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Duke Eberhard Louis (18 September 1676 – 31 October 1733) was the
Duke of Württemberg 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 ranke ...
, from 1692 until 1733.


Biography

Eberhard Louis was born in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
the third child of Duke William Louis and his wife,
Magdalena Sibylla of Hesse-Darmstadt Landgravine Magdalena Sibylla of Hesse-Darmstadt (28 April 1652 – 11 August 1712) was regent of the Duchy of Württemberg from 1677 to 1693, and was a prominent German composer of baroque hymns. Life Magdalena Sibylla, Duchess of Würt ...
. After the early and unexpected death of his father in 1677, the royal court decided to give guardianship to his uncle,
Frederick Charles, Duke of Württemberg-Winnental Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...
. In 1693, Magdalena Sibylla had the 16-year-old Eberhard Louis prematurely proclaimed Duke of Württemberg by Emperor Leopold I. The young duke showed no excessive interest in governmental affairs. Eberhard Louis was described by his contemporaries as superficial and easily influenced. Most importantly, his behavior led to the political fate of the land being greatly decided by his council. The duke preferred hunting and left the administration of his county in the hands his advisors. In 1697, he married Joanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach. In 1707 he became the field marshal of the
Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
n troops in the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
. Shortly before 1700, he visited
Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...
at the
Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...
and planned to make
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 ...
an absolutist state. He raised taxes, but financing still remained an obstacle. In 1704, he laid the foundation for his
Ludwigsburg Palace Ludwigsburg Palace, nicknamed the "Versailles of Swabia", is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings located in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its total area, including the gardens, is the largest palatial estate in the country. T ...
. To save money, he allowed the workers to reside tax-free around the palace for 15 years. Later, the city of
Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...
developed out of these residences. As of 1711, Eberhard Louis spent ever more time in Ludwigsburg, usually in the company of his mistress,
Wilhelmine von Grävenitz Christine Wilhelmine Friederike von Grävenitz (born 4 February 1684, Schwerin – d. 21 October 1744, Berlin) was a German noblewoman who was the royal mistress to Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg, between 1706 and 1731. The couple married i ...
, whom he married in 1707. Because of pressure from the emperor, the marriage had to be quickly dissolved, and Grävenitz went into exile. Eberhard Louis followed her to
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, where they stayed until 1710. The influential mistress was only allowed to return to the royal court once she had married another man,
Graf von Würben (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...
. For over two decades, Grävenitz had a strong influence on the government of the land, and it was she who, together with Eberhard Ludwig, moved the royal residence and capital of the duchy from Stuttgart to the sparsely populated city of Ludwigsburg. Duchess Joanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach stayed in the royal palace in Stuttgart. Because of the early death of his heir, Prince Frederick Louis, in 1731, the power threatened to shift into Catholic hands, which was unthinkable for Protestant Württemberg. Thus Duke Eberhard Louis dissolved his relations with Wilhelmine von Grävenitz and hoped to receive an heir from his legitimate and long ignored wife, Joanna Elisabeth. However, as he died in Ludwigsburg of a
stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
on October 31, 1733, he left no heir behind. The duchy then fell into the hands of his converted nephew,
Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg Charles Alexander of Württemberg (24 January 1684 – 12 March 1737) was a Württemberg Duke from 1698 who governed the Kingdom of Serbia as regent from 1720 until 1733, when he assumed the position of Duke of Württemberg, which he held until ...
of the bloodline Württemberg-Winnental, though only for a few years.


Tolerance

For his time, Eberhard Louis was a very tolerant ruler, commonly noted by modern scholars as "enlightened." An example of this is the hiring of ''Oberkapellmeister'' Johann Christoph Pez, a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, whom Eberhard Louis guaranteed freedom from religious persecution.


Ancestors


Citations


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eberhard Louis, Duke of Wurttemberg 1676 births 1733 deaths 17th-century dukes of Württemberg 18th-century dukes of Württemberg Nobility from Stuttgart Modern child rulers German army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Hereditary Princes of Württemberg Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Soldiers of the Imperial Circles