Heinrich II von Heilendorf

Count Heinrich von Heilendorf (born 1928) was the son of Count Ludwig von Heilendorf.

His parents separated in 1938, and his mother brought him and his sisters to the USA (she was an American heiress). There she attended the best private schools and went to Harvard. After graduating he moved to New York to work for a bank.

In 1953 he married Eleanor Hutchinson, who belonged to a distinguished family from New York City. They had four children: John (born 1955), Anne (born 1956), Alexandra (born 1959) and Colin (born 1962).

Heinrich's career in banking was very successful. In addition to his family's fortune, he made a fortune of his own. As time passed, he felt a need to increase his ties with his homeland, and frequently travelled to Brasland to visit relatives and tour the country. As the heir of the Heilendorf family (the head of the House had only two daughters and Heinrich expected to inherit the ancestral family seat) he wanted to settle in Brasland with his family. His wife accepted, and they bought a house in Markund and a small estate near the capital. They returned definitely in 1973, leaving their two older children back at boarding schools, and coming with their two youngest.

In 1976, Count Friedrich von Heilendorf, head of the comital family, announced his decision to leave his ancestral estate to his eldest daughter. Heinrich protested and sued him, arguing that the old traditions dictated that the next male heir should always inherit. However, civil courts ruled in Friedrich's favor. Embittered by this decision, Heinrich cut all ties with Friedrich and his daughter.

Instead of returning to the US, Heinrich bought a great estate very near Schloss Heilendorf. He was much richer than Friedrich, so he bought many of the adjacent farms and renovated the castle, Schloss Kaltenstein. He also became a successful farmer.

Nowadays, the Count and Countess still live in Kaltenstein but are now in peaceful terms with their cousin Victoria, current owner of Schloss Heilendorf. They also spent part of the year in Florida, and are very active in many cultural institutions.