The arms of Schilling von Canstatt: a gold ewer on a red shield, with crowned helm, ewer crest and red and gold mantling

vonSchilling

of the house of Schilling von Canstatt

A Family History

The Schilling von Canstatt are an old Swabian noble family. The first reliably recorded member, Heinricus dictus Scilling, appears in records from 1268 as a member of the garrison at Hohenneuffen Castle; by 1278 he was a knight.

The family later held a seat at Cannstatt, near Stuttgart, and took the town as a permanent part of its name. Early on, it gained the hereditary office of wine taster to the Court of Swabia, and its branches served chiefly the House of Württemberg and, later, the margraves of Baden. In the middle of the nineteenth century, a branch of the family moved to Bavaria.

The Arms

The arms show a gold wine jug on a red shield, with the same jug rising from a crown above the helm and red and gold mantling flowing around it. It is a fitting emblem for a family of hereditary wine tasters.

Through the Generations

  1. 1268Heinricus dictus Scilling is recorded at Hohenneuffen Castle.
  2. 1278Heinricus is a knight.
  3. 1490–1554Georg Schilling von Canstatt, Grand Prior of the Order of St John in Germany and Prince of Heitersheim.
  4. 1725The family acquires Hohenwettersbach, near Karlsruhe, and sits among the Imperial Knights until 1805.
  5. 1786–1837Paul Ludwig Schilling von Canstatt, orientalist and pioneer of the electromagnetic telegraph.
  6. c. 1850A branch of the family moves to Bavaria.
  7. 1879A family of the Bavarian line is recognised as barons by the Kingdom of Bavaria.
  8. 1911The family's baronial rank is confirmed by the Grand Duchy of Baden.
  9. TodayThe von Schilling family in London.

Swipe sideways to travel through the centuries.

Notable Members

Georg Schilling von Canstatt c. 1490–1554

Born at Neuffen, beneath Hohenneuffen Castle, Georg joined the Knights of St John, survived the great siege of Rhodes in 1522 and later served as governor of Tripoli and captain-general of the order's galleys. In 1546 he became Grand Prior of the order in Germany, and Emperor Charles V raised him to the rank of Prince of Heitersheim.

Paul Ludwig Schilling von Canstatt 1786–1837

A diplomat in Russian service and a scholar of Asian languages, Paul Ludwig built one of the first working electromagnetic telegraphs, which he demonstrated in St Petersburg in 1832, several years before the better-known systems of Cooke, Wheatstone and Morse.

Places

Rhine Danube Neckar Lake Constance CannstattHohenneuffenHohenwettersbachHeitersheim Bavaria Swabia N
Cannstatt, near Stuttgart, gave the family its name. Hohenneuffen is the castle where the family is first recorded in 1268. Hohenwettersbach, near Karlsruhe, was the family's estate from 1725. Heitersheim was the seat of Georg as Prince and Grand Prior. Bavaria became home to a branch of the family in the mid-nineteenth century.

A Note on the Name

In German, von simply means “of”. It is a particle marking noble descent rather than part of the name itself, which is why it keeps its small “v”, and why the family is listed under S rather than V. Since 1919, when Germany abolished the legal privileges of the nobility, the particle has been treated as part of the surname.

The historic form, Schilling von Canstatt, means “Schilling of Cannstatt”. As with many German noble families, the place name fell away over time as branches settled further afield, and the particle moved to the front, giving the shorter form: von Schilling.