Coat of Arms of the Harrach familyOriginal arms of the familyArms of the Counts of Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen
The family first appeared in 1195 in the documents found in Ranshofen Abbey, Duchy of Bavaria. There are two main family branches — the Rohrau branch in Austria (until 1886) and the Jilemnice branch in Bohemia. They were formed by two sons of Count Karl von Harrach (1570–1628). Two branches were later founded by grandsons of Friedrich August von Harrach-Rohrau — Ernest Christopher Joseph (d. 1838) and Ferdinand Joseph (d. 1841).[2]
1195 — first mention of the family in Ranshofen monastery.
14th century — owned lands in Austria, Carinthia and Styria.
1524 — Leonhard III von Harrach acquired Rohrau Castle.
The family owned the following properties at various times:
Rohrau Castle, Rohrau, Austria: formerly the seat of the elder branch; with notable private collection of paintings known as Graf Harrach’sche Familiensammlung[4] (from 1870–1970 kept in Palais Harrach). Rohrau has meanwhile been inherited by the counts of Waldburg-Zeil.
Prugg Castle, Bruck an der Leitha, Austria: still the seat of the younger branch.
Possibly from the Czech word hrách ("pea"). First known member of the family owned definitely Slavonic name Przibislaus. Indirect evidence of pea's theory — Harrach's coat of arms with an element described in heraldry as "golden ball".
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