Stael de Holstein

Paolo Primo Ruggeri Laderchi married Alessandra Stael-Holstein in 1895.

The Origins

The Stael-Holstein family is very ancient. It is divided into three branches: Swedish, German, and Russian. All three of the branches have their origins in Ludewicus de Are, to whom may be found allusions in documents from 1189.
In 1227 Herman Flecke de Are, probably a son of the aforementioned Ludewicus, achieved positions of responsibility and was depended on by the Archbishop of Cologne, Count Conrad von Hochstaden, and obtained letters declaring his nobility in 1241.
In documents from that era he is indicated as Flecke de Holstein and, after a little, the name of Stael begins to replace that of Flecke and by the middle of the 14th century the family uses the name of Stael von Holstein exclusively. The surname comes from a castle which was named Holstein in the area of Cologne which belonged to the family. It is unknown why at the end of the 13th century the castle was passed to the counts of Sayn.

The family grew and divided itself into various branches. One branch settled in Westfalia and from there moved to Sweden, and when Sweden conquered Livonia and Estonia the family settled there founding the Castle Staelens Hoff (near Pernau). In 1458 Jean (Jacob) Stael-Holstein was Ambassador of the Order of Livonia in the negotiations for an accord with Sweden.

The Founder

Ghildebrando (or Ildebrando), came to be considered the founder of the actual Stael-Holstein line. A courageous soldier, he was taken prisoner by the Russians for 7 years. He had married Anne Uskull; he died in 1587 leaving two children, Jean and Mathias, in absolute misery. They put themselves to work in commerce and with their intelligence and honesty reconstructed notable wealth. So the family received in 1652 new letters conferring the Nobility of Queen Christina of Sweden since, being dedicated to commerce, they had lost their right to be considered noble.

The Branches

The authorization to carry the title of Baron in Russia was given on March 8, 1869. The coat of arms follows:
Framed at the flanks by two rampant lions, the shield is of silver on which stand out 8 red roundels in memory of the eight villages that the Stael-Holstein family supplied and fed during a terrible famine. Motto: “Exempla Suorum”.