Louis Günther I, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (27 June 1581 in

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide va ...

– 4 November 1646 in Rudolstadt) was the ruling Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt from 1612 until his death.

Life

Louis Günther I was the son of Count

Albrecht VII Albert VII may refer to: * Albert VII, Archduke of Austria (1559–1621) * Albert VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Albrecht VII, the Handsome, Duke of Mecklenburg in Güstrow (25 July 1486 – 5 January 1547), was a minor ruler in North Germ ...

of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and his wife Juliana of Nassau-Dillenburg. His brothers were Charles Günther and

Albert Günther Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3 October 1830 – 1 February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive re ...

. After Albrecht VII's death, they divided Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt among themselves, and each ruled a part of the county. In 1598, Louis Günther went to

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

to study at university, and then moved to

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, where he met with people in the highest circles. After a trip to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, he returned to Rudolstadt in 1604. On 10 April 1605, Albrecht VII died and on 24 June the brothers agreed that the eldest brother, Charles Günther, would rule the county for the next six years. This allowed Louis Günther to resume his journeys. In 1606, he returned to Strasbourg and then to Paris. In 1607, he visited

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, returned to Paris, then travelled to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and visited

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, and other places. On 10 February 1610, he finally returned to Rudolstadt. On 8 September 1612, the three brothers agreed to divided the county. Charles Günther received a part which included the capital of Rudolstadt. Louis Günther received a part including the town of Frankenhausen. The part of Albert Günther included the towns of

Stadtilm Stadtilm is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Ilm, 15 km northeast of Ilmenau, and 11 km southeast of Arnstadt. In July 2018 the former municipality of Ilmtal was merged into Stadtilm. ...

and

Schwarzburg Schwarzburg may refer to: * Schwarzburg (municipality) * The House of Schwarzburg * Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * Schwarzburg-Sondershausen * House of Schwarzburg * 13th-century fortress built by the Teutonic Order in Transylvania, present day Codlea ...

. In 1624 in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

, Louis Günther and Albert Günther agreed to swap their possessions. So Louis moved to his new residence in Stadtilm in 1625 and Albert Günther moved to Frankenhausen. Charles Günther continued to reside in Rudolstadt until he died without an heir in 1630. On 24 November 1631, Louis Günther and Albert Günther agreed on a new division, in which Louis Günther received Rudolstadt and Albert Günther received

Blankenburg Blankenburg may refer to: Places * Blankenburg am Harz, a German town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt * Blankenburg Castle (Harz), the castle in Blankenburg am Harz (see above) * Bad Blankenburg, a German town in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt dis ...

. In 1634, Albert Günther died without an heir, making Louis Günther the sole ruler. On 5 September 1619, Louis Günther's sister-in-law Anna Sophie of Anhalt (Charles Günther's consort) founded the

Virtuous Society Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standards: ...

, which was intended as a feminine counterpart to the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it a ...

her brother

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

had founded. Louis Günther I joined the Fruitbearing Society under the nickname ("he who gets stronger") and his wife joined the Virtuous Society. Louis Günther I carried out reforms in education and, as usual at the time, made some large donations to the churches. He found the church library, and left his private book collection to this library in his will. He promoted musical life by founding his own court orchestra. It was first mentioned in 1635, and evolved into the Thüringer Symphoniker Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, which still exists. He died on 4 November 1646 in Rudolstadt. His widow ruled the county until 1667 as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

for their son Albert Anton, who was later elevated to Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

Marriage and issue

On 4 November 1638, he married

Emilie of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst Emilie Antonia of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst (15 June 1614 in Delmenhorst – 4 December 1670 in Rudolstadt), was Princess consort of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, and then regent of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt during the minority of her son Albert Anton from ...

. They had the following children: * Sophie Juliane (1639-1672) * Ludmilla Elisabeth (1640-1672) * Albert Anton (1641-1710), the first ''Prince'' of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * Christiane Magdalene (1642-1672) * Maria Susanna (1646-1688)

References

* Friedrich Apfelstedt: ''Das Haus Kevernburg-Schwarzburg von seinem Ursprunge bis auf unsere Zeit: dargestellt in den Stammtafeln seiner Haupt- und Nebenlinien und mit biographischen Notizen über die wichtigsten Glieder derselben'', Bertram, Sondershausen, 1890, * Horst Fleischer: ''Die Grafen von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt: Albrecht VII. bis Albert Anton'', Rudolstadt, 2000, * * Johann Christian August Junghans: ''Geschichte der schwarzburgischen Regenten'', Leipzig, 1821
Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Gunther 01, Count Of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Counts of Schwarzburg House of Schwarzburg People from Rudolstadt 1581 births 1646 deaths 17th-century German people