Wittgenstein family

[1] Members of the Wittgenstein family include successful merchants, entrepreneurs, industrialists, lawyers, musicians, patrons of the arts and philosophers: The earliest known family members are the estate manager Ahron Moses Meier (died 1804) and his wife Sarah.

In 1808, Napoleon initiated the Jewish emancipation and Jews were required to adopt a fixed surname within three months.

This led to a conflict with the Prussian Wilhelm zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein [de], who had been elevated to Reichsfürst in 1804.

Moses left the Wittgensteiner Land with his family and moved to the nearby Principality of Waldeck.

It was there that he created a successful business as a wool trader in the former Hanseatic City Korbach, an area with many sheep.