by Susan Flantzer

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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Born on October 22, 1708, in Rudolstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Ludwig Günther II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was the youngest of the thirteen children and the fourth of the four sons of Ludwig Friedrich I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Anna Sophie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Ludwig Günther had twelve older siblings but three had already died before his birth:

• 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

As Ludwig Günther was the fourth son, there was no expectation that he would succeed to the throne of the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. In 1718, when Ludwig Günther was not quite ten-years-old, his father died and eldest brother Friedrich Anton became the reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. In his late teens and early twenties, Ludwig Günther took advantage of his lack of serious responsibility by spending several years in what now is Italy, but then was a combination of kingdoms, duchies, principalities, papal states, and territories of other nations. He especially enjoyed the vast artistic heritage of Italy. Between 1722 – 1731, Ludwig Günther visited the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt only twice. He served as an officer in Milan, which then was part of the Austria Empire, from 1726 – 1731. However, his military career ended due to an issue with his hearing. Returning to Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Ludwig Günther lived at Schloss Friedensburg in Rudolstadt (link in German) from 1731 – 1733.

On October 22, 1733, Ludwig Günther married Sophie Henrietta Reuss of Untergreiz (1711 – 1771), daughter of Heinrich Xlll, Count Reuss of Untergreiz and Sophie Elisabeth of Stolberg-Werningerode.

The couple had four children:

• Friederike Sophie (born and died 1734), died in infancy
• Christiane Friederike (1735 – 1788), nun at Gandersheim Abbey
• Friedrich Karl, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1736 – 1793), married his first cousin Princess Friederike of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the eldest daughter of Friedrich Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, had six children including Ludwig Friedrich II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
• Christian Ernst (born and died 1739), died in infancy

After their marriage, Ludwig Günther and Sophie Henrietta moved to Schloss Heidecksburg (link in German), one of the main residences of the Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. In 1734, construction began on a future residence for Ludwig Günther and his family in Rudolstadt. Schloss Ludwigsburg (link in German), named after Ludwig Günther, was completed in 1742. A ceiling fresco in the castle depicts Ludwig Günther with Greek gods.

In 1744, Ludwig Günther’s eldest brother Friedrich Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt died. Friedrich Anton’s only son and Ludwig Günther’s nephew, 23-year-old Johann Friedrich succeeded his father. Johann Friedrich married two months later and he and his wife had six children but only two daughters survived childhood. Therefore, Johann Friedrich had no male heir.

Ludwig Günther was the youngest of four brothers. The third brother, Albrecht Anton, had died unmarried in 1720. As already mentioned, the first brother Friedrich Anton, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt died in 1744 and had no sons. The second brother Wilhelm Ludwig, who died in 1757 during Johann Friedrich’s reign, had married morganatically and had three sons and two daughters. However, because of the morganatic marriage, Wilhelm Ludwig’s sons did not have succession rights. Upon the death of his nephew Johann Friedrich in 1767, 59-year-old Ludwig Günther became the reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and his son Friedrich Karl became the Hereditary Prince. Ludwig Günther and his wife Sophie Henrietta moved to Schloss Heidecksburg, the principal residence of the Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Four years later, Sophie Henrietta died on January 22, 1771, aged 60, and was buried at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg (link in German), the castle church at Schwarzburg Castle.

For the most part, Ludwig Günther left government affairs to Chancellor Christian Ulrich von Ketelholdt, with whom he had a good relationship. At his previous residence Schloss Ludwigsburg, Ludwig Günther established a princely school of art. The natural history collection owned by Hereditary Prince Friedrich Karl and Ludwig Günther’s coin collection were displayed there. In 1778, Ludwig Günther II laid the foundation stone for the palace library in the west wing of Schloss Heidecksburg which now has around 7,000 books.

After a reign of twenty-three years, Ludwig Günther died at the age of 81, on August 29, 1790, in Rudolstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in Thuringia, Germany. He was buried with his wife at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg, the castle church at Schwarzburg Castle in Schwarzburg, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia.

In the early 1940s, the remains of the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt family buried at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg were transferred to the Stadtkirche St. Andreas in Rudolstadt, Thuringia, Germany before the demolition of Schwarzburg Castle and Schlosskirche Schwarzburg by the German government who planned to convert the castle into Adolf Hitler’s Imperial Guest House. However, the construction was never completed and the ruins of the castle and the incomplete construction of the guest house were left for years until reconstruction of the original castle, which is still occurring, began.

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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. Ludwig Günther II. (Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_G%C3%BCnther_II._(Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt)> [Accessed 30 October 2020].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Louis Günther II, Prince Of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_G%C3%BCnther_II,_Prince_of_Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt> [Accessed 30 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].