Anthony Günther, Count of Oldenburg (aka Anton Günther, 10 November 158319 June 1667) was an

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

and a member of the

House of Oldenburg The House of Oldenburg is a German dynasty with links to Denmark since the 15th century. It has branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Schleswig, Holstein, and Oldenburg. The cu ...

Günther was born in Oldenburg and was the ruling count of Oldenburg from 1603 until his death in

Rastede Rastede ( Low German: ''Raastäe/Raas'') is a municipality in the Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 12 km north of Oldenburg. It is the site of the Schloss Rastede. The Rastede railway station i ...

, and of

Delmenhorst Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district ('' Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the ...

from 1647 until his death. He was the son of John VII (1540–1603) and Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg. Anthony Günther married Sophie Catherine (28 June 1617 – 22 November 1696), a daughter of

Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, (20 January 157313 May 1627) was a Danish nobleman. Alexander was born in Sønderborg (German: ''Sonderburg'') in Schleswig, the third son of John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and El ...

and Dorothea of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Biography

S. Baring-Gould relates the following interesting anecdote about the count in his book "Strange Survivals Some Chapters in the History of Man": ''In 1615 Count Anthony Günther of Oldenburg, on visiting a dyke in process of construction, found the workmen about to bury an infant under it. The count interfered, saved the child, reprimanded the dam-builders, and imprisoned the mother who had sold her babe for the purpose. Singularly enough, this same count is declared by tradition to have buried a living child in the foundations of his castle at Oldenburg.''

Haus "Graf Anton Günther"

The Haus "Graf Anton Günther" is a historic house in central Oldenburg, dating from 1682. Count Anton Günther is depicted on the facade, which was redesigned in the

neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

style in 1894. The house was used by merchants and tobacco manufacturers.

References

Sources

* Friedrich-Wilhelm Schaer: ''Anton Günther'', in: Hans Friedl, Wolfgang Günther, Hilke Günther-Arndt and Heinrich Schmidt (eds.): ''Biographisches Handbuch zur Geschichte des Landes Oldenburg'', Isensee Verlag, Oldenburg, 1992, , pp. 37–40 * Karl Veit Riedel: ''August Oetken'', in: ''Biographisches Handbuch zur Geschichte des Landes Oldenburg'', Isensee Verlag, Oldenburg, 1992, , pp. 534–535 * Gerold Schmidt: ''Der Kirchenmaler und Mosaikkünstler des Historismus Prof. August Oetken (1868–1951), Mitgestalter des Melanchthonhauses in Bretten'', in: Stefan Rhein and Gerhard Schwinge (eds.): ''Das Melanchthonhaus Bretten. Ein Beispiel des Reformationsgedenkens der Jahrhundertwende'', Verlag Regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher, 1997, , pp. 167–212

External links

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Page at kulturportalnordwest.de
1583 births 1667 deaths 17th-century German people Counts of Oldenburg German people of the Thirty Years' War {{Germany-noble-stub