Charles Günther, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (6 November 1576 – 24 September 1630 in

Kranichfeld Kranichfeld is a town in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia. It is situated on the river Ilm, 18 km southeast of Erfurt, and 16 km southwest of Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Cent ...

) was a German nobleman. He was the ruling Count of

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since th ...

from 1605 to 1612 and then the ruling Count of Hohenstein, Lord of Rudolstadt, Leutenberg, Blankenburg, Sondershausen and Arnstadt from 1612 until his death.

Early life

Born into the

House of Schwarzburg The House of Schwarzburg was one of the oldest noble families of Thuringia. Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Günther in 1971, a claim to the headship of the house passed under Semi-Salic primogeniture to his elder sister, Princess Marie An ...

, Charles Günther was the eldest son of Count Albert VII of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and his first wife, Countess Juliana of Nassau-Dillenburg. His brothers were Louis Günther I and

Albert Günther Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3 October 1830 – 1 February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive re ...

Biography

He was privately educated and in 1593, at the age of 17, he enrolled at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. He studied there until 1596; in the summer semester of 1597, he studied at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

. In 1598, he went to the Academy in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, where he probably stayed until 1600. His teacher Melchior Junius praised Charles Günther as an exceptionally diligent student in his ''Orationes''. After his father died in 1605, Charles Günther ruled Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt for six years, with the consent of his brothers. In 1612, the brothers decided to divide their inheritance. Charles Günther received the part around

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide va ...

, Albert Günther received the part around

Ilmenau Ilmenau () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany. It is the largest town within the Ilm district with a population of 38,600, while the district capital is Arnstadt. Ilmenau is located approximately south of Erfurt and north of Nuremberg w ...

, and Louis Günther I received the area around Frankenhausen. In 1624, Albert Günther and Louis Günther exchanged the parts they held, in the Treaty of Erfurt. In 1609, Charles Günther initiated the construction of a school in Rudolstadt. The school was inaugurated in 1611. He and his wife, Anna Sophie were enthusiastic supported of the educational reformer

Wolfgang Ratke Wolfgang Ratke (also Wolfgangus Ratichius or Wolfgang Ratich) (18 October 157127 April 1635) was a German educational reformer. Biography Early life He was born at Wilster, Holstein,Leichpredigt: Meyfart, Johann Matthäus: Programma Publicum In ...

. Prince

Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ( ...

of Anhalt-Köthen admitted Charles Günther as a member of the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it a ...

in 1619, probably on 5 September. He received the nickname ("the Proliferating") and the motto ("a hundred time"). His emblem was the fully grown Turkish

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

() with several open

ear An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of ...

s. He was member number 23. Charles Günther died on 24 September 1630, at the age of 54. As he had no children, he was succeeded by his brother Louis Günther I.

Personal life

On 13 June 1613, he married Princess Anna Sophie of Anhalt, youngest daughter of Prince

Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt Joachim Ernest of Anhalt (21 October 1536 – 6 December 1586), was a German prince of the House of Ascania, ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1551, and from 1570 sole ruler of all the Anhalt lands. Life Early life Joachim Ernest ...

and his second wife, Duchess Eleonore of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

(1552-1618). The marriage remained childless.

References

* Friedrich Apfelstedt: ''Das Haus Kevernburg-Schwarzburg von seinem Ursprunge bis auf unsere Zeit: dargestellt in den Stammtafeln seiner Haupt- und Nebenlinien und mit biographischen Notizen über die wichtigsten Glieder derselben'', Bertram, Sondershausen, 1890, * Horst Fleischer: ''Die Grafen von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt: Albrecht VII. bis Albert Anton'', Rudolstadt, 2000, * Johann Christian August Junghans: ''Geschichte der schwarzburgischen Regenten'', Leipzig, 1821
Online

External links

Overview of the counts and princes of Schwarzburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Gunther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Counts of Schwarzburg House of Schwarzburg People from Rudolstadt 1576 births 1630 deaths 16th-century German people 17th-century German people

Early life

Biography

Personal life

See also

References

External links