Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2021

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

Karl August, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, circa 1740; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont was born on September 24, 1704, in Hanau, County of Hanau, now in the German state of Hesse. He was the second but the eldest surviving of the five sons and the fourth of the eleven children of Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont and Luise of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.

Karl August had ten siblings:

  • Christian Philipp (1701 – 1728), unmarried
  • Friederike Magdalene (1702 – 1713), died in childhood
  • Henriette (1703 – 1785), Abbess at Schaaken Abbey
  • Ernestine Luise (1705 – 1782), married Friedrich Bernhard, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen, had two daughters
  • Ludwig Franz Anton (1707 – 1739), unmarried
  • Johann Wilhelm (1708 – 1713), died in childhood
  • Sofie Wilhelmine Elisabeth (1711 – 1775), unmarried
  • Franziska Christiane Ernestine (1712 – 1782), unmarried
  • Luise Albertine Friederike (1714 – 1794), Abbess of Schaaken Abbey
  • Josef (1715 – 1719), died in childhood

As the second son, Karl August was destined for a military career. He served briefly in a French regiment and then entered the Prussian military in 1725. In 1728, Karl August temporarily left military service to travel through Italy. The Waldeck-Pyrmont family was very interested in the ancient world and collected old art treasures. Upon his father’s death on January 1, 1728, his elder brother Christian Philipp briefly was Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont until his death on May 17, 1728. Karl August then became the reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 19, 1741, in Zweibrücken, County of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, now in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Karl August married his first cousin Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, daughter of Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken.

The couple had seven children including two reigning Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont:

Karl August and his family in 1756; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite being the reigning Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Karl August continued his military career. In the War of the Polish Succession (1733 – 1735), he served as Imperial Sergeant General in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire and was wounded twice in battle. During the War of Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748), Karl August served for a period as Commander of the Dutch Army. In 1746 he was appointed Imperial General Field Marshal in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire. During the minority of Johann Ludwig, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (link in German), Karl August served as Regent of the County of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein.

Karl August, 1748; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl August had been left a great deal of debt due to his father’s ambitious building projects and he tried to limit the debt burden in his small country. However, he and his wife had the Residenzschloss Arolsen redesigned and expanded in the Rococo style. Karl August issued letters of protection to Jewish families provided they could prove that they had assets of at least 1,000 thalers, thereby allowing the immigration of Jewish residents into the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

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 died on August 29, 1763, aged 58, at the Residenzschloss Arolsen 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 (link in German) in Bad Wildungen, Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, now in the German state of Hesse. Karl August’s wife Christiane Henriette survived him by fifty-three years, dying on February 11, 1816, aged 90, at Neues Schloss (New Castle – link in German), 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 Neues Schloss.

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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. Friedrich Anton Ulrich (Waldeck-Pyrmont). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Anton_Ulrich_(Waldeck-Pyrmont)> [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].
  • 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. Friedrich Anton Ulrich, Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/friedrich-anton-ulrich-prince-of-waldeck-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].