Christian William I of Schwarzburg (6 January 1647 – 10 May 1721) was Count and later Prince of

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 (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...

, Count of Hohenstein, Lord of Sondershausen, Arnstadt and Leutenberg. From 1681, he also carried the title of Count in Ebeleben, and from 1716 Count in Arnstadt.

Life

Christian William was born and died in

Sondershausen Sondershausen () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany, capital of the Kyffhäuserkreis district, situated about 50 km (30 mi) north of Erfurt. On 1 December 2007, the former municipality Schernberg was merged with Sondershausen. Until 1918 i ...

. He was a son of Count Anton Günther I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and his wife Countess Palatine Maria Magdalene of Birkenfeld (1622–1689). In 1666 he succeeded his father jointly with his brother Anton Günther II. In 1681, they divided the country and Anton Günther became Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt. On 3 September 1697, the brothers were raised to

Imperial Prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

s by Emperor Leopold I. Anton Günther died in 1716 and

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera (river), Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially ...

fell back to Christian William. He concluded a treaty of succession with his brother, in which the indivisibility of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was established and

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

would determine the succession. After Prince Louis Frederick I of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt joined the treaty in 1710, it was confirmed in 1719 by Emperor Charles VI. During Christian Williams reign, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen broke away from the increasing dominance of the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

. He renovated his Sondershausen Palace and reshaped it from a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style to a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. A cultural center in northern

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

was named after him.

Marriage and issue

In 1672, Christian Williams was engaged with the hymn poet Ludmilla Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, but she died unexpectedly later that year. He married on 22 August 1673 Antonie Sybille (1641–1684), daughter of Count Albert Frederick I of Barby-Mühlingen, with whom he had the following children: * Anton Albert (1674–1680) * August William (1676–1690) * Günther XLIII (1678–1740), who succeeded him as ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1720–1740) * Sophie Magdalene (1680–1751), married Count George Albert of Schönburg-Hartenstein (1673–1716) * Christiane Emilie (1681–1751) married Duke Adolph Frederick II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz * Albertine Louise (1682–1765) * Antonie Sibille (1684) Christian William married a second time in 1684, with Wilhelmine Christiane (1658–1712), daughter of the Duke John Ernest II of Saxe-Weimar, with whom he had the following children: * Johanne Auguste (1686–1703) * Christiane Wilhelmine (1688–1749) * Henry XXXV (1689–1758), who succeeded his half-brother Günther as ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1740–1758) * August I (1691–1750), who also held the title of Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, but never ruled. His son was: **

Christian Günther III, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Christian Günther III of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (24 June 1736 – 14 October 1794) was the ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen from 1758 until his death. Some authors call him Prince Christian Günther I, because he was the first ruler ...

* Ernestine Henriette (1692–1759) * Rudolph (1695–1749) * William II (1699–1762) *

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

(1700–1749), who also held the title of Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, but never ruled; he married Sophie Christine Eberhardine, daughter of Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym

References

* * Friedrich Apfelstedt: ''Heimathskunde für die Bewohner des Fürstenthums Schwarzburg-Sondershausen'', Part 3: ''Geschichte des Fürstlich-Schwarzburgischen Hauses'', Eupel, Sondershausen, 1856 (reprinted: Donhof, Arnstadt, 1998, ) * Friedrich Apfelstedt: ''Das Haus Kevernburg-Schwarzburg von seinem Ursprunge bis auf unsere Zeit'', Bertram, Sondershausen, 1890 (reprinted: Thüringer Chronik-Verl. Müllerott, Arnstadt, 1996, ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian William Schwarzburg Sondershausen House of Schwarzburg People from Sondershausen Counts of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Princes of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 1647 births 1721 deaths 17th-century German people 18th-century German people