Louis Augustus Karl Frederick Emil, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen (

Köthen Köthen () is a town in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about north of Halle. Köthen is the location of the main campus and the administrative centre of the regional university, Anhalt Univers ...

, 20 September 1802 –

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, 18 December 1818), was a German prince of the

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

and ruler of the duchy of

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, 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. T ...

. He was the second (but only surviving son) of

Prince Louis of Anhalt-Köthen A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

by his wife Princess Luise Karoline Theodora Amalie of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgrave Philip I. ...

, daughter of the later (1806) Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.

Life

Prince Louis Augustus was born posthumously, four days after the death of his father, on 16 September 1802. One year later, his uncle, the reigning Prince (and later Duke) Augustus Christian Frederick of Anhalt-Köthen divorced his wife after eleven years of childless union, and showed no interest in marrying again; this left Louis Augustus as his uncle's heir presumptive. When Augustus Christian Frederick died in 1812, Louis Augustus succeeded him at the age of ten. Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau, as head of the whole House of Anhalt, assumed the regency on his behalf until his death in 1817, when his grandson and heir, Leopold IV, assumed guardianship of the duke. Louis Augustus died at only sixteen years of age and because he was still a minor, he never ruled on his own. With him, the main line of Anhalt-Köthen became extinct, and he was succeeded by his uncle Frederick Ferdinand, a member of the Anhalt-Köthen-Pless branch.

References

* Christian Daniel Beck: ''Memoria Principis Ludovici Augusti Friderici Aemilii Ascanio-Cothenensis.'' Leipzig 1818 * Hermann Wäschke: ''Anhaltische Geschichte.'' 3 Bde. Köthen: Schulze, 1912–13. {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Augustus Karl Frederick Emil, Duke Of Anhalt-Kothen 1802 births 1818 deaths People from Köthen (Anhalt) Dukes of Anhalt-Köthen Monarchs who died as children