Historical Overview
The distinguished surname of Schonewald can be traced back to Brendenburg, the birthplace of modern Germany. Historically known as Brandenburg-Prussia, this region was first names Brandenburg, after the Slavic chieftain seat of Brendaburg. Breandenburg eventually expanded to incorporate the Rhineland, Westphalia, Hannover, parts of Saxony, Pomerania, Silesia, and Hessen. The Germanic Semnonen tribe lived here, then the Slavic tribe of Heveler, who held this territory until the arrival of the Christian Saxons.
Bearers of the family name Schonewald were found in Prussia, where the name came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the emerging society. They became more prominent as many branches of the same house acquired distant estates, always elevating their social status and influences by their great contributions to society.
A major aspect of research into family names is the changing spelling or pronunciation of a name throughout its history, the addition of a phrase at the beginning or the end of the root name became a quite common indicator of a person's character, place of origin or religious beliefs. In the Middle Ages, scribes would often record a name simply by its sound. Therefore, the numerous variations of the name Schonewald include Schoen, Schoene, Schon, Schone, Schoenemann, Shoneman, Schoeneman, Schonemann to name a few examples.
Albrecht the Bear, margrave in 1184, battled the Slavic tribe of Wenden as he drove eastwards, naming the conquered territories of Brandenburg. In 1323, members of the Bavarian ducal house became rulers of this area until they were replaced by the Emperor with the Hohenzollerns, a great ruling dynasty, who made Berlin their capital in 1486 and introduced the Reformation in 1539. The Hohenzollerns continued their extensive program of expansion by gaining possession of East Prussia and West Prussia, as well as the duchy of Cleve in the Rhine. In 1701, Frederick I crowned himself King of Prussia in the East Prussian capital of Koenigsburg, naming the entire country Prussia, after the Baltic Prußen, former inhabitants of the land.
During this period of change, the family name Schonewald moved to northern Germany, where they became more entrenched as one of the notable family names of the region, being elevated to the nobility in 1586. They established several branch houses and some were not confined to the region. They moved within the great flux of migration in 16th and 17th century Europe, spreading south the Nuremburg, Moravia and Austria. Many capitalised on their interests in either religious, military or political service. Notable amongst the many branches of the family name were the Prussian branch; Heinrich von Schoen became the state minister and his descendants possessed extensive land holdings in the area of Koenigsburg. Other Schoens distinguished themselves in civil service, including an Austrian Schoen who was given his title for serving as a chief forester for forty-seven years (1765). They were also elevated to the Moravian branch who were knighted in 1860, and the Viennese branch who received their knighthoods in 1865. Notable figures with the name Schonewald at this time were Theodor von Schone (1773-1856), who was an eminent Prussian civil servant and the leading spirit behind the restoration of the castle Marienburg.
Prussia gained strength the rulers promoted settlement of its agricultural and industrial regions by skilled workers and craftsmen. Prussia became a haven for political and religious refugees, including Salzburg Protestants fleeing from Catholic Austria, not to mention the French Huguenots. The greatest King was Frederick II, whose reform of the civil service, the cultivation of the land, and encouragement of industrial development made Prussia the unifying force behind the German empire. The Prussian army became the most feared and respected military forced in Europe.
Frederick's successors were defeated by Napoleon, and Prussia was divided in half. However, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 gave the rich territories of the Rhineland and of Westphalia to Prussia. The resurgence of Prussian strength was due to Bismarck, "the Iron Chancellor," who defeated Austria and Demark. By 1971, Germany was united under Prussian power in the Franco-Prussian War. In 1919, Prussia became a state of the new Weimar Republic, only to become incorporated into the German Democratic Republic in 1952, after giving its lands east of the Oder river to Poland.
In our modern period, many members of the surname Schonewald achieved prominence, such as Baron Frank Schon (b.1912), who was born in Vienna and went on to become a leading British industrialist. Albrecht Schoen (b.1925) was a prominent German philologist. He was president of the International Association for Germanic Studies and won many awards.