Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Note about the Reuss numbering system: All males of the House of Reuss were named Heinrich plus a number. In the Reuss-Greiz, Elder Line, the numbering covered all male children and the numbers increased until 100 was reached and then started again at 1. In the Reuss-Gera, Younger Line, the system was similar but the numbers increased until the end of the century before starting again at 1. This tradition was seen as a way of honoring Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI (reigned 1191 – 1197) who had benefitted the family. Therefore, the Roman numerals seen after names are NOT regnal numbers.

Principality of Reuss-Greiz: The House of Reuss began their rule circa 1010. Heinrich XI, Count Reuss of Greiz, Lower-Greiz (Untergreiz) and Upper-Greiz (Obergreiz) was elevated to princely status in 1778 and then used the title of Prince Reuss, Older Line, or Prince Reuss of Greiz.

Heinrich XXIV, the last Prince Reuss of Greiz, succeeded his father in 1902 but was unable to rule because of his physical and mental disabilities as a result of an accident in his childhood. Instead, a Regent ruled the Principality of Reuss-Greiz: Heinrich XIV, 4th Prince Reuss of Gera from 1901 – 1913 and then his son Heinrich XXVII, 5th and last Prince Reuss of Gera from 1913 – 1918.

On November 11, 1918, the Regent, Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss of Gera (Younger Line) abdicated in the name of the disabled Heinrich XXIV, 6th Prince Reuss of Greiz. After the abdication, Heinrich XXIV retained the right of residence of the Lower Castle in Greiz and lived there until his death. The territory that encompassed the Principality of Reuss-Greiz is now in the German state of Thuringia.

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Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz; Credit – Wikipedia

Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz was born on March 18, 1722 in Greiz, County of Reuss-Obergreiz, now in Thuringia, Germany. He was the youngest of the five children of Heinrich II, Count Reuss of Obergreiz and Countess Sofia Charlotte von Botmer.

Heinrich XI had four older siblings who all died in childhood:

  • Henrietta Erdmouth Sofia of Reuss-Obergreiz (1716 – 1719)
  • Heinrich VIII of Reuss-Obergreiz (1718 – 1719)
  • Heinrich IX, Count Reuss of Obergreiz (1718 – 1723)
  • Heinrich X of Reuss-Obergreiz (born and died in 1720)

Heinrich XI was only eight months old when his father died on November 17, 1722. His four-year-old brother Heinrich IX succeeded their father as Count Reuss of Obergreiz but he reigned for only four months, dying on March 17, 1723. Heinrich XI became Count Reuss of Obergreiz the day before his first birthday. Heinrich XI was a reigning Count and then a reigning Prince from 1723 until he died in 1800, a total of 77 years.

Heinrich XI’s half-sister Sophie von Erbach-Erbach; Credit – Wikipedia

After the death of his father, Heinrich XI’s mother married for a second time in 1723 to Count George Wilhelm von Erbach-Erbach. Heinrich XI had one half-sister from this marriage:

On April 4, 1746, Heinrich XI married Countess Conradine Reuss of Köstritz (1719–1770), the youngest daughter of Heinrich XXIV, Count Reuss of Köstritz (in German) and Baroness Marie Eleonore Emma von Promnitz-Dittersbach. Heinrich and Conradine had eleven children. The children listed as Count and Countess died before Heinrich XI became Prince Reuss-Greiz in 1778. Heinrich XI’s first wife also died before he became Prince Reuss-Greiz.

  • Count Heinrich XII Reuss-Greiz (1744 – 1745), died in infancy
  • Countess Amalie Reuss-Greiz (1745 – 1748), died in childhood
  • Heinrich XIII, 2nd Prince Reuss-Greiz (1747 – 1817), Heinrich XI’s successor, married Princess Wilhelmine of Nassau-Weilburg, had three sons
  • Princess Friederike Reuss of Greiz (1748 – 1816), married (1) Friedrich Ludwig, Count of Castell-Rüdenhausen, no children, divorced (2) Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenlohe-Kirchberg, no children
  • Prince Heinrich XIV Reuss of Greiz (in German) (1749 – 1799), married Marie Anne Meyer, no children
  • Prince Heinrich XV Reuss of Greiz (in German) (1751 – 1825), unmarried
  • Princess Isabelle Auguste Reuss of Greiz (1752 – 1824), married Burgrave Wilhelm Georg of Kirchberg-Hachenburg, had children
  • Countess Marie Reuss of Greiz (1754 – 1759), died in childhood
  • Princess Viktoria Reus of Greiz (1756 – 1819), married Wolfgang Ernst II, Prince of Isenburg and Büdingen, no children
  • Count Heinrich XVI Reuss of Greiz (1759 – 1763), died in childhood
  • Prince Heinrich XVII Reuss of Greiz (1761 – 1807), married Babette von Wenz, no children

When Heinrich III, Count of Reuss-Untergreiz died unmarried and childless in 1768, Heinrich XI, Count of Reuss-Obergreiz, inherited the County of Reuss-Untergreiz. Obergreiz and Untergreiz were united into the County of Reuss-Greiz. The following year Heinrich, now Count Reuss of Greiz, started constructing the the family residence in Greiz, the Summer Palace.

Summer Palace in Greiz; Credit – By Steffen Löwe – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43638573

On February 2, 1770, Heinrich XI’s first wife Conradine died, aged 51, and was buried at the Bergkirche St. Marien now in Schleiz, Thuringia, Germany which had served as the burial place for the Counts Reuss of Schleiz. Heinrich XI married again on October 25, 1770, in the Free City of Frankfurt to Countess Alexandrina von Leningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (1732 – 1809), daughter of Count Christian Carl Reinhard Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (in German) and Countess Katarina Poliksen von Solms-Rödelheim. The marriage of Heinrich XI and Alexandrina was childless.

On 12 May 1778, Heinrich XI was elevated to Prince by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II and the County of Reuss-Greiz became the Principality of Reuss-Greiz. The German language has two words for Prince: Fürst and Prinz. Fürst was used for a reigning sovereign ruler or monarch. The present-day rulers of the Principality of Liechtenstein bear the title of Fürst, and the title is also used in German when referring to the ruling princes of the Principality of Monaco. Non-reigning descendants of a Fürst are referred to in German as Prinz (prince) or Prinzessin (princess).

Heinrich XI, 1st Prince Reuss of Greiz died on June 28, 1800, aged 78, in Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz and was buried at the Stadtkirche St. Marien in Greiz, the burial site for the Princes of Reuss-Greiz, Elder Line, now in the German federal state of Thuringia. His second wife Alexandrina died on October 4, 1809, aged 76, and was buried with her husband.

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Works Cited

  • Bg.wikipedia.org. (2020). Хайнрих XI (Ройс-Грайц). [online] Available at: https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A5%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BD%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%85_XI_(%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81-%D0%93%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%86) [Accessed 1 Mar. 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. (2020). Heinrich XI. (Reuß-Greiz). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XI._(Reu%C3%9F-Greiz) [Accessed 1 Mar. 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_XI,_Prince_Reuss_of_Greiz [Accessed 1 Mar. 2020].