House of Croÿ

Common card · No. 299163

The House of Croÿ (French pronunciation: [kʁwi]) is an old European noble family of princely and historically sovereign rank, which held a seat in the Imperial Diet from 1486, and was elevated to the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1594. In 1533 they became Dukes of Aarschot (in Belgium) and in 1598 Dukes of Croy in France. As a former ruling and mediatized family, it belongs to the Hochadel (high nobility). In 1913, the family had branches in Belgium, France, Austria and Prussia. This dynastic house, which originally adopted its name from the Château de Crouy-Saint-Pierre in French Picardy, claimed descent from the Hungarian Prince Marc, (if true, he was likely a grandson of Prince Géza) who allegedly settled in France in 1147, where he married an heiress to the barony of Croÿ. The Croÿ family rose to prominence under the Dukes of Burgundy. Later, they became actively involved in the complex politics of France, Spain, Austria, and the Low Countries. Among the known members...

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