Karl Eugen Damian ''Erwein'', Fürst von der Leyen und zu Hohengeroldseck (3 April 1798 – 17 May 1879) was a Baden nobleman, Bavarian landowner and Major General.

Early life

He was born on 3 April 1798 at

Wiesentheid Wiesentheid is a municipality in the district of Kitzingen in Bavaria in Germany. History It was first mentioned in 918 as "Wisenheida". Mediatization in 1806 brought the former county of Schönborn into the Grand Duchy of Würzburg, along with w ...

, the son of Sophia Therese Walpurgis von Schönborn (1772–1810) and Philipp Franz Wilhelm Ignaz Peter von der Leyen (1766–1829), who briefly ruled the

Principality of Leyen The Principality of Leyen was a Napoleonic German state which existed 1806–1814 in Hohengeroldseck, in the west of modern Baden-Württemberg. The House of Leyen had acquired many districts in western Germany, and eventually these were inherited ...

. His sister Amalia, was the wife of Count Louis Tascher de La Pagerie (a first cousin of the French Empress Josephine). His paternal grandparents were Franz Georg Karl Anton von der Leyen und zu Hohengeroldseck and the former Baroness Maria Anna Sophia of

Dalberg The House of Dalberg is the name of an ancient and distinguished German nobility, German noble family, derived from the hamlet and castle (now in ruins) of Dalberg or Dalburg, near Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate. They were the ruling family ...

(sister of

Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was a Catholic German bishop and statesman. In various capacities, he served as Archbishop of Mainz, Prince of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Bi ...

, who later became Prince-Primate of the

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

). Through his sister Amalia, he was an uncle of Charles,

Duc de Tascher de La Pagerie The title of Duke of Dalberg was created by the French Emperor Napoleon I on 14 April 1810 for Emmerich Joseph de Dalberg, Emmerich von Dalberg, the nephew of Karl Theodor von Dalberg, Prince-Primate of the Confederation of the Rhine and Grand Du ...

. His maternal grandparents were Count Hugo Damian Erwein von Schönborn-Wiesentheid and Countess Maria Anna von Stadion zu Thannhausen und Warthausen.

Career

On the establishment of the

in 1806, the County of Hohengeroldseck was raised to a Principality, and his father, Philipp Franz, who had succeeded his father as Count of

Hohengeroldseck Hohengeroldseck was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was founded by the House of Geroldseck, a German noble family which arrived in the Ortenau region of Swabia reputedly in 948, though the first mention of the family is documented in the 1080 ...

in 1775, became the 1st

Prince of Leyen and of Hohengeroldseck A prince is a Monarch, 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 title, hereditary, in some ...

. After the Confederation was dissolved in 1813, the Principality of Leyen was under Allied administration from May 1814. By the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, it was given to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, but was sold to the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

in 1819. His father kept the title of ''

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

'' (Prince), though now without a Principality. Upon his father's death in 1829, he inherited the title,

Personal life

In 1818, Erwein married his

double first cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, c ...

Sophie Therese of Schönborn-Buchheim (1798–1876), a daughter of Count

Franz Philipp von Schönborn-Buchheim Franz Philipp Joseph, ''Graf'' von Schönborn-Buchheim (15 September 1768 – 18 August 1841), was an Imperial and Royal Lieutenant Colonel, Imperial and Royal Chamberlain. Early life Franz Philipp Joseph was born on 15 September 1768 in Mainz in ...

and Countess Maria Sophie von der Leyen. Together, they were the parents of: * ''Philipp'' Franz Erwein Theodor von der Leyen (1819–1882), who married Princess Adelheid Karoline von

Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the mail, postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and ...

, the daughter of Prince Karl Theodor von Thurn und Taxis (a direct descendant of

Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: ''Alexander Ferdinand Fürst von Thurn und Taxis'' (21 March 1704 – 17 March 1773) was the third Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost, ...

) and Juliane Karoline von Einsiedel. * ''Franz'' Ludwig Erwein Damian von der Leyen (1821–1875), a Bavarian Major ''

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake and were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia ...

''. * ''Amalie Sophie'' Marie Erwine Caroline Luise von der Leyen (1824–1857) The Prince of Leyen died in Waal, Bavaria on 17 May 1879, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son,

Philipp Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (18 ...

Descendants

Through his son

, he was a grandfather of Princess Maria Anna von der Leyen (1857–1936), who married Baron Anton von Aretin; Princess Julie Luise von der Leyen (1860–1930), wife of Count Hans von Franckenstein (son of Georg Arbogast von Franckenstein); Erwein von der Leyen (1863–1938), who married Princess Maria Charlotte of

Salm-Reifferscheid Salm is the name of several historic countships and principality, principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. History Origins and first division The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes r ...

t; and Princess Eugenie von der Leyen (1867–1929), a Roman Catholic mystic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erwein, Prince Of Leyen House of Leyen 1798 births 1879 deaths 19th-century German landowners