The
House of Esterházy (also spelled
Eszterházy, ) is a
Hungarian noble family beginning in the
Middle Ages. Since the 17th century they were among the great landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, during the time it was part of the
Habsburg Empire and later
Austria-Hungary. During the history of the
Habsburg empire, the Esterházys were consistently loyal to the Habsburg rulers. They received the title of
count in 1626 and the Forchtenstein line received the title of
Fürst (Ruling Prince) by the
Holy Roman Emperor in 1712.