by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen: The County of Schwarzburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1195 to 1595, when it was partitioned into Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The new counties remained in the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution. In 1697, the County of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The County of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1710.

The death of Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen without an heir in 1909 caused the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen to be united under Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in a personal union. Following his succession in Sondershausen, Prince Günther Victor dropped the name Rudolstadt from his title and assumed the title Prince of Schwarzburg.

At the end of World War I, Prince Günther Victor was the last German prince to renounce his throne, abdicating on November 22, 1918. He made an agreement with the government that awarded him an annual pension and the right to use several of the family residences. The territory that encompassed the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen is now located in the German state of Thuringia.

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Ludwig Friedrich I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was born on October 25, 1667, in Rudolstadt, County of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia. He was the eldest of the two children of Albrecht Anton of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Countess Emilie Juliane of Barby-Mühlingen. Emilie Juliane was the most productive of the German female hymn-writers, composing nearly 600 hymns. She was an early adherent of Pietism, a movement within Lutheranism that emphasized biblical doctrine, individual piety, and living a vigorous Christian life.

Ludwig Friedrich had one younger sister who died in infancy:

• Albertina Antonia of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (born and died 1668)

As was typical for German princes at that time Ludwig Friedrich made a Grand Tour of Europe from May 1687 to October 1688. Accompanied by his tutor Johann von Asseburg, he was received at the Palace of Versailles by King Louis XIV of France and in Vienna, Austria by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. He was also received by Duke Frederick I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, whose daughter Anna Sophie he later would marry.

On October 15, 1691 at Friedenstein Palace  in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, now in the German state of Thuringia, Ludwig Friedrich married Anna Sophie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1670 – 1728). She was the eldest of the eight children and the eldest of the six daughters of Friedrich I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Magdalena Sibylle of Saxe-Weissenfels.

Ludwig Friedrich and Anna Sophie had thirteen children:

• Friedrich Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1692 – 1744), married (1) Sophia Wilhelmina of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had one son and two daughters (2) Christina Sophia of East Frisia, no children
• Amalie Magdalene of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (born and died 1693), died in infancy, twin of Sophie Luise
• Sophie Luise of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (born and died 1693), died in infancy, twin of Amalie Magdalene
• Sophie Juliane of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1694 – 1776), a nun at Gandersheim Abbey
• Wilhelm Ludwig of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1696 – 1757), married morganatically Caroline Henriette Gebauer who was created Baroness of Brockenburg, had three sons and two daughters
• Christine Dorothea of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1697 – 1698), died in infancy
• Albrecht Anton of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1698 – 1720), unmarried
• Emilie Juliane of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1699 – 1774), unmarried
• Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1700 – 1780), married Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, had four sons and four daughters
• Sophia Dorothea of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1706 – 1737), unmarried, twin of Friederike Luise
• Friederike Luise of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1706 – 1787), unmarried, twin of Sophia Dorothea
• Magdalena Sibylle of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1707 – 1795), a nun at Gandersheim Abbey
• Ludwig Günther II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1708 – 1790), married Sophie Henriette of Reuss-Untergreiz, had two daughters and two sons

Via their daughter, Anna Sophie who married Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Ludwig Friedrich and Anna Sophie are the ancestors of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert and Leopold I, King of the Belgians. The royal families of Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are their descendants.

In 1697, Albrecht Anton, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Ludwig Friedrich’s father, was raised to a Prince and the County of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was raised to a principality by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. However, he chose not to accept his elevation due to his religious modesty which focused on the Pietism of his mother. He also wanted to avoid a confrontation with his neighbors, the dukes from the Ernestine lines of the House of Wettin, (whose duchy names began with “Saxe”) who had opposed his elevation. In 1710, the elevation to Prince was offered again and this time, Albrecht Anton accepted it. However, he did not publish notice of his elevation and continued to use the style Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

On December 15, 1710, Albrecht Anton died and his son Ludwig Friedrich succeeded him. Ludwig Friedrich published notice of the elevation to Prince in 1711 and began using the style Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt on April 15, 1711. The elevation strengthened the position of the House of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt against the House of Wettin. The Imperial Hall, which was added to the Schwarzburg Castle (link in German) between 1713 and 1719, was created in connection with the elevation. It contained full-length images of Holy Roman Emperors and the members of the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt family and represented the dignity and the descent of the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt family.

Even before he succeeded to the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt throne, Ludwig Friedrich had assisted his father in administrating the principality. After he inherited the throne, he reformed the administration on an absolutist basis. In 1713, an agreement was reached with the other ruling branch of the Schwarzburg family, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, whereby primogeniture was introduced in both branches, and further division of the family’s possessions was prevented.

On June 24, 1718, Ludwig Friedrich I, aged 50, died in Rudolstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in Thuringia, Germany. He was buried at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg (link in German), the castle church at Schwarzburg Castle, in Schwarzburg, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia. Anna Sophie, Ludwig Friedrich’s wife, survived him by ten years, dying on December 28, 1728, at the age of 58, and was buried with her husband at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg.

In the early 1940s, the remains of the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt family buried at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg were transferred to the Stadtkirche St. Andreas (link in German) in Rudolstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia, before the demolition of the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg and Schwarzburg Castle. The German government took possession of Schwarzburg Castle and compensated the widow of the last reigning prince. They planned to convert the castle into Adolf Hitler’s Imperial Guest House. In June 1940, demolition began on Schwarzburg Castle, one of the most important Baroque castles in central Germany. In 1942, the construction was stopped and the Imperial Guest House was never finished. The ruins of the castle and the incomplete construction of the guest house were left for years. The only thing that remained of the castle church was the tower dome but it was destroyed in a fire caused by fireworks on New Year’s Eve 1980. There has been much reconstruction on the castle especially after Schwarzburg Castle was transferred to the Thuringian Palaces and Gardens Foundation in 1994.

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Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Index
• Royal Burial Sites of the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Albert Anton (Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Anton_(Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt)> [Accessed 20 October 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Emilie Juliane Of Barby-Mühlingen. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countess_Emilie_Juliane_of_Barby-M%C3%BChlingen> [Accessed 20 October 2020].
• De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Ludwig Friedrich I. (Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Friedrich_I._(Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt)> [Accessed 20 October 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louis Frederick I, Prince Of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Frederick_I,_Prince_of_Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt> [Accessed 20 October 2020].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-schwarzburg-rudolstadt/> [Accessed 20 October 2020].