Duke Charles of Württemberg-Bernstadt (11 March 1682 in

Dobroszyce Dobroszyce (german: Juliusburg) is a village in Oleśnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Dobroszyce. It lies approximately north-west of Oleśnica, ...

– 8 February 1745 in

Bierutów Bierutów (german: Bernstadt in Schlesien) is a town in Oleśnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Bierutów. The town lies approximately south-east o ...

) was

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

of Württemberg- Bernstadt.

Life

Karl was the only surviving child of the Duke Julius Siegmund of Württemberg-Juliusburg (1653–1684) from his marriage to Anna Sophia (1647–1726), the daughter of the Duke Adolf Frederick I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He became Duke of Württemberg-Juliusburg when his father died in 1684, although he stood under guardianship until he came of age in 1704. When his uncle Silvius II Frederick died in 1697, his uncle Christian Ulrich I took over the

Duchy of Oels The Duchy of Oels (german: Herzogtum Oels) or Duchy of Oleśnica ( pl, Księstwo Oleśnickie, la, Ducatus Olsnensis) was one of the duchies of Silesia with its capital in Oleśnica in Lower Silesia, Poland.Zofia Uszyńska, University of MichiganP ...

and left the

Duchy of Bernstadt The Duchy of Bernstadt (german: Herzogtum Bernstadt, pl, Księstwo bierutowskie, cz, Bernštatské knížectví) was a Silesian duchy centred on the city of Bernstadt (present-day Bierutów) in Lower Silesia (now in Poland) and formed by separ ...

to Charles. On 20 December 1703 in

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

, he married Wilhelmine Louise (1686–1753), the daughter of Duke Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen. The marriage remained childless. Charles ruled arbitrarily and wastefully. In 1740, his councilors therefore turned to emperor

Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 *Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) *Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...

, who ruled against the Duke. In 1742, Karl asked his country's captain for a new wig, however, it was not granted due to an empty treasury. He then sold off the Lordship of Goschütz and the city of

Twardogóra Twardogóra (pronounced , german: Festenberg) is a historic town in Oleśnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina Twardogóra. It lies approximately no ...

, the latter to Count Henry of Reichenbach-Goschütz (1705–1775). Charles died in 1745. Since his marriage had been childless, the Duchy of Bernstadt fell to his cousin Charles Christian Erdmann, who was thus able to unite all the Silesian possessions of the House of Württemberg in a single hand.

References

* L. Wiesner: ''Zur Geschichte der Herzöge von Oels, Würtembergischer Linie, namentlich Carl Friedrichs von Oels und Carls von Bernstadt'', in: ''Zeitschrift des Vereins für Geschichte und Alterthum Schlesiens'', pp. 170–178, in particular p. 175–176
Online
* ''Öls'', in:

Johann Samuel Ersch Johann Samuel Ersch (23 June 1766 – 16 January 1828) was a German bibliographer, generally regarded as the founder of German bibliography. Biography He was born in Großglogau (now Głogów), in Silesia. In 1785 he entered the University of H ...

and

Johann Gottfried Gruber Johann Gottfried Gruber (29 November 1774 – 7 August 1851) was a German critic and literary historian. Biography Gruber was born at Naumburg on the Saale, in the Electorate of Saxony. He received his education at the town school of Naumburg a ...

: ''

Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste The ''Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste'' ("Universal Encyclopaedia of Sciences and Arts") was a 19th-century German encyclopaedia published by Johann Samuel Ersch and Johann Gottfried Gruber, therefore also known as the "Ers ...

'', section 3, part 1, p 400-405, in particular p. 404
Online

External links

* Dukes of Silesia 18th-century dukes of Württemberg 1682 births 1745 deaths 18th-century German people {{Germany-duke-stub