Falke family


History

Originally from Hesse, they are direct male-line descendants of the Reginarids and therefore one of the oldest still existing noble families in Europe. They carried the titles Knight, Lord, Count and Freiherr of different dominium plenum and dominium directum. This noble family thrived in the Middle Ages between 1300-1600 and had branches in Hessen, Saxony, Pommern and Westphalia Falken. The coat of arms this family used in Hessen and Thüringen and Saxonyis different from the branch who was ruling parts of Pommern and Westphalia. The latter used a Griffin which was derived from the coat of arms of the "Greifenhaus" in Pommern. The griffin coat of arms still refers to the coat of arms used in Hessen and Thuringia and Saxony by using the same horns and red and white colours in the horns.
This Falcken family, whose patriarch is “Knight” Heyso Falcken, is a bastard son. of the House of Hesse. The territory of the Falke/Falcken/Falken expanded between 1359 and 1557 from the Middle of Germany to the East. From the East to the North-East and eventually to the West of Germany in County Mark and Fbd. Münster. This is where one branch of the Falken family merges with the noble family von Reck. The merging of these two Nobility names had to be approved by the Monarch in the 16th century in the Holy Roman Empire
There is a small number of German noble families that do not carry “von”. These are the "Uradel".
The branch in Saxony/Pommern merges in Westphalia with the Catholic branch of the powerful von Reck family. This happens after Christoffel Falcken sells his castle in Triestewitz to the House of Saxony in order to leave the converted Lutheran Kingdom and move to West Germany to protect the Catholic Fbd. Münster on behalf of Charles V, who he advised together with the ancient noble family von Carlowitz,. The Falken "uradliger" family protects Fbd.Münster together with the Catholic branch of the von Reck family and together with the family von Raesfeld at the time when becomes the Regent of Münster. One of the Falkenreck estates, next to one of the Raesfeld estates in Gütersloh, was sold in 2015 to the municipality of Gütersloh.
The Falkenreck estate is called Falkenrecks Heide. This estate has been in the family since 1557.
After the Holy Roman Empire lost power in Germany, the Falken/Falkenreck noble family were not allowed to hold a governing position as long as they remained Catholic.
The Falcken noble family collaborated closely with:
“Ritter” Heyso founded the Falken in 29 Sept 1385.

Notable figures