Count Christian Louis Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg, by German School of the 19th Century

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg, also known as Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg, was a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...

of the

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

family. It was created by ''

Graf (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 ...

'' Casimir zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1687–1741, ruled 1694–1741) for his youngest brother, Count Ludwig Franz (1694–1750). Its seat was

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 ...

, a spectacular two-winged manor house in

Berleburg Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest of ...

built by the master builder

Mannus Riedesel Mannus Riedesel (1662–1726) was a master builder in the early 18th century in the Counties of Wittgenstein and surrounding areas, now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the Germany, Federal Republ ...

. The branch had no territorial holdings of its own and as such had no independent standing in the German Empire. Later generations flourished as officers for the

Czar of Russia This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mosco ...

. The family was raised to the rank of

Prince 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. Th ...

in 1834 by

Frederick William III Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

. After their return to Germany in the first half of the 19th century, this line of the family came in to possession of

Sayn Castle The ruins of Sayn Castle (german: Burg Sayn), the 12th century family castle of the counts of Sayn and Sayn-Wittgenstein, are in Sayn, part of the borough of Bendorf on the Rhine, between Koblenz and Neuwied in the county of Mayen-Koblenz in the ...

and Sayn Palace in

Bendorf Bendorf () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. north of Koblenz. Structure of the town The town consists of the following districts: *Bendorf *Sayn *Mülhofen *St ...

and due to that they officially became Princes of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn in 1861. With the revolutions and wars of the 20th century, descendants were dispersed throughout Europe and North America.

Counts and Princes of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg

* Ludwig Franz (1700–1750) ** Christian Louis Casimir (1750–1797) *** Ludwig Adolf Peter (1797–1843), raised by King

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

to the rank of ''

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German word for a ruler and is also a princely title. ' were, since the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of ...

'' in 1834

References

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