Louis Engelbert of Arenberg (3 August 1750 in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

– 7 March 1820 in Brussels), nicknamed ''the blind duke'', was between 1778 and 1801 the sixth

Duke of Arenberg The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot m ...

and 12th

Duke of Aarschot The Duke of Aarschot (or ''Aerschot'') was one of the most important aristocratic titles in the Low Countries, named after the Brabantian city of Aarschot. The title was held by the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg. The present Duke is Le ...

. Between 1803 and 1810 he ruled a Duchy in North-western Germany also called Duchy of Arenberg. He was born in Brussels as son of

Charles Marie Raymond of Arenberg Charles Marie Raymond d'Arenberg (Enghien, 1 April 1721 – Enghien, 17 August 1778) was the fifth Duke of Arenberg, 11th Duke of Aarschot and an Austrian field marshal. Biography Charles Marie was the eldest son of Duke Leopold Philippe d'A ...

, one of the most prominent nobles in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

, and Louise Margaret von der Mark und Schleide. At the age of 24, during a hunting party, he was hit in the face by a shotgun and remained blind for the rest of his life. Unable to pursue the usual military career, he turned to science, art and music.
Under his patronage, the first manned gas-filled balloon flight in history took off from the front lawn of the

Arenberg Castle Arenberg Castle ( nl, Kasteel van Arenberg, french: Château d'Arenberg) is a château in Heverlee close to Leuven in Belgium. It is surrounded by a park. History The site had been the castle of the lords of Heverlee since the 12th century ...

on 21 November 1783; the balloonist was professor Jan Pieter Minckeleers. At the beginning of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, he succeeded in keeping his possessions, but when Bonaparte annexed the Rhineland, he lost most of his territories. In the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803 though, he was compensated with

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...

and

Meppen Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Möppen'') is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems (river), Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from t ...

, together also named the Duchy of Arenberg. In 1810 he abdicated in favor of his son Prosper Louis. Louis Engelbert was named senator by Napoleon and a count of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

. After 1815, he returned to Belgium, where the Duchy of Arenberg was restored to the family by the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, be it without the sovereignty of before.

Marriage and children

Ludwig Engelbert married Louise Antoinette de Brancas-Villars, Countess of

Lauragais The Lauragais () is an area of the south-west of France that is south-east of Toulouse. The Lauragais, a former county in the south-west of France, takes its name from the town of Laurac and has a large area. It covers both sides of the Canal ...

, daughter of Louis-Léon de Brancas, Duke of Villars and Elisabeth-Pauline de Gand, Princess d'Isenghien. They had six children: *Pauline (1774–1810), married

Prince Josef Johann of Schwarzenberg {{Infobox noble , name = Joseph II , title = Prince of Schwarzenberg , image = Schwarzenberg, Joseph II Johann; 1789-1833.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more ...

(1769–1833) *Louis Engelbert (1777) * Prosper Louis 7th Duke of Arenberg (1785–1861), his successor *Philemon Paul Maria (1788–1844), Bishop of

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

Pierre d'Alcantara Charles Pierre d'Alcantara Charles Marie, Prince d'Arenberg, duc d'Arenberg, (Paris 2 October 1790 – Brussels 27 September 1877). Pierre d'Alcantara Charles, was born on 2 October 1790 as 3rd son of Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg. He entered int ...

(1790–1877), since 1828 French Duke and Peer, married Alix Marie Charlotte of Talleyrand-Périgord (1808–1842) *Philipp Joseph (1794–1815)

External links

Arenberg Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arenberg, Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke Of 1750 births 1820 deaths Nobility from Brussels Louis Engelbert Louis Engelbert Knights of the Golden Fleece Nobility of the Austrian Netherlands