House of Metternich

By the 16th century, the family had seven distinct branches: Dieter von Metternich acquired Zievel by marriage in 1494, and came to be ruler of Burscheid.

His grandson, Wolfgang Heinrich von Metternich (died 1699) acquired Dodenburg, Neckar, Steinbach, and Densborn.

Wilhelm's eldest son, Karl Heinrich von Metternich-Winneburg, was Elector of Mainz and Prince-Bishop of Worms in 1679.

The last Count of Metternich-Winneburg was Franz Georg Karl von Metternich-Winneburg-Beilstein (1746–1818), who lost the ancestral lordship to France by the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville.

In compensation, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, gave him the secularized Ochsenhausen Abbey and raised him to the rank of Fürst in 1803.

His son, Klemens von Metternich, worked in the service of the Austrian Empire; he was a major diplomat at the Congress of Vienna and was Minister-President of Austria from 1821 to 1848.

Franz Albrecht's eldest son is Viktor Metternich-Sándor (born 1964), who has headed the ducal House of Ratibor and Corvey since his father's death.