Mensdorff-Pouilly family

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House of Mensdorff-Pouilly
Parent family	Pouilly
Place of origin	Pouilly-sur-Meuse
Founder	Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly
Final head	Alexander, 3rd Prince von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg
Titles	Prince von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg Count von Mensdorff-Pouilly
Estate(s)	Schloss Mikulov (Nikolsburg)
Dissolution	1964 (1964)

Comital arms of the family in 1844

Mensdorff-Pouilly is the name of a noble family originally from Lorraine. The family derived its name from the barony of Pouilly at Stenay in Meuse. Through Princess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, wife of Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly, the family is closely related to the royal families of Belgium, Sweden, Portugal, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom.

History[]

In 1790, during the French Revolution, Albert Louis de Pouilly (1731–1795) emigrated with his family. His sons Albert and Emmanuel changed the family name to Mensdorff-Pouilly, named for a place in the county of Roussy in Luxembourg.

In 1818, Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly received a comital title from the Austrian Emperor, and he was recognized as noble in Bohemia (the Inkolat) in 1839. The family motto is Fortitudine et caritate. The Mensdorff-Pouilly family succeeded the extinct House of Dietrichstein, one of Europe’s most distinguished noble families.

Through Princess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, wife of Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly, the family is closely related to the royal families of Belgium, Sweden, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

Notable members[]

• Count Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly (1777–1852), Vice Governor of the Fortress of Mainz.
  • Princess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1778–1835), married to Emmanuel; the sister of both Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and King Leopold I of Belgium; aunt of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
• Alexander von Mensdorff-Pouilly, Prince von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg (1813–1871), son of Emmanuel and Sophie; Austrian Foreign Minister (1864–1866).
• Count Albert von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein (1861–1945), younger son of Alexander; Austrian diplomat.
• Countess Clotilde Apponyi (1867–1942), daughter of Alexander; women's rights advocate and diplomat for Hungary.

Gallery[]

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  Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly

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  Alexander von Mensdorff-Pouilly

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  Albert von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein

Literature[]

• Eddie de Tassigny: Les Mensdorff-Pouilly. Le destin d'une famille émigrée en 1790. Le Bois d’Hélène, Bihorel 1998.