Duchess Agnes of Württemberg, Princess Reuss of Gera

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Agnes of Württemberg, Princess Reuss of Gera; Credit – Wikipedia

Duchess Agnes of Württemberg (Pauline Louise Agnes), wife of Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera, was born in Carlsruhe, Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, now Pokój, Poland, on October 13, 1835. She was the youngest of the four children and the younger of the two daughters of Duke Eugen of Württemberg and his second wife Princess Helene of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Agnes had three older siblings:

Agnes also had three elder half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Princess Mathilde of Waldeck and Pyrmont who died in childbirth giving birth to her last child who died a few days later:

Agnes’ father, Duke Eugen of Württemberg; Credit – Wikipedia

Agnes’ father was Duke Eugen of Württemberg, son of Duke Eugen of Württemberg and Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern. Her father was the nephew of Friedrich I, the first King of Württemberg; Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, Empress Maria Feodorovna, the second wife of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia; and Elisabeth of Württemberg, the first wife of Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor (later Franz I, Emperor of Austria). Under the initial patronage of his aunt Empress Maria Feodorovna, Agnes’ father had a career in the Russian Army which continued during the reigns of his first cousins Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia and Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. Duke Eugen fought in the Napoleonic Wars and attained the rank of General. After 1829, Duke Eugen did not take an active part in the Russian Army or Russian court life. He lived mainly in his estates in Silesia, now mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany, but he often visited Russia.

Agnes’ mother, Princess Helene of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

Agnes’ mother Princess Helene of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was the daughter of Karl Ludwig III, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Countess Amalie Henriette of Solms-Baruth. One of Helene’s elder brothers Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg married Princess Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Schloss Carlsruhe Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

Agnes grew up at Schloss Carlsruhe, then in Carlsruhe, Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Pokój, Poland. In 1649, a cadet branch of the House of Württemberg inherited land in the Duchy of Oels in Silesia. A hunting lodge was built in the area that later became Carlsruhe. According to legend, in 1745, Duke Karl Christian Erdmann of Württemberg-Oels got lost while hunting near the lodge, fell asleep in the forest, and had a dream about founding a city. Later, Karl Christian planned and built the residential city of Carlsruhe (now Pokój, Poland), following the architectural concept of Karlsruhe, then in the Electorate of Baden, later in the Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. He also built Schloss Carlsruhe. Karl Christian had no heir and left his properties and Schloss Carlsruhe to his cousin Duke Eugen of Württemberg, Agnes’ grandfather. After Silesia became part of the Kingdom of Prussia, the family retained ownership of their properties in Carlsruhe and Schloss Carlsruhe.

Agnes’ father inherited Carlsruhe and Schloss Carlsruhe upon his father’s death. Duke Eugen, Agnes’ father, built a theater and a chapel at Schloss Carlsruhe. He was a great patron of the composer Carl Maria von Weber, who became his secretary. In 1806, von Weber was named Kapellmeister (director of music) at Schloss Carlsruhe. Sadly, at the end of World War II, Schloss Carlsruhe was destroyed by the Red Army of the Soviet Union.

Agnes’ husband, Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 6, 1858, at Schloss Carlsruhe in Carlsruhe, Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, now Pokój, Poland, Agnes married the future Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera, son of Heinrich LXVII, 3rd Prince Reuss of Gera and Princess Adelheid Reuss of Ebersdorf.

Agnes and Heinrich XIV had two children:

As Princess of Reuss-Gera, Agnes founded many organizations and institutes that bore her name, such as the Agnes School, a training institute for female servants in Gera, the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Gera. She was also an author and used Angelica Hohenstein as her pen name. Agnes died, aged 50, on July 10, 1886, at Schloss Osterstein in Gera, Principality of Reuss-Gera. She was buried at the Bergkirche St. Marien (link in German) in Schleiz, Principality of Reuss-Gera, now in Thuringia, Germany.

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Reuss-Gera Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Agnes Von Württemberg (1835–1886). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_von_W%C3%BCrttemberg_(1835%E2%80%931886)> [Accessed 21 March 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Eugen Von Württemberg (1788–1857). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_von_W%C3%BCrttemberg_(1788%E2%80%931857)> [Accessed 21 March 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Karl Christian Erdmann (Württemberg-Oels). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Christian_Erdmann_(W%C3%BCrttemberg-Oels)> [Accessed 21 March 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Duchess Agnes Of Württemberg. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess_Agnes_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg> [Accessed 21 March 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Pokój, Opole Voivodeship. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%B3j,_Opole_Voivodeship> [Accessed 21 March 2020].