Günther XL, Count of Schwarzburg nicknamed ''the Rich'' or ''Günther with the fat mouth'' (31 October 1499 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 ...

– 10 November 1552 in Gehren), was a ruling Count of Schwarzburg.

Life

Guenther was the eldest son of Henry XXXI, Count of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (1473–1526) and his first wife Magdalena of Hohnstein (1480–1504). His paternal grandparents were Guenther XXI. (XXXVIII.) von Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (1450–1484) and Katharina von Querfurt (1452–1521). Over time, Günther united all but one of the Schwarzburg possessions in one hand. He introduced

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

in his country and fought on the Protestant side against the emperor in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

. Günther benefitted considerably from the political downfall of the Ernestine branch of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

. In feudal matters, he came into conflict with Elector Johann Frederick I, Elector of Saxony. The Elector invaded Schwarzburg and torched the city of

. Günther had to flee, and was only able to return after the battle of Mühlberg in 1547. To demonstrate his accumulated wealth and power, he largely demolished the existing castle in Sondershausen in 1533 and built a new

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 ...

château on the site. This château forms the old North, East and South wings of the current Sondershausen Palace. After his death, the County of Schwarzburg was divided among his four sons. Thus, he became the ancestor of the two lines of the

House of Schwarzburg The House of Schwarzburg was one of the oldest noble families of Thuringia, which is in modern-day central Germany. Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Günther in 1971, a claim to the headship of the house passed under Semi-Salic primogeniture t ...

that survived until the 20th century:

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 ...

and

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of House of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg dy ...

Marriage and issue

On 29 November 1528, Günther XL married Elisabeth (d. 14 May 1572), the daughter of Count Philip of Isenburg-Büdingen-Ronneburg. They had the following children: *

Günther XLI, Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt Günther, Guenther, Ginther, Gunther, and the variants Günter, Guenter, Guenther, Ginter, and Gunter, are Germanic names derived from ''Gunthere, Gunthari'', composed of '' *gunþiz'' "battle" (Old Norse '' gunnr'') and ''heri, hari'' "army". Gu ...

(1529–1583), nicknamed "the Bellicose", Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt * Magdalena (1530–1565), married in 1552, to Count John Albert VI of Mansfeld-Arnstein * Amalie (1531–1542) * John Günther I, Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1532–1586), Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen * William I, Count of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen (1534–1597), Count of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen * Philip (1536-1536) * Albert VII, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1537–1605), Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * Otto Henry? (1538–1539) or Ottilie? * Sybilla Anna (1540–1578), married in 1571 to Count Louis III of Isenburg-Birstein-Büdingen * Elisabeth (1541–1612), married in 1576 to John VII, Count of Oldenburg

References

* Horst Fleischer ''et al.'': ''Die Grafen von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt: Albrecht VII. bis Albert Anton'', in: ''Kleine kulturgeschichtliche Reihe'' vol. 3, 2nd ed., Rudolstadt, 2004, * Friedrich Apfelstedt: ''Das Haus Kevernburg-Schwarzburg von seinem Ursprunge bis auf unsere Zeit'', Arnstadt, 1890, * Johann Christian August Junghans: ''Geschichte der schwarzburgischen Regenten'', Leipzig, 1821
Online
* Kurt Hermann: ''Die Erbteilungen im Hause Schwarzburg'', Halle, 1919 * Dr. Kamill von Behr: ''Genealogie der in Europa regierenden Fürstenhäuser'', Leipzig, 1870 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther 40, Count of Schwarzburg House of Schwarzburg Counts of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen People from Sondershausen 1499 births 1552 deaths 16th-century German nobility