Victor I, Duke of Ratibor, Prince of Corvey, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (; 10 February 181830 January 1893) was a member of House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst and later

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

of the

Silesian duchy The Duchy of Silesia (, ) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval provincial duchy of Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385), Poland located in the region of Silesia. Soon after it was formed under the Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piast dynasty ...

of Ratibor (, ) and Prince of Corvey.

Early life

Victor was born at

Langenburg Langenburg () is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on a hill above the river Jagst, 18 km northeast of Schwäbisch Hall. It is also the place where Wibele - small, sweet, biscuit-l ...

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

, eldest son of Franz Joseph, 1st Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1787–1841), and Princess Constanze of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1792–1847). Among his siblings were younger brother,

Chlodwig Louis is the French form of the Old Frankish given name Chlodowig and one of two English forms, the other being Lewis (). Etymology The name Louis (through the intermediate form Clovis) derives from the Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹ� ...

, the

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

and

Minister President of Prussia The Minister-President (), or Prime Minister, of Prussia was the head of government of the Prussian state. The office existed from 1848, when it was formed by Frederick William IV of Prussia, King Frederick William IV during the German revolutio ...

from 1894 to 1900. His paternal grandparents were Karl Albrecht II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürs and Baroness Judith Reviczky of Revisnye. His maternal grandparents were

Karl Ludwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Karl Ludwig, 3rd Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (10 September 1762 in Langenburg – 4 April 1825 in Langenburg) was the third Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. He was the first child of Prince Christian Albert of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his wi ...

and Countess Amalie of Solms-Baruth. After initial private lessons, he attended the Royal Grammar School in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

. He then studied law and modern languages in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

. He also traveled to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Career

He subsequently managed the property of his uncle, the Landgrave of

Hesse-Rotenburg Hesse-Rotenburg (sometimes referred to as Hesse-Rheinfels) is a former German landgraviate created from the landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel in 1627. Its independence ended in 1834 when the estates not bequeathed to princes Victor and Chlodwig of Hoh ...

, Victor Amadeus. These included the former monastery of Corvey in

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

, Ratibor in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

. This area was 34,000 hectares in size and consisted mainly of forest areas. Victor was created Duke of Ratibor and Prince of

Corvey The Princely Abbey of Corvey ( or ) is a former Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling '' princely abbeys'' of the Holy Roman Empire from the Late Middl ...

on 15 October 1840 by King Frederick William IV of Prussia.

Military career

During his military service, made at an early age in the cavalry. In the 1850s he commanded in repeated exercises the 2nd - Landwehr Regiment. During the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

and the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, he organized as Chairman of the Silesian Association Knights Voluntary Health Care. Since 1872, he led the honorary title of General of Cavalry

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake and were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia ...

. In 1893, he was elected as the first president of the German Experimental Institute for Small Arms.

Political career

In 1847 Ratibor was a member of the Prussian United Diet. Between 1856 and 1893 he was a member of provincial parliament for

Silesia Province The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

. At first he was Marshal of the Assembly. After the introduction of the new provincial order, he was repeatedly chairman. He was also from 1849 to 1852 on the second chamber of the Prussian State Parliament. In 1850 Ratibor was a member of the Erfurt Union Parliament. From 1867 to 1870 he was a member of the North German Reichstag, and from 1872 to 1890 of the

German Reichstag The Reichstag (; ) is a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin that is the seat of the German Bundestag. It is also the meeting place of the Federal Convention, which elects the President of Germany. The Ne ...

. He was also member from 1854 to 1893 of the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords () in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Representatives (), it formed the Prussian bicameral legislature ...

. In the latter, he was co-founder of the New Group in 1870/72, from 1877 to 1893 President of the House. Ratibor was one of the liberal-conservative Aristocracy, political reformants, he was a supporter of

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

. He was also one of the founders of the

Free Conservative Party The Free Conservative Party (, FKP) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative political party in Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia and the German Empire which ran as the German Reich Party (, DRP) in the federal elections to the Reichstag (Ger ...

Personal life

Victor married 19 April 1845 at

Donaueschingen Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the States of Germany, federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar ''Districts of Germany, Kreis''. It ...

Princess Amélie of Fürstenberg Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...

(1821–1899), third child of Karl Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg, and his wife, Princess Amalie of Baden. Together, they had ten children: * Princess Amelia of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1846–1847), who died young. * Viktor II, Duke of Ratibor (1847–1923), who married Countess Maria Breunner-Enkevoirth, in 1867. * Prince Franz of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1849–1925) * Princess Elisabeth of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1851–1928) * Prince Egon of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1853–1896), who married Princess Leopoldine of

Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the ce ...

, in 1885. * Princess Marie of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1854–1928) * Prince Maximilian of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1856–1924), who married Countess Franziska Grimaud d'Orsay, in 1882. * Prince Ernst of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1857–1891) * Prince Karl Egon of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1860–1931) * Princess Margaret of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1863–1940) The Duke died at Rauden Palace on 30 January 1893.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:''Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1893''
p. 185
/ref>

Ancestry

Notes and sources

* Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Reference: 1956 * * Tiggesbäumker, Günter: ''Viktor I. Herzog von Ratibor und Fürst von Corvey, Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (1818–1893)''. In: ''Westfälische Zeitschrift.'' Band 144, 1994. p. 266–280
Digitalisat
* Tiggesbäumker, Günter: ''Von Franken nach Westfalen und Schlesien. Der Erbprinz von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst wird erster Herzog von Ratibor und Fürst von Corvey''. In: ''Frankenland.'' 3/2003. p. 207–212. * Tiggesbäumker, Günter: ''Das Herzogliche Haus Ratibor und Corvey. 7. erweiterte Auflage''. Werl: Börde-Verlag, 2012. (Deutsche Fürstenhäuser. 5.)

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Victor 01, Duke Of Ratibor 1818 births 1893 deaths Princes of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst People from Langenburg People from the Kingdom of Württemberg House of Hohenlohe German Roman Catholics 19th-century German landowners Political party founders Free Conservative Party politicians Leaders of political parties in Germany Members of the Prussian House of Lords Members of the Reichstag of the North German Confederation Members of the Zollparlament Members of the 2nd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 3rd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 4th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 5th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 6th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 7th Reichstag of the German Empire Generals of Cavalry (Prussia) Recipients of the Iron Cross, 2nd class Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX Knights of Malta