Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, with its capital at Rudolstadt.

History

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since the 11th century, the ancestral seat of the comital family had been at Schwarzburg Castle, though after 1340, for most of its existence as a polity had the capital at the larger town of Rudolstadt. In 1583 Count Günther XLI of Schwarzburg, the eldest son of Günther XL the Rich and ruler over the united Schwarzburg lands, had died without issue. He was succeeded by his younger brothers, whereby Albert VII received the territory around Rudolstadt. After their brother Count William of Schwarzburg- Frankenhausen had died in 1597, the surviving brothers Albert VII and John Günther I established the two counties of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county until 1697. In that year, it became a principality, which la ...

by the 1599 Treaty of

Stadtilm Stadtilm is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Ilm, 15 km northeast of Ilmenau, and 11 km southeast of Arnstadt. In July 2018 the former municipality of Ilmtal was merged into Stadtilm. ...

. Albert's descendants ruled as sovereign counts of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. Count Albert Anton (1662–1710) was elevated to the rank of a

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. T ...

by Emperor Leopold I of Habsburg; it was however his son Louis Frederick I (1710–1718) who first bore the princely title, whereby Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1711 became a principality under the same entity. It withstood

mediatisation Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by ...

and after the Empire's dissolution joined the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

in 1807 and the German Confederation in 1815. In 1905 Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt had an area of and a population of 97,000. On 23 November 1918, during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the fall of all the

German monarchies This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Empir ...

, Prince Günther Victor was the last to abdicate. The former principality became a "Free State" in 1919 and joined the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

as a constituent state. In 1920, it joined with other small states in the area to form the new state of

. File:Schloss Schwarzburg 1900.jpg, The castle at Schwarzburg File:Treppsteinblick 1900.jpg, Aerial view of Schwarzburg File:Heidecksburg.jpg, Heidecksburg residence at Rudolstadt

Rulers of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Counts of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

* 1574–1605: Count Albrecht VII (1537–1605), son of Count Günther XL of Schwarzburg, founder of the county (state) of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * 1605–1630: Count Charles Günther I (1576–1630), succeeded by younger brother Louis Günther I * 1612–1634 Count Albrecht Günther (1582–1634) * 1630–1646: Count Louis Günther I (1581–1646) * 1646–1662:

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

Emilie of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst (1614–70) * 1662–1710: Count Albert Anton (1641–1710)

Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

* 1710–1718: Prince Louis Frederick I (1667–1718) * 1718–1744: Prince Frederick Anton (1692–1744) * 1744–1767: Prince John Frederick (1721–67) * 1767–1790: Prince Louis Günther II (1708–90) * 1790–1793: Prince Frederick Charles (1736–93) * 1793–1807: Prince Louis Frederick II (1767–1807) * 1807–1814:

Caroline Louise of Hesse-Homburg (1771–1854) * 1814–1867: Prince Frederick Günther (1793–1867) * 1867–1869: Prince

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

(1798–1869) * 1869–1890: Prince Georg Albert (1838–90) * 1890–1918: Prince Günther Victor (1852–1925), also succeeded as Prince of

in 1909 upon the death of Prince Karl Günther.

Heads of the princely house of Schwarzburg post-monarchy

On the death of the childless Prince Günther Victor in 1925, he was succeeded by Prince Sizzo (1860–1926), who was the son of Prince Friedrich Günther (1793–1867) from his second,

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

marriage. Prince Sizzo was recognised as a full member of the House of Schwarzburg in 1896. He was succeeded in 1926 by his son, Prince Friedrich Günther (1901–1971). Upon the death in 1971 of Prince Friedrich Günther, the last in the male line, his elder sister, Princess Marie Antoinette of Schwarzburg, who married Friedrich Magnus V, Count of

Solms-Wildenfels Solms-Wildenfels was a minor County around Wildenfels in south-western Saxony, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins at Solms, Hesse. Solms-Wildenfels was a partition of Solms-Baruth. In 1741 it was partitioned between itself and Solms- ...

, could have had a claim to the headship under semi-Salic primogeniture.James, John ''Almanach de Gotha, Volume I'', 2013. * 1918–1925: Prince Günther Victor (1852–1925) * 1925–1926: Prince Sizzo (1860–1926) * 1926–1971: Prince Friedrich Günther (1901–1971)

References

External links

House laws of Schwarzburg
* {{Authority control 1599 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1919 disestablishments in Germany Rudolstadt States and territories disestablished in 1919 States and territories established in 1599 States of the Confederation of the Rhine States of the German Confederation States of the German Empire States of the North German Confederation States of the Weimar Republic