, title = Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg , styles = , house =

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

, spouse =

Sophie Albertine of Solms-Sonnenwalde Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia (given name), Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of T ...

Wilhelmine Charlotte Nüssler , issue = Elisabeth, Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Prince Frederick William
Charlotte Sophie, Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen-Ebeleben
Princess Auguste Wilhelmine

Victor Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg , house = Ascania , father = Karl Frederick , mother = Sophie Albertine of Solms-Sonnenwalde , birth_date = , birth_place = Bernburg, Anhalt, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death_place = Bernburg, Anhalt, H ...

Fredericka Henriette, Princess of

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1562 ...

Prince Frederick of Bährenfeld
Prince Charles Leopold of Bährenfeld , birth_date = , birth_place =

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated ...

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, death_date = , death_place =

, father =

Victor Amadeus, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg (6 October 1634 in Harzgerode – 14 February 1718 in Bernburg), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. He was the sixth (but second surviving) son of Chri ...

, mother =

Elizabeth of Palatinate-Zweibrücken Elisabeth, Princess of Anhalt-Bernburg (née Countess Elisabeth of Palatinate-Zweibrücken; 22 March 1642 – 18 April 1677) was the consort of Victor Amadeus, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg. Biography Countess Elisabeth of Palatinate-Zweibrücken ...

Karl Frederick of Anhalt-Bernburg (13 July 1668 – 22 April 1721) was a German prince of the

and ruler of the principality of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision from the Principality of ...

. He was born in

, the eldest son of

, by his wife

, daughter of

Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Frederick (german: Friedrich) (5 April 1616 – 9 July 1661) was the Duke of Zweibrücken from 1635 until 1661. Life Frederick was born in Zweibrücken in 1616 as the elder son of John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. He succeeded his fathe ...

Life

After the death of his father in 1718, the fifty-year-old Karl Frederick inherited Anhalt-Bernburg. His reign, which lasted only two years until his death, was unremarkable.

Marriages and Issue

on 25 June 1692 Karl Frederick married his cousin Sophie Albertine (b. Sonnenwalde, 2 October 1672 - d. Bernburg, 12 June 1708), daughter of George Frederick, Count of Solms-Sonnenwalde, by his wife Anna Sophia of Anhalt-Bernburg (sister of his father Victor Amadeus, and daughter of Christian II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg). They had six children: # Elisabeth Albertine (b. Bernburg, 31 March 1693 - d.

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially preserved town ...

, 7 July 1774), married on 2 October 1712 to Günther XLIII, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. # Frederick William (b. Bernburg, 3 September 1694 - d. Bernburg, 28 December 1694). # Charlotte Sophie (b. Bernburg, 21 May 1696 - d.

Sondershausen Sondershausen is a town in Thuringia, central Germany, capital of the Kyffhäuserkreis district, situated about 50 km north of Erfurt. On 1 December 2007, the former municipality Schernberg was incorporated by Sondershausen. Until 1918 it ...

, 22 July 1762), married on 19 July 1721 to Augustus I Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen-Ebeleben. # Auguste Wilhelmine (b. Bernburg, 3 November 1697 - d.

Harzgerode Harzgerode is a town in the district of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Harzgerode lies in the lower eastern part of the Harz mountain range on the Selke River, south of Quedlinburg. It is connected to Gernrode and Quedlinburg via Ale ...

, 22 June 1767). #

(b. Bernburg, 20 September 1700 - d. Bernburg, 18 May 1765). # Frederica Henriette (b. Bernburg, 24 November 1702 - d. Köthen, 4 April 1723), married on 11 December 1721 to

Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen (29 November 1694 – 19 November 1728) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. Today, he is best remembered for employing Johann Sebastian Bach as his Kapellmeister ...

. From 1711 Karl Frederick began to live with

Wilhelmine Charlotte Nüssler The Wilhelmine Period () comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm ...

(b. Harzgerode, 10 May 1683 - d.

Gernrode Gernrode () is a historic town and former municipality in the Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2014, it has been part of Quedlinburg.Imperial Count of Bährnfeld" from 12 June 1723(b. Harzgerode, 13 March 1712 - d. Gernrode, 8 September 1758). Born illegitimate, he was legitimized after the wedding of their parents. # Karl Leopold Imperial Count of Bährnfeld" since 12 June 1723(b.

Plötzkau Plötzkau is a municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Ru ...

, 1 July 1717 - d.

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, 3 October 1769). Karl Frederick and Wilhelmine Charlotte married secretly in

on 1 May 1715 and Karl Frederick immediately tried to have his wife raised to the rank of countess by the Emperor. When Prince Victor Amadeus learned of his son's actions, he wrote to the Emperor on 15 November 1715 to prevent the elevation, and added a codicil to his testament dated 13 July 1716 denying the children of the union any succession rights. The Emperor approved this codicil one year later, on 15 July 1717. The Emperor also sent a rescript to Karl Frederick dated 20 August 1717 instructing him not to call his wife princess or their sons princes. Nevertheless, after his father died in 1718, Karl Frederick obtained from the Emperor a patent to elevate his wife to the title Countess of Ballenstedt (German: ''Gräfin von Ballenstedt'') on 19 December 1719, and their two sons to the rank of Imperial Counts of Bährnfeld (German: ''Reichsgrafen von Bährnfeld'') on 12 June 1723; this, however, without prejudice of the rights of the agnates. Karl Frederick died in

Ballenstedt Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Geography It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipal area comprises the vil ...

, and in 1722, the

Reichshofrat The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juris ...

forbade his widow to use the princely title for herself or her sons. However, on 16 November 1742, the

Emperor Charles VII Charles VII (6 August 1697 – 20 January 1745) was the prince-elector of Bavaria from 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 to his death. He was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and his reign as Holy Roman Emperor thus marked the ...

raised the Counts of Bährenfeld to the rank of Princes of Anhalt-Bernburg with all rights of succession.

Victor I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym , father = Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym , mother = Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg , spouse = Charlotte Louise of Isenburg-Büdingen-BirsteinHedwig Sophie Henckel of Donnersmarck , issue = Victoria Charlotte, Margravine of Brandenburg ...

, protested, but the Emperor died in 1745. The Prince brought up the matter to the College of Electors gathered in 1745, but they declined to take up the matter in the electoral capitulation. He then brought the matter to the Reichshofrat, which ruled on 6 May 1748 by repealing the diploma of 1742 and forbidding the Counts of Bährenfeld from calling themselves Princes of Bernburg or Princes of Anhalt-Bernburg, and allowing them only to call themselves Princes of Bährenfeld. They died unmarried.

References

Morganatic and Unequal Marriages in German Law
*
Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karl Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg 1668 births 1721 deaths Princes of Anhalt-Bernburg Burials at Schlosskirche St. Aegidien (Bernburg)