Louis Engelbert of Arenberg (3 August 1750 in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

– 7 March 1820 in Brussels), nicknamed ''the blind duke'', was between 1778 and 1801 the sixth

Duke of Arenberg The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot ...

and 12th

Duke of Aarschot The Duke of Aarschot (or ''Aerschot'') was one of the most important aristocratic titles in the Low Countries, named after the Brabantian city of Aarschot. The title was held by the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg. The present Duke is Leo ...

. Between 1803 and 1810 he ruled a Duchy in North-western Germany also called

Duchy of Arenberg Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12th c ...

Biography

He was born in Brussels as son of Charles Marie Raymond of Arenberg, one of the most prominent nobles in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

, and Louise Margaret von der Mark und Schleide. At the age of 24, during a hunting party, he was hit in the face by a shotgun and remained blind for the rest of his life. Unable to pursue the usual military career, he turned to science, art and music.
Under his patronage, the first manned gas-filled balloon flight in history took off from the front lawn of the

Arenberg Castle Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12th c ...

on 21 November 1783; the balloonist was professor

Jan Pieter Minckeleers Jean-Pierre or Jan Pieter Minckelers (also Minkelers, Minckeleers) (1748-1824) was a Dutch academic and inventor of coal gasification and illuminating gas. Minckelers was the son of Anna Margaretha Denis en Laurens Michael Minckelers, a phar ...

. At the beginning of the French Revolution, he succeeded in keeping his possessions, but when Bonaparte annexed the Rhineland, he lost most of his territories. In the

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...

of 1803 though, he was compensated with

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; ) is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghaus ...

and

Meppen Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Möppen'') is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems (river), Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from t ...

, together also named the

. In 1810 he abdicated in favor of his son Prosper Louis. Louis Engelbert was named senator by Napoleon and a count of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. After 1815, he returned to Belgium, where the Duchy of Arenberg was restored to the family 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 ...

, be it without the sovereignty of before.

Marriage and children

Ludwig Engelbert married Louise Antoinette de Brancas-Villars, Countess of Lauragais, daughter of Louis-Léon de Brancas, Duke of Villars and Elisabeth-Pauline de Gand, Princess d'Isenghien. They had six children: *Pauline (1774–1810), married Prince Josef Johann of Schwarzenberg (1769–1833) *Louis Engelbert (1777) * Prosper Louis 7th Duke of Arenberg (1785–1861), his successor *Philemon Paul Maria (1788–1844), Bishop of

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

* Pierre d'Alcantara Charles (1790–1877), since 1828 French Duke and Peer, married Alix Marie Charlotte of Talleyrand-Périgord (1808–1842) *Philipp Joseph (1794–1815)

References

External links

Arenberg Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arenberg, Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke Of 1750 births 1820 deaths Nobility from Brussels Louis Engelbert Louis Engelbert Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Nobility of the Austrian Netherlands Counts of the First French Empire