All About Royal Families

One of the oldest families in Europe is without any doubt The House of  Limburg Stirum. It is the eldest and only surviving branch of the House of Berg, which was among the most powerful dynasties in the region of the Lower Rhine duing the Middle Ages.  Some History The Counts of Limburg descended from Count Adolf I van Berg.  Diederik I, Count of Isenberg-Limburg received in 1243 a part of his father's territorium and he called himself: of Limburg. He also possessed the manor of Stirum.  However the titles of the House of Limburg Stirum were confirmed in  1812 by Napoleon Bonaparte.  In 1814 the family was recognised in the nobility of the Kingdom of The Netherlands.  Who is who? Herman Otto II of Limburg Stirum  (1675-1704) fought in the War of the Spanish Succession in the service of the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, against France and Bavaria. He lost the Battle of Höchstadt and the Battle of Schellenberg.  Leopold, Count of Limburg Stirum (1758-1840)  was Lieutenant General o

Nikolaus I was born on 18 December 1714 in Vienna as the son of Prince  Joseph and Mária Octavia Baroness Gilleis of Theras and Sonneberg.  Nikolaus was the younger brother of Paul II Anton, Prince of Esterházy. They were members of the famous Hungarian Esterházy family.  Early life Prince Nikolaus was educated by Jesuits. He became a military officer serving the Austrian Empire. He participated at the Battle of Kolin in 1757 where he led the wavering cavalry troops to victory. He was made Lieutenant Field Marshal. Prince Nikolaus became one of the original members of the Order of  Maria Theresa.  In 1762 he was appointed captain of Maria Theresa's Hungarian bodyguard. Other honours included the Golden Fleece and the Grade of Commander in  the Order of Maria Theresa.  Love and Marriage On 4 March 1737, Prince Nikolaus married Freiin Marie Elisabeth, a daughter of a Reichsgraf (Count of the Holy Roman Empire) Ferdinand von Weissenwolf.  Duty When his brother died in 1762, Nikolaus i

Imperial Interferences  with disastrous consequences In Ghent, the capital of Eastern Flanders in the northern part of Belgium,  there once was a beautiful Abbey called the Saint Bavo's Abbey.  However due to Imperial Interferences, this Abbey was demolished in the 16th. century.  Luckily for us, there still are a few traces from the Saint Bavo's Abbey and it still has a wonderful royal history. St. Bavo's Abbey and the eldest wall of Ghent Royal history Saint Bavo's Abbey was founded in the 7th. century by Saint Amand, who also founded the Saint Peter's Abbey in Ghent. Originally the Saint Bavo's Abbey was called Ganda, which meant "river mouth in Celtic" referring to the location of the area.  Louis the Pious , the youngest son of Charlemagne and also King of the  Franks, from 814-840 chose Einhard as abbot of the St. Bavo's Abbey. Einhard was the biographer of Charlemagne.  In the 9th. century, the St. Bavo's Abbey was raided twice by the Vi