John Günther I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (also known as ''Hans Günther'' or ''Johann Günther''; 20 December 1532 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 ...

– 28 October 1586 in

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 ...

) was the co-ruler of Schwarzburg from 1552 until 1571 and the sole ruler

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 ...

from 1571 until his death in 1586. He is regarded as the progenitor of the line Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

Life

Count John Günther I was the son of the Count Günther XL of Schwarzburg (1490–1552), nicknamed ''Günther the Rich'' or ''Günther with the large Jaws'', and his wife Elisabeth (d. 14 May 1572), a daughter of Count Philip of Isenburg-Büdingen-Ronneburg. John Günther I was raised as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and destined for an ecclesiastical career. After his father's death, however, he converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. He spent some time at the court of Elector Maurice of Saxony and fought in the Battle of Sievershausen on the side of Maurice against

Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach Albert II (; 28 March 15228 January 1557) was the margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (Brandenburg-Bayreuth) from 1527 to 1553. He was a member of the Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. Because of his bellicose nature, Albert was g ...

. Maurice's successor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

confirmed his tariff privilege on the salt trade in Frankenhausen. After his father's death, John Günther I initially ruled Schwarzburg jointly with his three brothers. He chose the city of Sondershausen as his residence. In 1571, the brothers decided to divide the County. John Günther I's part was named

, after its capital. He fought in the Netherlands alongside his eldest brother Günther XLI and distinguished himself during the conquest of Saint-Quentin in 1583. After his brothers Günther XLI of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt and

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen had died without male heirs, John Günther I inherited Schwarzburg-Arnstadt and his remaining brother Albert VII inherited Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen.

Marriage and issue

John Gunther married on 16 February 1566 with Anna (1539–1579), daughter of

Anthony I, Count of Oldenburg Anthony I, Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (150522 January 1573) was a member of the House of Oldenburg and was the Imperial Count of the Counties of County of Oldenburg, Oldenburg and County of Delmenhorst, Delmenhorst within the Holy Roman E ...

. They had the following children: * Ursula (1568) * Sophie Elisabeth (1568–1621) * Clara (1569–1639) * Günther XLII (1570–1643), Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen * Anton Henry (1571–1638), Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen * Catharina (1572–1626), Deaness at

Herford Abbey Herford Abbey () was the oldest women's religious house in the Duchy of Saxony. It was founded as a house of secular canonesses in 789, initially in Müdehorst (near the modern Bielefeld) by a nobleman called Waltger, who moved it in about 800 ont ...

* Sabine (1573–1628) * Anna (1574–1640) * Marie (1576–1577) * John Günther II (1577–1631), Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen * Christian Günther I (1578–1642), Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen * Dorothea (1579–1639), married in 1604 Duke

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (1573–1627)

References

* * Friedrich Apfelstedt: ''Das Haus Kevernburg-Schwarzburg von seinem Ursprunge bis auf unsere Zeit'', Arnstadt, 1890 * Kamill von Behr: ''Genealogie der in Europa regierenden Fürstenhäuser'', Leipzig, 1870 {{DEFAULTSORT:John Gunther 01 Schwarzburg-Sondershausen House of Schwarzburg Counts of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen People from Sondershausen 1532 births 1586 deaths 16th-century German nobility