MarketHouse of Merode
Company Profile

House of Merode

The House of Merode is one of the most prominent families of the Belgian nobility. It originates from the village of Merode, which is now in the municipality of Langerwehe in Germany. Over the past five centuries, different branches bore noble titles and had estates on the territories of the modern-day states of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Austria. Through marriage, the house is connected with many prominent European noble families. The House of Merode played an important role in the history of the Southern Netherlands and the Kingdom of Belgium.

Origin
The family stems from the village of Merode in what is now Germany. Merode is located in the vicinity of the city of Düren, which lies between Aachen and Köln and was once part of the Duchy of Jülich. Today, it is part of the municipality of Langerwehe in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. A branch of the Merode family still owns the castle (Schloss Merode) from which the family's name derives. Originally, the Merode family had the rank of of the Holy Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages, the family had possessions and influence in Köln and in the Rhineland, and it belonged to the reichsunmittelbar aristocracy. They supported the monastery of Schwarzenbroich, which was also the burial place for the deceased members of the family. From the sons of Werner III von Merode (†1278), two branches of the house descended. The oldest branch was called 'Scheiffart von Merode'. The 'Scheiffart' or 'German' branch became extinct in 1733. The younger branch descends from Werner IV von Merode (†1316). This house also split into different branches, of which the branch of the Marquess of Westerloo, called 'de Merode-Westerloo', would become the most famous. The present-day 'Princes de Merode' in Belgium descend from the latter branch via Charles-Guillaume de Merode-Westerloo (1762–1830) and three of his four sons. ==History==
History
From the 14th century onwards, a branch of the Merode family gained power and possessions in the Duchy of Brabant and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, on the territory of present-day Belgium. At that time, these territories belonged to the Burgundian Netherlands and later to the Habsburg Netherlands. The descendants of Henri, Félix and Werner de Merode would form different branches, whose descendants would continue to play an important role in Belgian politics and diplomacy. == Wealth ==
Wealth
The family is known for its large estates and old castles. In 2014, the House of Merode-Westerloo sold 1,476 hectares of privately owned land to the Flemish region. Among the castles owned are Merode, Westerlo, Trelon, Serrant, Rixensart, Everberg, Solre-sur-Sambre and Neffe. File:Langerwehe-Merode Denkmal-Nr. 18, Kreuzherrenstr. 1 (1146).jpg|Schloss Merode File:Kasteel de Merode - Westerlo.jpg|Westerlo File:Château de Rixensart - Château vu depuis la cour - 01.jpg|Rixensart File:Everberg-Prinsendreef91-93-97-De-Merodekasteel.JPG|Everberg File:00 Solre-sur-Sambre JPG2.jpg|Solre-sur-Sambre File:Château de Trélon - 2018-08-04 - 10.jpg|Trélon File:Château de Guignicourt sur Vence.jpg|Guignicourt sur Vence ==Notable members of Henri's branch==
Notable members of Henri's branch
Henri de Merode married Jeanne-Louise de Thézan Poujol (1787–1862). • Charles-Antoine-Ghislain (1824–1892) succeeded him and married Princess Marie d'Arenberg (1830–1905). • Their son Henri de Merode (1856–1908) married Princess Nathalie de Croy (1863–1957). • His sister Countess Jeanne de Merode (1853–1944), unmarried, philanthropist. • Charles de Merode (1887–1977) married Marguerite de Laguiche (1895–1988) and had no children. ==Notable members of Felix's branch==
Notable members of Felix's branch
Upon the death of Charles de Merode in 1977, this line became the senior branch of the House of Merode. • Philippe Felix de Merode • Bishop Xavier de Merode (1820–1874), son of Felix, and minister of Pope Pius IXPrince Emmanuel de Merode, noted conservationist, Director of the Virunga National Park in the Congo; married to Kenyan paleontologist Louise Leakey. • Princess Baudouin de Merode, née Nathalie van den Abeele (1948), widowed first wife of Baron Guy de Bassompierre, lady-in-waiting of Queen Paola of Belgium since 1997. ==Notable members of Werner's branch==
Notable members of Werner's branch
Werner de Merode (1797–1840), founder of the present younger branch of the family, married in 1818 with Countess Victoire de Spangen d'Uyternesse. Among their descendants are: • The Aosta branch of the Italian royal family, by the marriage of Louise de Merode (1819–1868) (sister of the penultimate Merode of Ham-sur-Heure) with Carlo Emmanuele dal Pozzo, 5th Prince of Cisterna, and by the marriage of their daughter Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo with the founder of the Aosta branch: Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta and sometime King Amadeo I of Spain. • Margherita, Archduchess of Austria-Este, mother of Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este, husband of Princess Astrid of Belgium, and therefore of their children, who are princes of Belgium. • The princely family of Monaco, by the marriage of Antoinette de Merode (1828–1864) (another sister of the penultimate Merode of Ham-sur-Heure) with Prince Charles III of Monaco, founder of Monte Carlo, ancestor of Albert II of Monaco. • The House of Arenberg, by the marriage of Marie-Ghislaine (1830–1892) with the Prince de Merode; Antoine, Duke of Arenberg, was their grandson. • Jean de Merode (1864–1933), lieutenant colonel, Grand Marshal of the Court of Belgium, received from King Albert I in 1928 the title of Prince de Merode, which was extended shortly thereafter to all family members. • Their son, Amaury de Merode (1902–1980), was Grand Marshal of the Court of King Leopold III, president of the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, and president of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). He married Princess Marie-Claire de Croy (1907–2000). • Their great-grandson Frederic de Merode (1911–1958), president of the Red Cross of Belgium. • Their great-grandson Werner de Merode (1914–1995), Belgian diplomat. • Their great-great-grandson Alexandre de Merode (1934–2002), vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), president of the IOC Medical Commission, founding chairman of Sportel in Monaco, president of the Royal Association of Historic Houses and Gardens of Belgium, chairman of various sports federations and president of the Centre d'Oeuvre de Merode. • Victurnienne Ghislaine Françoise Renée de Mérode, married to count Charles John d'Oultremont, nephew of William I of the Netherlands. ==Titles of the family==
Titles of the family
Some members of the House of Merode carried the title of Count from the fifteenth century, while a branch had the title of Baron of the Holy Roman Empire in the mid-fifteenth century and gained the title of Prince in 1759. Philippe, Count of Merode (1594–1638), was the first Marquis of Westerloo. The House of Merode bears the following titles: • Prince of Rubempré: • Incorporated by marriage by Philippe-François de Mérode, 2nd Prince of Rubempré in 1704. • Recognition by the Kingdom of Belgium in 1846. • Prince of Everberghe in the Holy Roman Empire (1759) • Prince of Everberghe in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1827) • Prince of Grimberghe in the Kingdom of Belgium (1842) • Prince de/van Merode in the Kingdom of Belgium (1929) ==Gallery==
Gallery
File:Armoiries de Merode 2.svg|Arms of the House of Merode: Or four pallets gules, a bordure engrailed azure. File:Armoiries de Merode 1.svg|Arms of the House of Scheiffart von Merode: Or four pallets gules. == See also ==
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