Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Regent of Waldeck-Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

by Susan Flantzer

The County of Waldeck was a county within the Holy Roman Empire since 1180.  In 1625, the much smaller County of Pyrmont became part of the much larger County of Waldeck through inheritance and the combined territory was known as the County of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1712,  Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont was elevated to Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont by Holy Emperor Karl VI.

Friedrich, the last Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, abdicated on November 13, 1918, and negotiated an agreement with the government that gave him and his descendants the ownership of the family home Arolsen Castle and Arolsen Forest. Today the territory that encompassed the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont is located in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony

Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess and Regnet of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was born on November 16, 1725, in Ribeauvillé in the Alsace region of France which was heavily contested over the centuries between France and various German states. At the time of Christiane Henriette’s birth, Ribeauvillé was in the hands of the Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. Christiane Henriette was the younger of the two daughters and the youngest of the four children of Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken.

Christiane Henriette had three elder siblings:

Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 19, 1741, in Zweibrücken, Palatinate of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, now in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Christiane Henriette married her first cousin, Karl August, the reigning Prince of Waldek-Pyrmont, son of Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Luise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.

Christiane Henriette and her family in 1756; Credit – Wikipedia

The couple had seven children including two reigning Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Through Christiane Henriette, her children were the first cousins of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

Christiane Henriette was well-educated and was greatly interested in the arts and sciences. She was a close friend of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, a German physician, naturalist, physiologist, and anthropologist. When Karl August died on August 29, 1763, he was succeeded by his son Friedrich Karl August. Christiane Henriette served as Regent of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont until Friedrich Karl August reached his majority.

Neues Schloss; Credit – Von GLSystem – Selbst fotografiert, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11973441

Between 1763 – 1778, the Neues Schloss (New Castle – link in German), was built for Christiane Henriette as her widow’s seat, near the Residenzschloss Arolsen in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. Her art and natural history collections and her 6,000-book library found places at the Neues Schloss. A large English-style palace park was created. Exotic conifers from Christiane Henriette’s natural history collection and a large, terraced fruit and vegetable garden were planted. A travel guide from 1785 described the “Princess Garden” as a special beauty. Christiane Henriette survived her husband by fifty-three years, dying on February 11, 1816, aged 90, at her home, the Neues Schloss. She was buried in the park of Neues Schloss which she dearly loved. Christiane Henriette left a considerable debt, requiring parts of her library and art collection to be auctioned in 1820.

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Waldeck-Pyrmont Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Christiane Henriette Von Pfalz-Zweibrücken. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiane_Henriette_von_Pfalz-Zweibr%C3%BCcken> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Karl August Friedrich (Waldeck-Pyrmont). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_August_Friedrich_(Waldeck-Pyrmont)> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Neues Schloss (Bad Arolsen). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neues_Schloss_(Bad_Arolsen)> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Countess Palatine Christiane Henriette Of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countess_Palatine_Christiane_Henriette_of_Zweibr%C3%BCcken-Birkenfeld> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Karl August, Prince Of Waldeck And Pyrmont. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_August,_Prince_of_Waldeck_and_Pyrmont> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-august-prince-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/principality-of-waldeck-and-pyrmont/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-waldeck-pyrmont/> [Accessed 30 November 2020].