Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz (; 16 February 174729 January 1817) was Prince Reuss of Greiz from 1800 to 1817.

Early life

Heinrich XIII was born at

Greiz Greiz ( ; ) is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the Greiz (district), district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of the state capital Erfurt, on the White Elster river. Greiz has a large park ...

Reuss Reuss may refer to: *Reuss (surname) * Reuss (river) in Switzerland * Imperial County of Reuss or Reuß, several former states or countries in present-day Germany, and the People's State of Reuss * Principality of Reuss-Greiz and Principality of R ...

, third child of

Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz (; 18 March 172228 June 1800) was the first Prince Principality of Reuss-Greiz, Reuss of Greiz from 1778 to 1800. Early life Heinrich XI was born at Greiz, Reuss (state), Reuss, youngest child of Count Heinrich ...

(1722–1800), (son of Count Heinrich II Reuss of Obergreiz and Countess Sophie Charlotte of Bothmer) and his wife, Countess Conradine Reuss of Köstritz (1719–1770), (daughter of Heinrich XXIV, Count Reuss of Köstritz and Baroness Marie Eleonore Emma of Promnitz-Dittersbach).

Prince Reuss of Greiz

On the death of his father on 28 June 1800, Heinrich succeeded him as Prince Reuss of Greiz. After the devastation of Greiz by a fire in 1802, Heinrich XIII ordered that the city be rebuilt in a

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

, and he moved his residence from the Oberes Schloss (Upper Castle) to the Unteres Schloss (Lower Castle), to be more in contact with the people and social life of the Principality. Heinrich XIII distinguished himself in his military service to Austria as a field marshal, to the point of being considered one of the

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

's best friends. Heinrich XIII joined 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 ...

in 1807 and later was a member of the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

. At 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 ...

he was involved in a territorial dispute with the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

, from which he emerged victorious and won the domain of the cities of Altgommla and Kühdorf.

Marriage

Heinrich XIII was married on 9 January 1786 in

Kirchheimbolanden Kirchheimbolanden is the capital and the second largest city of the Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate. Situated in south-western Germany, it is approximately 25 km west of Worms, Germany, Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaisersla ...

to Princess Wilhelmine Louise of Nassau-Weilburg (1765–1837), fourth child and second daughter of

Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg (''Karl Christian'', 16 January 1735 in Weilburg – 28 November 1788 in Münster-Dreissen, near Kirchheim an der Weinstraße, Kirchheim), till 1753 Count of Nassau-Weilburg, was the first ruler of the ...

, and his wife,

Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau (''Wilhelmine Carolina''; 16 February 1743 – 6 May 1787) was a Dutch regent. She was the daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the Netherlands, and Anne, Princess Royal. She was regent of the ...

. They had four children: * Prince Heinrich XVIII Reuss of Greiz (31 March 1787 – 31 March 1787) * Unnamed daughter (28 November 1788 – 28 November 1788) * Heinrich XIX, Prince Reuss of Greiz (1 March 1790 – 31 October 1836), married in 1822 to Princess Gasparine of Rohan-Rochefort, had issue. * Heinrich XX, Prince Reuss of Greiz (29 June 1794 – 8 November 1859), married firstly in 1834 to Princess Sophie of Löwenstein-Wertheim- Rosenberg, no issue, Princess Sophie died in 1838. Married secondly in 1839 to Landgravine Karoline of Hesse-Homburg, had issue.

Notes and sources

* L'Allemagne dynastique, Huberty, Giraud, Magdelaine, Reference: I 321 * Gehrlein Thomas, The House of Reuss – Older and Younger line Börde Verlag 2006, {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinrich 13, Prince Reuss Of Greiz 1747 births 1817 deaths People from Greiz (district) Princes of Reuss Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary