the Republic without referring to his rights to the throne and his membership in the imperial family.
During his stay in the United States, the Archduke Felix served as an advisor to President F. D. Roosevelt to try to counter the influence of the Nazis in the Austrian Army and as an expert on the Tyrolean region (the Nazis had blacklisted the Habsburgs and condemned to dead).
In 1942 he joined the US Army in a special Austrian battalion that was disbanded shortly thereafter.
At the end of the 1940s, the Archduke Felix arrived in Mexico where he would stay permanently. He married the Belgian Princess and Duchess Anna-Eugenia of Arenberg in 1952 and had seven children:
Archduchess María del Pilar, Archduke Carlos Felipe, Archduchess Kinga Barbara, Archduke Raimundo, Archduchess Myriam, Archduke Esteban and Archduchess Viridis.
The Archduke Felix, who liked to visit the Castle of Chapultepec (Mexico City), died at the age of 95, in his house in the San Ángel neighborhood.
great Coat of Arms of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Blessed Charles I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, etc.
ancestors of HIRH Archduke Charles Philipp of Habsburg-Lorraine
short video dedicated to the life of Emperor Charles I (by Back to History):
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HIRH Archduke Martin of Austria-Este, Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Modena
HIRH Archduke Martin of Austria-Este, Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Modena, (full name in Italy: Carlo Amedeo Maria, Arciduca d’Austria Este, Principe Imperiale d’Austria, Principe Reale d’Ungheria e Boemia, Principe di Modena), (*Boulogne-sur-Seine on 21 December 1959)
HIRH Archduke Martin of Austria-Este has four siblings:
Archduchess Maria Beatrice (*11 December 1954), who married on 26 April 1980 in Chartres Count Riprand of Arco-Zinneberg
Archduke Lorenz (*16 December 1955), who married on 22 September 1984 at Brussels, Princess Astrid of Belgium (*1962), daughter of King Albert II of the Belgians
Archduke Gerhard (*30 October 1957), who wed in 2015 Iris Jandrasits (born 1961)
Archduchess Isabella (*2 March 1963), who wed Count Andrea Czarnocki-Lucheschi
On May 10, 2004 in Birstein, (Germany) HIRH Archduke Martin of Austria-Este married Princess Katharina Elisabeth Helene of Isenburg-Birstein (*1971, daughter of HRH Franz Alexander 6th Prince of Isenburg and Princess Christine, née Countess of Saurma-Jeltsch) and they have four children:
HIRH Bartolomeo Carlo Roberto, Archduke of Austria-Este, Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Modena, (*Pavia on 27 July 2006)
HIRH Emmanuele Achatius Francesco Alessandro Archduke of Austria-Este, Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Modena, (*Pavia on February 15, 2008)
HIRH Elena, Archduchess of Austria-Este, Imperial Princess of Austria, Royal Princess of Hungary and Bohemia, Princess of Modena, (*Pavia on 13 July 2009)
HIRH Luigi Amedeo Taddeo, Archduke of Austria-Este, Imperial Prince of Austria, Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince of Modena, (*Pavia on February 12, 2011)
Archduchess Katharina Elisabeth Helene of Austria-Este has two sister and two brothers:
Princess Sophie Johanna Maria of Isenburg-Birstein (*1978), who married in 2011 Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, head of the House of Hohenzollern
Isabelle, Dowager Princess of Wied
Prince Alexander of Isenburg-Birstein
Prince Viktor of Isenburg-Birstein
great coat of arms of the House of Austria-Este
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico
The Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico (born with full name - German: Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen, Spanish: Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena; *6 July 1832, Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria, +19 June 1867, Cerro de las Campanas, Mexico )
His father was Archduke Franz Karl (1802-1878), the second surviving son of the last Holy Roman Emperor and the first Austrian Emperor - Francis I (1768-1835), during whose reign he was born. Maximilian was thus a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a female-line cadet branch of the House of Habsburg. His mother was Princess Sophie of Bavaria (1805-1872), a member of the House of Wittelsbach.
Archduke Maximilian was a particularly clever boy who displayed considerable culture in his taste for the arts, and he demonstrated an early interest in science, especially botany. When he entered military service, he was trained in the Imperial Austrian Navy. He threw himself into this career with so much zeal that he quickly rose to high command.
He was made a lieutenant in the navy at the age of eighteen. In 1854, he sailed as commander in the corvette Minerva, on an exploring expedition along the coast of Albania and Dalmatia. Archduke Maximilian was especially interested in maritime matters and undertook many long-distance journeys (for Brazil) on the frigate Elisabeth. In 1854, when he was only 22 years old—as a younger brother of the emperor, and thus a member of the ruling family—he was appointed as commander-in-chief of the Imperial Austrian Navy (1854–1861), which he reorganized in the following years. Archduke Maximilian had a keen personal interest in the fleet, and with him the Austrian naval force gained an influential supporter from the ranks of the imperial family. This was crucial, as sea power had never been a priority of Austrian foreign policy, and the navy itself was relatively little known or supported by the public. It was only able to draw significant public attention and funds when it was actively supported by an imperial prince. As commander-in-chief, Archduke Maximilian carried out many reforms to modernise the naval forces, and was instrumental in creating the naval port at Trieste and Pula, as well as the battle fleet with which Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff (1827-1871) would later secure his victories. He also initiated a large-scale scientific expedition (1857–1859) during which the frigate SMS Novara became the first Austrian warship to circumnavigate the globe.
Archduke Maximilian was very much influenced by the progressive ideas in vogue at the time. He had a reputation as a liberal, and this was one of several considerations leading to his appointment as viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia in February 1857. His brother Emperor Franz Joseph I had decided on the need to replace the elderly field marschal Count Josef Václav Radecký of Radče (1766-1858), to divert growing discontent amongst the Italian population through token liberalization, and to encourage a degree of personal loyalty to the Habsburg dynasty.
On 27 July 1857, in Brussels, Archduke Maximilian married his second cousin Charlotte, the daughter of the King Leopold I of Belgium and Louise of Orléans. They lived in Milan, the capital of Lombardy-Venetia, from 1857 until 1859, when Emperor Franz Joseph I, angered by his brother's liberal policies, dismissed him. Shortly after, Austria lost control of most of its Italian possessions. Archduke Maximilian then retired to Trieste, near which he built Miramare Castle. At the same time, the couple acquired a converted monastery on the island of Lokrum as a holiday residence. Both estates had extensive gardens, reflecting Maximilian's horticultural interests.
Mexico
In 1859, Archduke Maximilian was first approached by Mexican monarchists—members of the Mexican nobility, led by José Pablo Martínez del Río—with a proposal to become the emperor of Mexico. The Habsburg family had ruled the Viceroyalty of New Spain from its establishment until the Spanish throne was inherited by the Bourbons. Archduke Maximilian was considered to have more potential legitimacy than other royal figures, and was unlikely to ever rule in Europe due to his elder brother.
On 20 October 1861 in Paris, Archduke Maximilian received a letter from Gutierrez de Estrada asking him to take the Mexican throne. He did not accept at first, but sought to satisfy his restless desire for adventure with a botanical expedition to the tropical forests of Brazil. However, Archduke Maximilian changed his mind after the French intervention in Mexico. At the invitation of the French Emperor Napoleon III, after General Élie-Frédéric Forey's capture of Mexico City and a French-organized plebiscite that confirmed the proclamation of the empire, Archduke Maximilian consented to accept the crown in October 1863. On 9 April 1864 Archduke Maximilian met with his brother Emperor Francis Joseph I at Miramare Castle to sign a "Family Pact". In this document Archduke Maximilian renounced any rights to the Austrian throne or as an Archduke of Austria. This renunciation followed an extended period of negotiations between the two brothers and was agreed to by Archduke Maximilian with reluctance. On 10 April 1864 Archduke Maximilian officially accepted the crown of the Mexican throne.
Archduke Maximilian traveled to Mexico from Trieste aboard SMS Novara, escorted by the frigates SMS Bellona (Austrian) and Thémis (French), and the Imperial yacht Phantasie led the warship procession from his palace at Miramare out to sea. They received a blessing from Pope Pius IX, and Queen Victoria ordered the Gibraltar garrison to fire a salute for Maximilian's passing ship.
Archduke Maximilian, now as Maximilian I , emperor of Mexico, landed at Veracruz on 29 May 1864, and received a cold reception from the townspeople. Veracruz was a liberal town, and the liberal voters were opposed to having Archduke Maximilian on the throne. There was continuous fighting between the French expeditionary forces (who were supplemented by Maximilian's recruited imperial troops, also from Austrian Empire) on one side and the Mexican Republicans led by President Benito Juárez on the other.
The imperial couple chose as their seat Mexico City. The emperor and empress set up their residence at Chapultepec Castle, located on the top of a hill formerly on the outskirts of Mexico City that had been a retreat of Aztec emperors. Emperor Maximilian I ordered a wide avenue cut through the city from Chapultepec to the city center named Paseo de Chapultepec or Paseo de la Emperatriz. The royal couple made plans to be crowned at the Catedral Metropolitana, but due to the constant instability of the regime, the coronation was never carried out.
To the dismay of his conservative allies, Emperor Maximilian I upheld several liberal policies proposed by the Juárez administration, such as land reforms, religious freedom, and extending the right to vote beyond the landholding classes. At first, Emperor Maximilian I offered Juárez an amnesty if he would swear allegiance to the crown, even offering him the post of prime minister, which Juárez refused.
After the end of the American Civil War, President of the USA Andrew Johnson invoked the Monroe Doctrine and recognized the Juarez government as the legitimate government of Mexico. The United States applied increasing diplomatic pressure to persuade French Emperor Napoleon III to end French support of Emperor Maximilian I and to withdraw French troops from Mexico. USA began supplying partisans of Juárez and his ally Porfirio Díaz by "losing" arms depots to them at El Paso del Norte at the Mexican border. The prospect of an American invasion to reinstate Juárez caused a large number of Emperor Maximilian's loyal adherents to abandon his cause and leave the capital.
Emperor Maximilian I invited ex-Confederates to move to Mexico in a series of settlements called the "Carlota Colony" and the New Virginia Colony, with a dozen others being considered, a plan conceived by the internationally renowned U.S. Navy oceanographer and inventor Matthew Fontaine Maury. Emperor Maximilian I also invited settlers from "any country", including Austria and the other German states.
In 1866, the imminence of the Emperor Maximilian's abdication seemed apparent to almost everyone outside Mexico. That year, French Emperor Napoleon III withdrew his troops in the face of Mexican resistance and U.S. opposition under the Monroe Doctrine, as well as to strengthen his forces at home to face the ever-growing Prussian military and von Bismarck. Empress Charlotte travelled to Europe, seeking assistance for her husband's regime in Paris and Vienna and, finally, in Rome from Pope Pius IX. Her efforts failed, and she suffered a deep emotional collapse and never went back to Mexico.
Though urged to abandon Mexico by French Emperor Napoleon III himself, whose troop withdrawal from Mexico was a great blow to the Mexican Imperial cause, Emperor Maximilian I was reluctant to desert his followers. Uncertain as to his future course of action, Emperor Maximilian I allowed a conference of twenty-three of his supporters to vote against his abdication. Faithful generals such as Miguel Miramón, Leonardo Márquez, and Tomás Mejía vowed to raise an army that would challenge the invading Republicans. Emperor Maximilian I fought on with his army of 8,000 Mexican loyalists. Withdrawing, in February 1867, to Santiago de Querétaro, he sustained a siege for several weeks, but on 11 May resolved to attempt an escape through the enemy lines. This plan was sabotaged by Colonel Miguel López who secretly agreed with the Republican General Escobedo to open a gate and lead a raiding party to seize the Imperial headquarters. López appears to have assumed that Emperor Maximilian I would be allowed to escape.
Santiago de Querétaro fell on 15 May 1867 and Emperor Maximilian I was captured the next morning after the failure of an attempt to escape through Republican lines by a loyal hussar cavalry brigade led by the Prince Felix of Salm-Salm. Following a court-martial, he was sentenced to death. A number of the crowned heads of Europe and other prominent figures (including the eminent liberals Victor Hugo and Giuseppe Garibaldi) sent telegrams and letters to Mexico requesting that the Emperor's life be spared.
Although he liked Emperor Maximilian I on a personal level, Juárez refused to commute the sentence in view of the Mexicans who had been killed fighting against Maximilian's forces, and because he believed it was necessary to send a message that Mexico would not tolerate any government imposed by foreign powers. Prince Felix of Salm-Salm and his wife masterminded a plan and bribed the jailors to allow Emperor Maximilian I to escape execution. However, Emperor Maximilian I would not go through with the plan because he felt that shaving his beard to avoid recognition would ruin his dignity if he were to be recaptured.
The sentence was carried out in the Cerro de las Campanas at 6:40 a.m. on the morning of 19 June 1867, when Emperor Maximilian I, along with Generals Miramón and Mejía, was executed by a firing squad. He spoke only in Spanish and gave each of his executioners a gold coin not to shoot him in the head so that his mother could see his face. His last words were spoken in Spanish: „Mexicanos! Muero por la causa de México. No dejen que nadie pise sus ideales, ni sus derechos más sagrados. Espero que la sangre de este mexicano sea la última que se derrame. Viva México!" ("I forgive everyone, and I ask everyone to forgive me. May my blood, which is about to be shed, be for the good of the country. Viva México! ").
After his execution, body of Emperor Maximilian I was embalmed and displayed in Mexico. Early the following year, the Austrian admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff was sent to Mexico aboard SMS Novara to take the former emperor's body back to Austria. After arriving in Trieste, the coffin was taken to Vienna and placed within the Imperial Crypt, on 18 January 1868. The Emperor Maximilian Memorial Chapel was constructed on the hill where his execution took place in 1901.
Emperor of Austria Francis Joseph I (sitting) with his brothers (including Maximilian), 1863
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and his wife Empress Charlotte
Mexican delegation offers the Mexican throne to the Archduke Maximilian of Austria in Miramare Castle by Cesare Dell'Acqua (1867)
portrait of the Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, 1864
portrait of the Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico
CoA of the Second Mexican Empire (1864-1867)
official flag of the Second Mexican Empire (1864-1867)
official personal flag of the Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico (1864-1867)
postage stamp from the time of government of the Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico
map of the Second Mexican Empire (1864-1867)
Miramare Castle by Trieste in Italy (ca 1915)
Miramare Castle by Trieste in Italy
Mexico City, Chapultepec Castle, (ca 1885)
Mexico City, Chapultepec Castle
Mexico City, Chapultepec Castle at night
Execution of the Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico with gen. Miramón and Mejía, June 19, 1867, by Edouard Manet, painted 1868
Embarkation of the body of the late Emperor Maximilian I at Vera Cruz, Mexico by frigate Novara, in The Illustrated London News, 11.1.1868
tomb of the Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico in Vienna
castle and the town of Hardegg in Austria, in the castle is the museum of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.
The castle was owned by Prince Johann Karl Khevenhüller-Metsch (1839-1905). In 1864 he became a member of the corps of Austrian volunteers in Mexico. After the departure of the majority army of the French in 1866, Khevenhüller remained and was appointed commander of a cavalry regiment of 800 men, called the "Red Hussars". He served emperor until the tragic end of his reign. He witnessed unsuccessful negotiations with President Juárez. When the emperor was executed, it was Khevenhüller who hoisted a white flag on the citadel. He was captured by the insurgents and negotiated with General Porfirio Diaz for the free departure of his regiment.
He escorted the emperor's coffin back to Austria.
He kept a diary throughout his stay in Mexico.
/article in czech:/
Kantábrie a „Cuerpo de la Nobleza de Cantabria“
/Kantábrie a „Šlechtický sbor Kantábrie“/
Víte, že v České republice existuje „pobočka“ Španělské šlechtické instituce?
V roce 2020 byl do České republiky uveden „Cuerpo de la Nobleza de Cantabria“ neboli „Šlechtický sbor Kantábrie“, resp. generální místodržitelství („General Lieutenancy“) šlechtického Řádu svatého Sergia („Orden Nobiliaria de San Sergio“), který je s tímto šlechtickým sborem neoddělitelně spjatý.
trocha zeměpisu a dějepisu
Kantábrie též Kantabrie (španělsky Cantabria) je provincie a současně jedno ze 17 autonomních společenství, rozkládající se na severu Španělska při pobřeží Biskajského zálivu. Metropolí tohoto hornatého regionu, je přístavní město Santander, přičemž populace tohoto regionu čítá přibližně 600 tisíc obyvatel.
Na východě Kantábrie sousedí s Baskickem (provincie Vizcaya), na jihu s Kastilií a Leónem (provincie León, Palencia, a Burgos), na západě s Asturií, a na severu s Biskajským zálivem (zde označovaným jako Kantaberské moře).
Kantábrie je nepřetržitě osídlena již 65 000 let. Kantábrijci jsou dokumentováni již v dílech starověkých Řeků a Římanů. Historie Kantábrie je však mnohem starší, sahající do pravěku. Asi nejznámější jsou malby v jeskyni Altmamira v Santillana del Mar malované člověkem již 13 000 let před n.l., které jsou známé po celém světě jako mistrovské dílo prehistorického umění.
V roce 711 n.l., po muslimské invazi do Španělska, se vizigótští králové a jejich šlechtici uchýlili do Asturie a Kantábrie, jejichž vysoké hory bránily v obsazování Maury. Odtamtud začalo opětovné dobytí Španělska, tzv. reconquista. Tato situace zapříčinila, že vizigótská křesťanská šlechta v Kantábirii tvořila až 80% obyvatelstva regionu (průměr ve zbytku Španělska nedosahuje ani 1%), a mnoho z nich má potomky mezi současnými Kantábrijci.
založení Šlechtického sboru Kantábrie
Navzdory výše uvedeným skutečnostem v Kantábrii neexistoval žádný šlechtický sbor, jako tomu bylo např. v sousední Asturii (Cuerpo de la Nobleza del Principado de Asturias, tj. Šlechtický sbor knížectví Asturie), proto byl dne 29. listopadu 2017 založen Šlechtický sbor Kantábrie (Cuerpo de la Nobleza de Cantabria), který má, mimo jiné aktivity, za cíl sdružovat šlechtice v tomto regionu.
co jsou to šlechtické sbory ve Španělsku a k čemu slouží?
Šlechtické sbory jsou soukromé instituce, jejichž cílem je, mimo jiné, akreditovat šlechtický stav u osob, které jsou do sboru přijaty. To znamená, že přijetí do šlechtického sboru potvrzuje šlechtictví přijatého, neboli, jedná se o osvědčení, které akredituje vůči ostatním šlechtický stav přijatých.
Ve Španělsku tuto funkci po staletí plnila Královská kancléřství (La Real Chancillería de Granada, Real Audiencia y Chancillería de Valladolid), což byly královské soudy, které rozhodovaly o tom, kdo je šlechticem a kdo ne. To, že byl dotyčný uznán šlechticem, mělo význam nejen kvůli jeho společenskému uznání a prestiži, současně byli totiž šlechtici osvobozeni od placení mnoha daní a jako jediní měli například přístup k pozicím soudce nebo starosty.
Tato praxe akreditace šlechtictví byla a je důležitá také z toho důvodu, že ve Španělsku existuje typ šlechtice, který se nevyskytuje v žádné jiné evropské zemi - tzv. hidalgo, tj. netitulovaný šlechtic. To znamená, že šlechtici označení jako vévodové, markýzové, hrabata, atd. mají šlechtický titul, který sám o sobě potvrzuje jejich šlechtický status. Oproti tomu hidalgové nemají žádný takový šlechtický titul. Šlechtictví, tzv. „la hidalguía“, je stav, který hidalgo dědí po svých předcích z titulu „noble de sangre“, tj. „šlechtické krve“, proto bylo nutné, aby oficiální orgán prohlásil, kdo je v těchto případech šlechtic (hidalgo) a kdo ne.
Když byla v letech 1837-1845 ve Španělsku zrušena šlechtická privilegia, Královská kancléřství zanikla a funkce, které tyto soudy vykonávaly, převzaly jednotlivé šlechtické sbory. Stát, jako takový, se přestal touto problematikou zaobírat, protože tato již nemělo žádné právní důsledky.
aktivity Šlechtického sboru Kantábrie
Šlechtický sbor Kantábrie se nevěnuje pouze uznávání šlechtictví, ale stal se zároveň společností, která sdružuje nejdůležitější a nejvýznamnější osoby v regionu, vykonává charitativní a kulturní aktivity, prostřednictvím mnoha dohod o spolupráci s jinými institucemi propaguje Španělsko v zahraničí, organizuje společenské akce, které jsou mimořádnou příležitostí k rozvíjení osobních vztahů na nejvyšší úrovni. Pro Šlechtický sbor Kantábrie je příznačné i to, že se orientuje na spolupráci zejména s mladými lidmi, pro které vytvořil množství specifických aktivit.
Stručně řečeno, příslušnost ke Šlechtickému sboru Kantábrie je symbolem osobní výlučnosti a společenské prestiže.
/article in english:/
Cantabria and the "Cuerpo de la Nobleza de Cantabria"
/Cantabria and the "Corps of the Nobility of Cantabria"/
Did you know that there is a "branch" of the Spanish noble institution in the Czech Republic?
In 2020, the "Cuerpo de la Nobleza de Cantabria" or "Corps of the Nobility of Cantabria", resp. the General Lieutenancy of the Noble Order of Saint Sergius, which is inextricably linked to this noble corp, was introduced to the Czech Republic.
a bit of geography and history
Cantabria is a province and at the same time one of the 17 autonomous communities, located in the north of Spain on the coast of the Bay of Biscay. The metropolis of this mountainous region is the port city of Santander, with a population of approximately 600,000.
In the east Cantabria borders the Basque Country (province of Vizcaya), in the south Castilla y León (province León, Palencia, and Burgos), in the west Asturias, and in the north the Bay of Biscay (here referred to as the Cantabrian Sea).
Cantabria has been continuously inhabited for 65,000 years. The Cantabrians are already documented in the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans. However, the history of Cantabria is much older, dating back to prehistoric times. Probably the most famous are the paintings in the Altmamira Cave in Santillana del Mar painted by man as early as 13,000 BC, which are known worldwide as a masterpiece of prehistoric art.
In 711 AD, after the Muslim invasion of Spain, the Visigothic kings and their nobles took refuge in Asturias and Cantabria, whose high mountains prevented the occupation of the Moors. From there began the reconquest of Spain, the so-called reconquista. This situation has caused the Visigothic Christian nobility in Cantabria to make up 80% of the region's population (the average in the rest of Spain is less than 1%), and many of them have descendants among the present-day Cantabria.
foundation of the Corps of the Nobility of Cantabria
Despite the above facts, there was no corps of nobility in Cantabria, as was the case in neighboring Asturias (Cuerpo de la Nobleza del Principado de Asturias, ie the Corps of the Nobility of the Principality of Asturias), so the Corps of the Nobility of Cantabria (Cuerpo de la Nobleza de Cantabria) was founded on November 29, 2017, which aims, among other activities, to bring together nobles in the region.
what are the corps of nobility in Spain and what are they for?
Corps of nobility are private institutions whose aim is, among other things, to accredit the noble status of persons who are admitted to the corps. This means that admission to the corps of nobility confirms the nobility received, that is, it is a certificate that accredits to other noble status admitted to others.
In Spain, this function was performed for centuries by the Royal Chancelleries (La Real Chancillería de Granada, Real Audiencia y Chancillería de Valladolid), which were the royal courts that decided who was the nobleman and who was not. The fact that he was recognized by a nobleman was important not only because of his social recognition and prestige, because at the same time the nobles were exempt from paying many taxes and were the only ones to have access to the positions of judge or mayor.
This practice of accreditation of nobility was and is also important because in Spain there is a type of nobleman that does not occur in any other European country - the so-called hidalgo, ie untitled nobleman. This means that nobles designated as dukes, marquises, counts, etc. have a noble title, which in itself confirms their aristocratic status. The Hidalgos, on the other hand, have no such noble title. Nobility, the so-called "la hidalguía", is a condition that the hidalgo inherits from its ancestors under the title "noble de sangre", ie "noble blood", so it was necessary for the official body to declare who in these cases the nobleman (hidalgo ) and who does not.
When aristocratic privileges were abolished in Spain in the years 1837-1845, the Royal Chancelleries ceased to exist and the functions performed by these courts were taken over by the individual corps of nobility. As such, the state stopped dealing with this issue because it no longer had any legal consequences.
activities of the Corps of the Nobility of Cantabria
The Corps of the Nobility of Cantabria is not only dedicated to the recognition of nobility, but has also become a organisation that brings together the most important people in the region, carries out charitable and cultural activities, promotes Spain abroad through many cooperation agreements with other institutions, organizes social events that are extraordinary opportunities to develop personal relationships at the highest level. It is also characteristic of the Corps of the Nobility of Cantabria that it focuses on cooperation especially with young people, for whom it has created a number of specific activities.
In short, belonging to the Corps of the Nobility of Cantabria is a symbol of personal exclusivity and social prestige.