Fürst

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Fürst (German pronunciation: [ˈfʏʁst] ^ⓘ, female form Fürstin, plural Fürsten; from Old High German furisto, "the first", a translation of the Latin princeps) is a German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. Fürsten were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of the Holy Roman Empire and later its former territories, below the ruling Kaiser (emperor) or König (king).^[1]

A

The English language uses the term "prince" for both concepts. Latin-based languages (French, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese) also employ a single term, whereas Dutch as well as the Scandinavian and some Slavic languages use separate terms similar to those used in German (see knyaz for the latter).

An East Asian parallel to the concept of "ruling prince" would be the

From the Middle Ages on, the German designation and title of Fürst referred to:

• rulers of the states that made up the Holy Roman Empire, below the ruling Kaiser (Emperor) or König (King);^[1]
• members of the nobility above the rank of Graf (Count) but below Herzog (Duke);^[1]
• a ruler or monarch (in general).^[1]

Use of the title in German

The title Fürst (female form Fürstin, female plural Fürstinnen) is used for the heads of princely houses of German origin (in German a Fürstenhaus). From the

The present-day rulers of the sovereign principality of Liechtenstein bear the title of Fürst, and the title is also used in German when referring to the ruling princes of Monaco. The hereditary rulers of the one-time principalities of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania were also all referred to in German as Fürsten before they eventually assumed the title of "king" (König).

• 
  Fürsten crown used in heraldry, borne above the coat of arms to indicate a principality ruled.^[4] The Fürsten crown, sometimes placed together with a mantle, is not always found on a Fürstenhaus (princely house) coat of arms; these adornments were not part of formal armorial protocols, but simply heraldic grace.^[4]
• 
  Mediatised

  Fürsten headpiece used in heraldry.
• 
  Fürst zu Putbus, arms with a mantle and Fürsten crown.
• 
  Fürst von Liechtenstein

  , arms with a mediatised Fürsten headpiece.
• 
  Fürst von Schwarzburg, arms with a Fürsten crown.

Other uses in German

Fürst is used more generally in German to refer to any ruler, such as a king, a reigning duke, or a prince in the broad sense (compare Niccolò Machiavelli's Il Principe). Before the 12th century, counts were also included in this group, in accordance with its usage in the Holy Roman Empire, and in some historical or ceremonial contexts, the term Fürst can extend to any lord.

The descendants of a Fürst, when that title has not been restricted by

A nobleman whose family is non-

• Reichsfürst (
  reichsständisch
  , lacking a vote in the Fürstenrat) might also be referred to as Reichsfürsten.
• Kirchenfürst (
  Grand Masters
  of a Christian military order. All Cardinals are deemed to be Princes of the Church and considered to be equal to royal princes by the Church.
• Landesfürst (Prince of the Land) is a princely
  Electorate of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) whose joint ruler reigned as a Landesfürst in each of the realms under different titles and constitutions. Thus, for example, the Habsburg emperors held a different regnal style in each of their Kronland
  ('crown land') realms.
• Kurfürst (Prince-Elector) was a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor, as designated by the Golden Bull of 1356 or elevated to that status subsequently. Originally, only seven princes possessed that right, of whom four were secular and three ecclesiastic. This prerogative conferred on its holders rank inferior only to that of the Emperor, regardless of the specific title attached to each Elector's principality. Kur (earlier spelled Chur) is derived from küren, "to choose". Properly an office of the Empire rather than a hereditary title, during the long de facto tenure of the Imperial throne held by the House of Habsburg, the Electorates were less distinguished from other Imperial princes by their right to choose an emperor than by the right to transmit the fief associated with the office to a single heir by primogeniture, originally unknown in Germany, rather than to divide lands among descendants in multiple appanages, allowing preservation of each Elector's territorial integrity and power.
• Großfürst (Grand Prince) was a rare title in German-speaking lands, and was used primarily to translate titles borne by rulers outside the Holy Roman Empire (e.g., Russia, Tuscany). In 1765, Empress Maria Theresa proclaimed the Hungarian province of Transylvania to be a "Grand Principality" (Großfürstentum Siebenbürgen), whereafter it became one of the titles of the Emperor of Austria in 1804.
• Fürstprimas (
  Esztergom (Gran) archbishop, Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz, to a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1714, his successors have born the title of Prince primate (Hungarian: hercegprímás) up to today. The Archbishops of Salzburg still hold the title of Primas Germaniae, though their diocese is located in Austria
  .