Heinrich XXIX, Count of Reuss-Ebersdorf (born 21 July 1699 in Ebersdorf; died: 22 May 1747 in

Herrnhaag Herrnhaag (Lord's Grove) was a communal spiritual centre for the Moravian Church, Moravian Unity, an early form of Protestantism. It and Marienborn, a nearby sister community, are located in the Wetterau, an area of Hesse, north of Frankfurt am Ma ...

) was a member of the House of

Reuss Younger Line The Principality of Reuss-Gera (german: Fürstentum Reuß-Gera), called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line (german: Fürstentum Reuß jüngerer Linie) after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Re ...

and Count Ebersdorf from 1711 until his death

Life

Heinrich was the son of Count Heinrich X Reuss of Ebersdorf and his wife Erdmuthe Benigna of Solms-Laubach. They raised Heinrich strictly according to the guidelines of the

Pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...

. Heinrich soon befriended Count

Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major fig ...

. He married on 7 September 1721 in

Castell A ''castell'' () is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in Catalonia, the Balearic islands and the Valencian Community. At these festivals, several ''colles castelleres'' (teams that build towers) attempt to build and dismantle a t ...

with Sophie Theodora (1703–1777), daughter of Count Dietrich Wolfgang of Castell-Remlingen and Countess Dorothea Renata of Zinzendorf (1669-1743). At Heinrich's wedding, Count Nicholas Ludwig met Heinrich's sister, Erdmuthe Dorothea. They married exactly one year later. Under Count Heinrich XXIX, a

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

was founded in Ebersdorf, after the model of the church von Zinzendorf had founded in

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the ...

Herrnhut Herrnhut ( Sorbian: ''Ochranow''; cs, Ochranov) is an Upper Lusatian town in the Görlitz district in Saxony, Germany, known for the community of the Moravian Church established by Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf in 1722. Geography It is ...

. Because class differences were largely eliminated in this church, the whole village met in the ballroom of the palace to pray and sing hymns. The Count and his servants were to treat each other as "brothers" while in church.

Issue

Count Heinrich XXIX and Countess

Sophie Theodora of Castell-Remlingen Sophie Theodora of Castell-Remlingen (12 May 1703, Castell - 8 January 1777, Herrnhut) was a German noblewoman. By birth she was a member of the House of Castell-Remlingen and by marriage member of the House of Reuss. Early life She was the sixth ...

had thirteen children: * Renate Benigna (1722–1747) * Heinrich XXIV (1724–1779), Count of Reuss-Ebersdorf * Heinrich XXVI (1725–1796) * Heinrich XXVIII (30 August 1726 — 10 May 1797), married Agnes Sophie (1720–1791), daughter of

Erdmann II of Promnitz Erdmann II, Count von Promnitz (born 22 August 1683 in Sorau, Electorate of Saxony (now Żary, Poland); died: 7 September 1745 at the forest castle near Żary) was Lord of Żary (german: Sorau) and Trzebiel (german: Triebel) in Lower Lusatia, and ...

* Sophie Auguste (1728–1753), married 1748, Baron Ludwig von Weitelfshausen * Charlotte Louise (1729–1792) * Heinrich XXXI (1731–1763) * Heinrich XXXII (born: 1733, killed in the

Battle of Lobositz The Battle of Lobositz or Lovosice also Lowositz on 1 October 1756 was the opening land battle of the Third Silesian War and the wider Seven Years' War. Frederick the Great's 28,000 Prussians were prevented by 33,000 Austrians under Maximilian Ul ...

on 1 October 1756) * Heinrich XXXIII (1734–1791) * Heinrich XXXIV (1737–1806) * Christiane Eleonore (1739–1761) * Mary Elizabeth (1740–1784), married in 1765 Heinrich XXV, Count of Reuss-Lobenstein * Johanna Dorothea (1743–1801) married in 1770 Christoph Friedrich Levin von Trotha

References

*Thomas Gehrlein: "Das Haus Reuss: Älterer und Jüngerer Linie", booklet, August 2006 *Stephan Hirzel: ''Der Graf und die Brüder'', Quell Verlag, Stuttgart, 1980, *Erika Geiger: ''Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf. Der Erfinder der Herrnhuter Losungen. Seine Lebensgeschichte'',2d ed., Hänssler, Holzgerlingen, 2000, (Biography) Counts of Reuss House of Reuss 1699 births 1747 deaths 18th-century German people {{Germany-noble-stub