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TheHouse of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf was an old noble family originating inLower Austria, documented from theHigh Middle Ages and later elevated to the rank ofImperial Counts of theHoly Roman Empire. The family belonged to the regional landed nobility of theAustrian duchies and is recorded in standard works of Austrian noble genealogy and heraldry.[1] It is not to be confused with the princelyHouse of Sinzendorf, as these two families do not share the same ancestry.
The earliest documented ancestor of the family appears in 1114, in a document written by Hermann von Vohburg,Bishop of Augsburg, when a nobleman namedWisint de Cincendorf is mentioned as a witness in ecclesiastical charters. Further documentary references during the 12th century indicate the family’s continuous presence among theministerial and landed nobility of Lower Austria.[2]
The family’s early seat was located at Zinsenhof near present-dayRuprechtshofen in Lower Austria. Over subsequent centuries, members of the family held estates and lordships in Lower Austria and participated in regional administration under both theBabenberg and laterHabsburg dynasties.[3] At first, their estates were all nearSt. Poelten which is roughly betweenVienna andSalzburg. Through marriage with the noble house of Pottendorf, the family adopted the combined name Zinzendorf und Pottendorf. Apart from their possessions in Austria, they also reigned over theLordship of Pottendorf inBaden, which was incorporated into their name asZinzendorf und Pottendorf.
In 1460, members of the family were elevated to the rankBaron byFrederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. On 16 November 1662 the family was raised to the dignity ofImperial Count (Reichsgraf) byLeopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.[4][5]
In early modern and 19th-century Austrian noble historiography, ancient noble families established during theBabenberg period were sometimes described as belonging to the so-called Apostelgeschlechter (“Apostle families”). Within this historiographical tradition, the lords of Zinzendorf are included among these old noble houses, such asStarhemberg,Liechtenstein,Salm,Fürstenberg,Collalto,Abensberg-Traun,Stubenberg etc. Modern scholarship treats this designation as a traditional and symbolic classification rather than a formally defined or legally binding group.[6]
During the Reformation, parts of the family adoptedLutheran Protestantism, which led to emigration from theHabsburg hereditary lands during theCounter-Reformation. Protestant branches settled primarily inFranconia andSaxony, where they retained noble status under territorial rulers.[7] Nevertheless they made sure that at least one member of the family remainedCatholic in order to look after their vast estates back inAustria.[8]
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