Royal Burial Sites of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Church of St. Mary; Credit – Wikipedia

Founded in 1228, Marienthal Abbey (link in German) is a former Cistercian monastery in Netze, a district of Waldeck, now in the German state of Hesse. Today, only the monastery church, the Church of St. Mary, remains. Marienthal Abbey was the only monastery in the County of Waldeck that was founded by the Counts of Waldeck and so it became their burial site. The Burial Chapel of St. Nicholas was built on the south wall of the monastery church and another wing of the burial chapel was added in the 14th century. In 1638, the burial chapel was filled and under the entire western vault of the burial chapel, a lower-level crypt was built to accommodate future burials.

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Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen; Credit – Von Einwildunger – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21334900

The Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen (link in German), an Evangelical Lutheran church in Bad Wildungen now in the German state of Hesse, was the site of many Waldeck-Pyrmont family burials. Originally a Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra, it became a Protestant church after the Reformation. Construction of the church began around 1300 and was completed in 1489. The burial chapel was built between 1483 and 1505 and was then one of the burial sites for the Counts of Waldeck-Pyrmont. After Waldeck-Pyrmont became a principality in 1712, several Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and their consorts were buried at the  Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen but their remains were moved at a later time. The remains of Karl August, the second Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont are still at the Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen in a Baroque tomb. Except for Karl August’s remains, twenty-four coffins of Waldeck-Pyrmont family members were transferred in 1962 to the Princely Burial Chapel of St. Nicholas at the Church of St. Mary at the former Marienthal Abbey in Netze, now a district of Waldeck, now in the German state of Hesse.

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Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery; Credit – www.findagrave.com

In 1794, the future Georg I, Prince of Waldeck- Pyrmont had a mausoleum and cemetery built at Schloss Rhoden (link in German) in Rhoden, now in the German state of Hesse, for his children that died young. The Princely Mausoleum and Cemetery became the burial site for the Waldeck-Pyrmont family and still serves as a burial place for the descendants of the former princely house.

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Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont

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

  • Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont from 1706 – 1712, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont from 1712 – 1728)
  • Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (reigned 1728 – 1763)
  • Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (unmarried, reigned 1763 – 1812)
  • Georg I, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (reigned 1812 – 1813)
  • Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (reigned 1813 – 1845)
  • Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (reigned 1845 – 1893)
  • Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (reigned 1893 – 1918)

All images are from Wikipedia unless otherwise noted.

Note: Unofficial Royalty articles on the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont are coming soon.

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Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont

Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, born in 1676, was the first reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. From 1706 – 1712, he was Count of Waldeck-Pyrmont. He was the son of Christian Louis, Count of Waldeck and his first wife Anna Elisabeth of Rappoltstein. On October 22, 1700, he married Louise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1679 – 1753) and had eleven children. Friedrich Anton Ulrich died on January 1, 1728, aged 51, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. He was first buried at the Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen in Bad Wildungen now in the German state of Hesse. In 1962, his remains were transferred to the Princely Burial Chapel of St. Nicholas at the Church of St. Mary in Netze, a district of Waldeck, now in the German state of Hesse.

Friedrich Anton Ulrich’s wife Louise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont died May 3, 1753, aged 74, and was buried with her husband at the Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen and then reburied at the Princely Burial Chapel of St. Nicholas at the Church of St. Mary with her husband.

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Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont

Born in 1704, Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont was the second but the eldest surviving son of Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Louise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. On August 19, 1741, Karl August married his first cousin Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1725 – 1816) and had seven children. He died on August 29, 1763, aged 58, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. He was buried in a Baroque-style tomb at the Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen in Bad Wildungen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse.

Tomb of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont; Credit – Von Friedhelm Dröge – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73542168

Karl August’s wife Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Regent of Waldeck-Pyrmont  died on February 11, 1816, aged 90, at the Neues Schloss (New Castle), built for Christiane Henriette as her widow’s seat, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse, and was buried in the park of the Neues Schloss.

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Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont

Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, born in 1743, was the second but the eldest surviving son of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. He had a military career and was unmarried. Friedrich Karl August died at age 68 on September 24, 1812, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. He was first buried at the Stadt-Kirche Bad Wildungen in Bad Wildungen now in the German state of Hesse. In 1962, his remains were transferred to the Princely Burial Chapel of St. Nicholas at the Church of St. Mary in Netze, a district of Waldeck, now in the German state of Hesse.

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Georg I, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont

Born in 1747, Georg I, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, the third but the second surviving son of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, succeeded his unmarried brother Friedrich Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. In 1784, he married Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1768 – 1849) and the couple had thirteen children. Georg I died at the age of 66, after a reign of less than one year, on September 9, 1813, in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. He was buried in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse.

Credit – www.geni.com

Georg I’s wife Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont died on December 26, 1849, aged 81, in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. She was buried with her husband in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden.

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Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (reigned 1813 – 1845)

Georg II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont was born in 1789, the second but the eldest surviving son of Georg I, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Augusta of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. He married Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym (1802 – 1858) in 1823 and they had five children. On May 15, 1845, George II died at the age of 55 , in Arolsen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. He was buried in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse.

His wife Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Regent of Waldeck-Pyrmont, died in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Lower Saxony, on August 1, 1858, aged 56. She was buried with her husband in the Princely Mausoleum at Schloss Rhoden.

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Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (reigned 1845 – 1893)

Born in 1831, Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont was the second but the eldest surviving son of Georg II, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. He married twice, first in 1853 to Helena of Nassau (1831 – 1888) with whom he had seven children, and secondly in 1891 to Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1858 – 1936 with whom he had one son who was killed in World War I. Georg Victor died on May 12, 1893, aged 62, in Marienbad, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. He was buried in the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden in Rhoden, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse.

Georg Victor’s first wife Helena of Nassau, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont died on October 28, 1888, aged 57, in Pyrmont, Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont, now in the German state of Lower Saxony. She was buried in the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden with her husband.

Georg Victor’s second wife Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont died on July 2, 1936, aged 78, in Marburg an der Lahn, Germany and was buried in the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden with her husband and his first wife.

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Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont (reigned 1893 – 1918)

Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont was the last reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Born in 1865, he was the only son of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and his first wife Helena of Nassau. Among his six sisters were Princess Emma who married King Willem III of the Netherlands and Princess Helena who married Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria’s hemophiliac, youngest son. In 1895, Friedrich married Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe and they had four children. On May 26, 1946, Friedrich died at the age of 81 in Arolsen, Germany and was buried in the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden in Rhoden, Germany.

Friedrich’s wife of Bathildis of Schaumburg-Lippe, Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont died on April 6, 1962, aged 88, in Arolsen, West Germany, now in Germany. She was buried with her husband in the Princely Cemetery at Schloss Rhoden.

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