John Frederick, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (8 January 1721 in

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 ...

– 10 July 1767 in ibid) was the ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt from 1744 to 1767.

Life

John Frederick von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was the only son of

Frederick Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Frederick Anton of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (14 August 1692 in Rudolstadt – 1 September 1744 in Rudolstadt) was the ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt from 1718 until his death. Life He was the eldest son of Prince Louis Frederick I of Sch ...

and his first wife, Princess

Sophia Wilhelmina of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Princess Sophia Wilhelmina of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (9 August 1693, in Saalfeld – 4 December 1727, in Rudolstadt) was a Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld by birth, and Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt by marriage. Life Sophia Wilhelmina wa ...

. John Frederick mastered the French language. Between 1738 and 1742, John Frederick made a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

. He attended lectures on theology at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

and lectures on mathematics and physics at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

. During his Grand Tour, he came into contact with the ideas of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

. He later tried to reconcile these ideas with his faith. In 1742, John Frederick represented his father at the coronation of Emperor

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

. The ceremony in

Frankfurt Cathedral Frankfurt Cathedral (german: link=no, Frankfurter Dom), officially Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew (german: link=no, Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus) is a Roman Catholic Gothic church located in the heart of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It ...

lasted several hours and John Frederick found it very impressive. In 1744, at the age of 23, he inherited the Principality 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 ...

. He continued the

Heidecksburg Heidecksburg is a Baroque palace in Rudolstadt, Thuringia, and served as the residence of the princes to Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. It is located prominently approximately 60 m above the old town. After a fire in 1735 and its reconstruction, it has ...

construction project his father had begun. His father had built the exterior of the castle, John Frederick took up decorating the interior. He commissioned

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

ed ceilings and

overdoor An "overdoor" (or "Supraporte" as in German, or "sopraporte" as in Italian) is a painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, generally in a horizontal format, that is set, typically within ornamental mouldings, over a door, or was originally intend ...

ornaments. In 1750, the ballroom was completed by Gottfried Heinrich Krohne. It is considered a prime example of

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

interior design in Germany. The princely collection of

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

had been lost in a fire in 1735. John Frederick started a new collection to replace it. Georg Gebel composed at least nine

opera libretti Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

and about a hundred

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

partita Partita (also ''partie'', ''partia'', ''parthia'', or ''parthie'') was originally the name for a single-instrumental piece of music (16th and 17th centuries), but Johann Kuhnau (Thomaskantor until 1722), his student Christoph Graupner, and Johann ...

s and

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s. In 1746, John Frederick rewarded him with the title of ''Concertmeister'' and in 1750 with the title of ''Kapellmeister''. In 1754,

Christian Gotthelf Scheinpflug Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

succeeded gebel as Kapellmeister. He composed music for all kinds of courtly occasions. In 1746, he founded a theological seminary and supported the founding of an extensive public library. He added his private library to the existing collection and from 1751 onwards, he allowed the general public to access it once a week. He considerably extended the collection of the "Princely public library Rudolstadt", founded in 1748, be purchasing scientific literature and numerous valuable books,

incunable In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pr ...

s and oriental

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s. The collection is currently split between the , and the . On 4 October 1760, John Frederick granted a license to operate a porcelain factory to Georg Heinrich Macheleid. John Frederick himself acted as a director for this company, which still exists under the name of '' Aelteste Volkstedter Porzellanmanufaktur''. On 20 January 1764, the local gymnasium celebrated its centenary. On this occasion, John Frederick officially named the building and added a position teaching mathematics and physics. The ceremony was attended by the Prince and the entire princely household.L. Renovanz: ''Chronik der fürstl. Schwarzburgischen Residenzstadt Rudolstadt'', Rudolstadt 1860, p. 87
Online
viewed on 13 October 2011 John Frederick died on 10 July 1767. As he had no male heir, he was succeeded by his uncle Louis Günther II. In 1763, Louis Günther II's eldest son, the new

Hereditary Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...

Frederick Charles, had married John Frederick's eldest daughter, Frederike.

Marriage and issue

John Frederick married on 19 November 1744 in

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

to Princess Bernardina Christina Sophia of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1724–1757). They had the following children: * Princess Frederike of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1745–1778); married on 1763

Frederick Charles, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Prince Frederick Charles of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (7 June 1736 – 13 April 1793) was a German Natural History collector, and from 1790 until his death the reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Life Frederick Charles of Schwarzburg-Rud ...

(1736-1793) * Daughter (1746-1746) * Son (1747-1747) * Princess Sophie Ernestine of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1749–1754) * Princess Wilhelmina of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1751–1780); married in 1766

Louis, Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken Louis, Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken (3 January 1745 in Saarbrücken – 2 March 1794 in Aschaffenburg) was the last ruling prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken. He ruled from 1768 until the French Revolution. Life Louis was born in Saarbrücken ...

(1745-1794). * Princess Henrietta Charlotte of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1752–1756)

Ancestry

References

* Bernhard Anemüller: ''Johann Friedrich Fürst zu Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt 1721 bis 1767'', 1864 * Jens Henkel and Lutz Unbehaun: ''Die Fürsten von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt'', Thüringer Landesmuseum

, Rudolstadt, 1997 (3rd ed.: 2001), * Johann Christian August Junghans: ''Geschichte der schwarzburgischen Regenten'', Leipzig, 1821
online, viewed on 2 march 2012
* 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,

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:John Frederick of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt House of Schwarzburg Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt 1721 births 1767 deaths 18th-century German people