Kálnoky family
The Kálnoky family is a noble family originating from the Kingdom of Hungary. The Kálnoky family history can be traced back to medieval times. History. In 1252 the family was documented in Székely Land, in the eastern part of Transylvania, as "comes" (chief) of the Szekler 'Sepsi' tribe. Since their first documentation, the family have been "primores" (magnates) of the Szekler people in Transylvania. They are styled as Count Kálnoky Baron of Kőröspatak since 1697 when a Kálnoky was chancellor of Transylvania at the court of Vienna. At the beginning of the 18th century, through multiple marriages, the  Kálnokys became close to Prince Constantin Brancoveanu, ruler of Wallachia. An entire generation grew up in Bucharest at the prince's court, and held public functions there. To support Austria's Empress Maria Theresia in the "Erbfolgekrieg" War of the Austrian Succession, the family established a regiment of hussars in 1741 which bore their name. The daughter of the Austrian empire's first chancellor married into the Kálnoky family, who thus inherited some of the chancellor's possessions in Moravia. Two hundred years of military and political careers followed for the family in Austria. The Kálnoky's had a hereditary  seat in the House of Lords in Vienna. Under Emperor Franz Joseph I, Count Gustav Kálnoky presided over the joint (Austrian and Hungarian) council of ministers, was minister of the Imperial House and of Foreign Affairs. Effectively, he was the emperor's right hand between 1881 and 1895. He signed the Triple Alliance (1882) between the Austro-Hungarian empire, Germany and Italy. He extended this in 1883 by signing a secret treaty with Romania for reciprocal military support. Besides their outstanding military and political careers, the Kálnoky's have been known for their advantageous wedding strategies. Several members married heiresses  of aristocratic families on the verge of extinction, thus considerably increasing the Kálnoky's assets and influence in central and western Europe. Count Hugo Kálnoky married Countess Marie Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein, a niece of British Queen Victoria's consort Prince Albert. Countesses Kálnoky also married into the Houses of Habsburg, Hohenzollern, Liechtenstein and others. Descendants. Male descendants live today in Australia, France, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania (Transylvania).