240px , Wiesenburg Castle in Saxony gave its name to this branch of the ducal family The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg was one of the many

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 ...

es of the House of

Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg was the name of a branch line of the House of Oldenburg as well as the name of their land. It existed from 1564 until 1668 and was a titular duchy under the King of Denmark, rather than a true territorial dukedom in ...

, itself a junior line of the Oldenburg dynasty. Although the members possessed the title of duke in Denmark and in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, they held property in and derived income from allotted sections of the

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ( ...

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

, but sovereignty over these lands remained in the authority of their ''

pater familias The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (plural ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his ext ...

'', the king of Denmark.

Background

The founder of the line was Philip Louis (1620–1689). He purchased the ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' of Wiesenburg in the

Erzgebirgskreis Erzgebirgskreis is a district ('' Kreis'') in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the Erzgebirge ("Ore Mountains"), a mountain range in the southern part of the district which forms part of the Germany–Czech Republic border. I ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, including a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, town and 18 villages in 1664 from

John George II, Elector of Saxony Johann George II (31 May 1613 – 22 August 1680) was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. Biography He was the third (fourth in order of birth) but eldest surviving son of the Elector ...

, but without any sovereign privileges. He made what initially appeared to be a failing investment in the mining industry in Schneeberg and Neustädtel. But in the 1670s he made large profits and became a wealthy mining entrepreneur. In 1675, Philip Louis sold

Wiesenburg Castle The Wiesenburg Castle (german: Burg Wiesenburg or ) is a castle located in the Wiesenburg district of Wildenfels, Germany, on a hill overlooking the eastern shore of the Mulde river. The castle protects the bridge across the Mulde to Schönau and ...

, which he had renovated, with the surrounding land and sovereign rights for to his eldest son, Frederick (1651–1724), who served as an imperial lieutenant general in Hungary. In 1686, Philip Louis bought

Oberkotzau Oberkotzau is a municipality in Upper Franconia in the district of Hof in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe af ...

in Franconia from

Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth Christian Ernst of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (6 August 1644 in Bayreuth – 20 May 1712 in Erlangen) was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. He was the only son of Erdmann August, Hereditary Margrave (''E ...

. He died in 1689 in Oberkotzau. His son Frederick was unhappily married with

Karolina of Legnica-Brieg Karolina of Legnica-Brieg-Wohlau (german: Charlotte von Liegnitz-Brieg-Wohlau, pl, Karolina Piastówna; 2 December 1652 in Brzeg – 24 December 1707 in Wrocław), was a Silesian noble, duchess of Legnica, Brzeg and Wołów and the last mem ...

(1652–1707) until she divorced him in 1680. He sold Wiesenburg in 1723 to his only son Leopold (1674–1744), who sold it shortly after Frederick's death. King

August II of Poland Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

bought the castle in 1725 for . Duke Leopold had reverted to Catholicism, and married Princess Marie Elisabeth of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

(1683–1744). He was a secret Imperial Councillor and Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

(Nr.648). He had five daughters and no male heirs. The line of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg died out with Duke Leopold.

List of Dukes

References

Bibliography

* Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen, E. Imberger, D. Lohmeier, I. Mommsen (eds.): ''Die Fürsten des Landes. Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig-Holstein und Lauenburg'', Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster, 2008, {{ISBN, 978-3-529-02606-5

External links

The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg

Story about the Wiesenburg
* German noble families Sonderburg-Wiesenburg