in
Slovene Styria (1681) According to the
Almanach de Gotha, the family was first recorded in 1242. They temporarily served as
ministeriales of the
Patriarchs of Aquileia, owners of
Windischgrätz until the mid 14th century. One Conrad of Windischgracz (d. 1339) acted as a Habsburg administrator in the Habsburg
Duchy of Styria from 1323 onwards. The family owned
Thal, Styria a former
Von Graben possession, between 1315 and 1605. In 1574 the dynasty obtained
Inkolat in
Bohemia; later, however, several members converted to
Lutheranism and lost their estates in the course of the
Thirty Years' War. The Austrian diplomat Gottlieb of Windischgrätz (1630–1695) again converted to Roman Catholicism in 1682 and was elevated to the rank of Count of the
Holy Roman Empire by
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, in the same year. In 1693 his son Ernest Frederick (1670–1727) acquired
Červená Lhota Castle in Southern Bohemia, which his descendant
Joseph Nicholas of Windisch-Graetz (1744–1802) had to sell in 1755. Palace, Western Bohemia In 1781 the family bought their new main seat, the West Bohemian
Tachov. Count
Alfred Candidus Ferdinand zu Windischgrätz (1787–1862) became the representative of the emperor at the
Reichstag and was elevated to the rank of
Fürst (
Prince of the Holy Roman Empire) in 1804. In order to obtain
imperial immediacy (and be himself a voting member of the Imperial Diet), he acquired the small imperial territories of
Siggen and
Eglofs in
Southern Germany. This principality however was
mediatized to the
Kingdom of Württemberg only two years later, in 1806, when the
Confederation of the Rhine was established. Prince Alfred I later became a Field Marshal in the Austrian army. Alfred and his brother Weriand were both created Princes of the
Austrian Empire in 1822, with Alfred and his successors being the first line of Princes of Windischgrätz (), and Weriand and his successors being the second line (). Alfred acquired the former monastery at
Kladruby (Tachov District). His grandson
Alfred III, Prince of Windischgrätz, was an influential politician. He was succeeded by his nephew Ludwig Aladar, the owner of
Sárospatak Castle, Hungary. Weriand, with the help of the rich dowry of his mother, Maria Leopoldine of
Arenberg, acquired numerous castles in what is now
Slovenia. After World War II, the estates in the Czechoslovak Republic as well as in Hungary and Yugoslavia were confiscated by communist regimes. The estate of Siggen is still owned by the elder line. File:Štěkeň castle3.jpg|
Štěkeň Castle File:Kladruby 2014 02.JPG|
Kladruby Abbey File:Sárospatak - Castle.jpg|
Sárospatak Castle, Hungary File:Palais Windisch-Graetz Vienna April 2007 panorama.jpg|Palais Windisch-Graetz, Vienna Great Britain's
Princess Michael of Kent is descended from this family through her maternal grandmother, while her husband
Prince Michael of Kent is a first cousin once removed of Archduchess
Sophie Franziska of Austria, Princess of Windisch-Graetz. == (Mediatized) Princes of Windischgrätz ==