welcome

This is the webpage of my family—in at least two senses of the word. First some general information about the Kieseritzky family, then a private page for me, my wife and my children: Fredrik, Johanna, Leo and Elle von Kieseritzky. You can share this page with friends using the icons directly above, or why not drop a comment at the bottom of the page? Also, family members who would like a private kieseritzky.com email address should contact me.

kieseritzky.com was last updated on JANUARY 1, 2011

Fredrik von Kieseritzky
Stockholm, Sweden

the kieseritzky family

The Kieseritzky family is despite it Polish sounding name and as far back as documented sources go entirely of German, and more specifically of Baltic German, origin.

From the 12th Century and until the early 20th Century the Baltic Germans inhabited the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea (today's Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). Even though the Baltic Germans were an ethnic minority and the population never made up more than 10% of the total, they came to form the social, commercial, political, military, civilian and cultural elite of the region. Despite being politically subordinate to the rule of the monarchs of Swedish empire until 1710, and the tsars of the Russian Empire until 1917, both successive ruling kingdoms guaranteed the continuation of Baltic Germans' special class privileges and administration rights when they incorporated the provinces into their respective empires. The Baltic Germans' effective rule and class privileges came to the end with the demise of the Russian Empire (due to the Bolshevik revolution of October 1917) and the independence of Estonia and Latvia in 1918-1919. After 1919, many Baltic Germans felt obliged to depart for Germany. A minor fraction (my great grand-parents for instance) opted for Sweden instead.

The earliest known family member, according to preserved sources, is Jürgen Kieseritzky (dead after 1690), who resided in Wolmar, Livland (presently Valmiera, Latvia), where he married the daughter of the mayor. The genealogy of the Kieseritzky family is from this point on extensively covered by various books.

It should be noted that the 'true' origin of the Kieseritzky family (prior to Jürgen) is uncertain and several conflicting family traditions exist. According to one theory, the Kieseritzky family is identical to the von Koseritz family, an ancient and well-known family from Saxony (Sachsen), Germany. The names are strikingly similar and, moreover, both families use identical coats of arms (in a blue field a silver bull's head). There exists however no documented support for this theory. According to another theory, the family is of ancient Polish origin, but neither this can be verified. The closest match I have found so far is a Polish nobleman named Kozarycki, who around 1600 held the honorary title 'Land-judge of Wenden', a city coincidently located only a few kilometers away from Wolmar, Jürgen Kieseritzky's hometown.

Georg von Kieseritzky (1821-1891) (my great great grand-father), a sixth generation descendant of Jürgen, was in S:t Petersburg 1864 introduced into the hereditary Russian nobility, with privileges granted for himself, his wives and children and their descendants. Most, but not all, of Georg's male-line descendants use the name von Kieseritzky.

Notable family members include:

» Lionel Kieseritzky (1806-1853)—international chessmaster (external link)

» Gustav Kieseritzky (1830-1896)—professor of mathematics and Director of Polytechnikum (presently Riga Technical University) (external link)

» Gangolf von Kieseritzky (1847-1904)—archeologist and chief-conservator at the Imperial Hermitage in St Petersburg (external link)

» Gustav Kieseritzky (1893-1943)—German vice-admiral during World War II (external link)

» Ingomar von Kieseritzky (1944-)—German novelist and scriptwriter (external link)

To the best of my knowledge, the family is today represented in Germany, Sweden, Greece and Russia. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, family members have also lived in Canada, France, The United Kingdom and The United States.

source material

kieseritzky related links—additional material

fredrik|johanna|leo|elle

Fredrik has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry and can be reached on fvkccitt5.net or LinkedIn. His thesis is found here.

Johanna is a medical doctor and can be reached on johannakieseritzky.com or Facebook.

Leo, 4 and Elle, 1 are not yet online.

Below are a couple of pictures and video clips. These are presented in reverse chronology, i.e. latest things first.

christmas card 2010|

DECEMBER 24, 2010

ONE PICTURE

leftovers from 2010|

MARCH 6-AUGUST 12, 2010

15 PICTURES

greece|

AUGUST 19-26, 2010

27 PICTURES

skinnskatteberg|

JULY 31-AUGUST 5, 2010

15 PICTURES

at sea|

JULY 11, 2010

6 PICTURES

leo's fourth birthday|

MAY 30, 2010

16 PICTURES

sky view|

MARCH 21, 2010

8 PICTURES

stöten|

MARCH 14-20, 2010

9 PICTURES

winter|

FEBRUARY 2-MARCH 3, 2010

10 PICTURES

björn ranelid is watching|

JANUARY 2-24, 2010

7 PICTURES

super heroes|

JANUARY 30, 2010

2 PICTURES

christmas card 2009|