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The von Knorring Family |
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©2010
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The Baltic family Knorr/Knorring
An ancestor called Heinrich Knorr was awarded land by the German Order in what is now Latvia in 1441, an estate called Pelzen (now Pelci). His grandson's grandson Johann, who was the first to be called Knorring, became a Danish officer and was stationed on Ösel (Saaremaa) in Estonia, and was awarded the estate of Peddast on the island of Muhu there in 1566 by the Danish king. All Knorrings alive today descend from Johann Knorring of Peddast. The family spread from there to other estates in Estonia during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The family name was changed to von Knorring in the beginning of the 17th century, when the Baltic countries were under Swedish rule. In the 18th century the family spread to Finland (also a part of Sweden) and to Sweden. By that time the family was divided into five branches:
- the Baltic baronial family von Knorring (living in Finland and Germany) - the Baltic noble family von Knorring (living today in Sweden) - the Swedish/Finnish noble family von Knorring (living in Sweden and Finland) - the Swedish/Finnish noble family Knorring (now extinct) - the Swedish/Finnish baronial family von Knorring (now extinct)
As Finland was a Russian province for more than a century, Finnish branches were also established in Russia, and some family members are still to be found there. Today the family is spread all over the world.
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(Map from MapQuest) |