von Görschen

coat of Arms

The name von Görschen is an old German name of nobility originating from the 12th century. The family name derives from its original headquarters: the place Goresin (Görschen) or even from an older "oppida goresin" (Görschenburg / Görschenfestung) near Lützen, which was already appointed by Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg in the year 998, whereas the name itself is Sorbian origin and translating as "damp". Naming variations are de Goresin, de Gorsne, de Gorssen and von Goerschen.

Coat of arms

A golden key on a blue background with the top facing downwards; on the helmet a key is depicted between two to six black cock feathers. Several variations of the colours of the key and the shield are available in different sources.

Family chronicle

The first recorded individual bearing the name was Conradus de Gorsne who was recorded as a “witness” on 22 June 1186. The first recorded ancestor of the living von Görschen descendents was Petris de Görsene (first mentioned on 12 June 1271) and the family distributed across Prussia in the course of the next few generations. Due to the marriage of Eva von Görschen, daughter of Lorenz von Görschen (1575–1630), Lord of Groß-Görschen, with Erasmus von Bothfeld, Lord of Burgwerben, the family von Görschen belong to the ancestors of some European royal and noble houses.

stately home Auligk, domain of the family between 1650 and 1914
Captain Georg Christoph von Görschen

From Captain Georg Christoph von Görschen (1707–1748) there was the development of three main lines; a line in the area around Auligk/Groitzsch and Fürstenwalde still exists to this day, while a second line originating on the German-Dutch border near Aachen, and a third line in the Neuruppin area were also recorded. From the second line originated a number of family members in especially important administrative posts. After the middle of the 19th century some of them settled down in London and were successful business people there. As Protestants, many of the members of this line also were honorary knights or members of the Order of St. John, which is the German Protestant branch of the Knights Hospitaller. The third line held several generations of high-ranking officers who achieved honours for their military merits.

In today’s society the name has all but vanished; less than fifteen bearers of the name survive to this day.

Significant and famous family members

Sources

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