Kálnoky family

In 1252 the family was documented in Székely Land,[1][2][3] in the eastern part of Transylvania, as comes (chief) of the Szekler 'Sepsi' tribe.

At the beginning of the 18th century, through multiple marriages, the Kálnokys became close to Prince Constantin Brancoveanu, ruler of Wallachia.

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.

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.