Schlieffen

Schlieffen is the name of an old German noble family whose recorded origins are associated with Kolberg, the historic Pomeranian city now known as Kołobrzeg in Poland. It is not a commercial consumer brand or corporate enterprise. The name refers to a lineage that developed from the medieval urban elite into landed nobility, with branches extending through Pomerania, Prussia, Danzig, Poland, Mecklenburg, Hesse and other territories of central and northern Europe. The family's earliest documented ancestor is Henning Sleff, a citizen of Kolberg who appears in records from 1365 and died around 1376. Earlier figures bearing related forms of the name may also belong to the same wider lineage: Petrus Schleve is recorded around 1200 as a Burgmann, or castellan, while Gerhard appears as a witness in 1248 and another Petrus Schleve served as a Kolberg city councillor in 1303 and 1321. These references reflect the family’s early connection with municipal administration and the urban political class. The family divided into several lines at an early stage. A senior branch developed around Dresow, with related offshoots and a Soldekow line, while a younger branch produced the Danzig line. Some branches later became extinct, including the Dresow offshoot in 1686 and the Danzig branch in the early eighteenth century. Other branches survived through male descendants and continued to hold estates and offices under Prussian, Danish and Polish authority. Members of the family received noble privileges in different political settings. Hans Schlieffen the Younger, who served as a councillor to Christopher III of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, received a Danish grant of arms at Kalmar in 1444 after becoming mayor of Kolberg. In 1555, Limbrecht von Schlieffen and his brothers received Polish noble recognition, known as an indygenat, together with additions to their coat of arms. Three brothers from the family were raised to the Prussian comital rank by royal decree in Berlin on 1 March 1812. The family produced numerous military officers, administrators, judges, politicians and landowners. Martin Ernst von Schlieffen became a minister of state, infantry commander, governor of Wesel and Prussian lieutenant general. Other descendants served in the Prussian army, the Prussian House of Lords and the German Reichstag. The best-known modern member was Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, a Prussian field marshal and senior German General Staff officer. He drafted the strategic memorandum later known as the Schlieffen Plan, although its implementation during the First World War differed from the original concept. The family’s historical legacy remains visible in Kołobrzeg. The Schlieffenkrone, a wooden chandelier dating from 1523, survives in the city’s cathedral and recalls the family’s civic and social prominence. The Schlieffen House, a fifteenth-century brick Gothic town house renovated in an early Renaissance style in 1540, now accommodates a museum of city history. Branches of the family continue to exist, but Schlieffen has no identified modern commercial ownership, product portfolio, headquarters or financial-market identity.

The Schlieffen family developed from a medieval family connected with Kolberg in Pomerania. Related forms of the name appear in records from the thirteenth century, including Petrus Schleve, a castellan around 1200, Gerhard as a recorded witness in 1248, and Petrus Schleve as a Kolberg councillor in 1303 and 1321. The earliest clearly identified ancestor of the later family tradition is Henning Sleff, a Kolberg citizen mentioned in 1365 and deceased around 1376. The family divided into major branches descended from Hans Schleve the Elder’s sons, Hans and Nicolas. The senior descent included the Dresow branch, its offshoots and the Soldekow branch. The younger descent included the Danzig branch. These lines expanded through service to regional rulers, urban officeholding, estate ownership and noble recognition. Several branches later died out: the Dresow offshoot ended in 1686, while the Danzig branch disappeared in the early eighteenth century. Other lines survived into the modern period. The family’s political and legal status varied across the territories in which its members served. Hans Schlieffen the Younger became mayor of Kolberg after service to Christopher III of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and received a Danish coat-of-arms grant at Kalmar on 11 July 1444. In 1555, Limbrecht von Schlieffen and his brothers received Polish noble recognition and heraldic additions from Sigismund II Augustus. In Prussia, three brothers—Wilhelm, Ludwig and Karl von Schlieffen—were elevated to the rank of count by royal decree on 1 March 1812. From the eighteenth through the nineteenth centuries, members of the family were prominent in military, governmental and landed circles. Martin Ernst von Schlieffen served as a minister of state, military commander, governor of Wesel and Prussian lieutenant general. Other members included judges, major generals, politicians, members of the Prussian House of Lords and representatives in the German Reichstag. Several comital lines maintained estates in Mecklenburg, Hesse, Silesia and Pomerania. Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, born in 1833, became the family’s most internationally recognized member. He entered the Prussian army in 1854, served in the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars, and rose through the German General Staff. He became a department head in 1884, quartermaster-general in 1888 and deputy chief of the General Staff. In 1905 he formulated the strategic concept later called the Schlieffen Plan, intended to address the danger of a simultaneous war against France and Russia. He died in Berlin on 4 January 1913 as a Prussian field marshal. The family’s civic legacy is preserved in Kołobrzeg. The Schlieffenkrone, a 1523 wooden chandelier in the cathedral, commemorates the family’s importance in the city. The Schlieffen House, originally a fifteenth-century brick Gothic residence and renovated in 1540, has served since the Second World War as a museum of local history. The surname and family lines remain extant, but the subject is historical and genealogical rather than commercial.

• 1945

  Preservation of the Schlieffenkrone

  [1]Schlieffenen.wikipedia.org

  The Schlieffenkrone in Kolberg Cathedral was saved during the upheavals surrounding the end of the Second World War after being concealed in the building.

• 1905

  Formulation of the Schlieffen Plan

  [1]Schlieffenen.wikipedia.org

  Alfred Graf von Schlieffen composed the strategic memorandum that later became known as the Schlieffen Plan.

• 1812

  Elevation to the Prussian comital rank

  [1]Schlieffenen.wikipedia.org

  Three brothers of the family were raised to the rank of count by a Prussian royal decree issued in Berlin.

• 1555

  Polish noble recognition

  [1]Schlieffenen.wikipedia.org

  Limbrecht von Schlieffen and his brothers received Polish noble recognition and heraldic additions from King Sigismund II Augustus.

• 1444

  Danish grant of arms

  [1]Schlieffenen.wikipedia.org

  Hans Schlieffen the Younger received a Danish grant of arms at Kalmar after becoming mayor of Kolberg.

• Early related record

  [1]Schlieffenen.wikipedia.org

  Petrus Schleve is recorded as a Burgmann, or castellan, in a reference associated with the family’s early Kolberg origins.

• First documented ancestor in the family tradition

  [1]Schlieffenen.wikipedia.org

  Henning Sleff appears in records as a citizen of Kolberg and is regarded as the originator of the later documented family line.

A historical German noble-family name associated with medieval civic leadership, landed nobility and Prussian military service.

1. 1Schlieffenen.wikipedia.org