Coudenhove-Kalergi family
The Coudenhove-Kalergi family is a Bohemian noble family of mixed Flemish and Cretan Greek descent, which was formed after Count Franz Karl von Coudenhove (1825–1893) married Marie Kalergi (1840–1877). The Coudenhoves were counts of the Holy Roman Empire since 1790 and were prominent in the Habsburg Netherlands. After the upheaval of the French Revolution, they moved to Austria. The Kallergis family had enjoyed high status in Crete, having been sent there by Byzantine emperor Alexios II Komnenos in the mid-12th century. They remained there during the Venetian occupation (1204–1669) and subsequently moved to the Venetian-held Ionian Islands. Their palazzo in Venice is still standing. History The Coudenhove family dates back to the Duchy of Brabant nobleman and crusader Gerolf I de Coudenhove (died 1259) and after it fought for the Habsburgs in the Dutch Revolt, the family moved to Flanders before the Habsburgs and Coudenhoves left after the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) was taken by the Revolutionary French Republic. The Kallergis family is a Cretan Greek noble family originating from the 11th or 12th century, which claims descent from the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. During the Venetian rule over Crete, the Kallergis family was one of the most important Greek