Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Fürstentum Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt House of Schwarzburg

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany with its capital at Rudolstadt. Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since the 11th century, the ancestral seat of the comital family had been at Schwarzburg Castle, though after 1340, for most of its existence as a polity had the capital at the larger town of Rudolstadt. In 1583 Count Günther XLI of Schwarzburg, the eldest son of Günther XL the Rich and ruler over the united Schwarzburg lands, had died without issue. He was succeeded by his younger brothers, whereby Albert VII received the territory around Rudolstadt. After their brother Count William of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen had died in 1597, the surviving brothers Albert VII and John Günther I established the two counties of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen by the 1599 Treaty of Stadtilm.

Albert’s descendants ruled as sovereign counts of the Holy Roman Empire. Count Albert Anton (1662-1710) was elevated to the rank of a Prince by Emperor Leopold I of Habsburg, it was however his son Louis Frederick I (1710-1718) who first bore the princely title, whereby Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1711 became a principality under the same entity. It withstood the mediatisation and after the Empire’s dissolution joined the Confederation of the Rhine in 1807 and the German Confederation in 1815.

On 23 November 1918, during the German Revolution of 1918-1919 and the fall of all the German monarchies, Prince Günther Victor was the last to abdicate. The former principality became a “Free State” in 1919, that was merged into the new state of Thuringia in the next year. In 1905 Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt had an area of 940 km2 (360 sq mi) and a population of 97,000.

List of the Rulers of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Counts of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

• 1574-1605: Count Albrecht VII (1537-1605), son of Count Günther XL of Schwarzburg, founder of the county (state) of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
• 1605-1630: Count Charles Günther I (1576-1630), succeeded by younger brother Louis Günther I
• 1630-1646: Count Louis Günther I (1581-1646)
• 1646-1662: Regent Emilie of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst (1614-70)
• 1662-1710: Count Albert Anton (1641-1710)

Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

• 1710-1718: Prince Louis Frederick I (1667-1718)
• 1718-1744: Prince Frederick Anton (1692-1744)
• 1744-1767: Prince John Frederick (1721-67)
• 1767-1790: Prince Louis Günther II (1708-90)
• 1790-1793: Prince Frederick Charles (1736-93)
• 1793-1807: Prince Louis Frederick II (1767-1807)
• 1807-1814: Regent Caroline Louise of Hesse-Homburg (1771-1854)
• 1814-1867: Prince Frederick Günther (1793-1867)
• 1867-1869: Prince Albert (1798-1869)
• 1869-1890: Prince Georg Albert (1838-90)
• 1890-1918: Prince Günther Victor (1852-1925) succeeded as Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen in 1909 on the death of Prince Karl Günther.

Heads of the princely house of Schwarzburg post-monarchy

On the death of the childless Prince Günther Victor in 1925 he was succeeded by Prince Sizzo (1860-1926) who was the son of Prince Freedrick Günther (1793-1867) from his second, morganatic marriage. Prince Sizzo was recognised as a full member of the House of Schwarzburg in 1896.

• 1918-1925: Prince Günther Victor (1852-1925)
• 1925-1926: Prince Sizzo (1860-1926)
• 1926-1971: Prince Friedrich Günther (1901-1971)

The Family Titles and Styles

The members of this family bore the title of Prince or Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, together with the formal appellation of His or Her Serene Highness.

The Genealogy of the Princely House

• FRIEDRICH KARL Fst von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (Rudolstadt 7 Jun 1736-
• Rudolstadt 13 Apr 1793); m.1st Schwarzburg 21 Oct 1763 Friederike Pss
• von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (Rudolstadt 17 Aug 1745- Rudolstadt 26 Jan
• 1778); m.2d Stadtroda 28 Nov 1780 Auguste Pss of Saxe-Gotha (Stadtroda
• 30 Nov 1752-Rudolstadt 28 May 1805)
• 1a) Friederike (Rudolstadt 12
• May 1765-Rudolstadt 4 Feb 1767)
• 2a) LUDWIG FRIEDRICH Fst von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (Rudolstadt 9
• Aug 1767-Rudolstadt 28 Apr 1807); m. Homburg 21 Jul 1791 Caroline
• Ldgvne of Hesse-Homburg (Homburg 26 Aug 1771-Rudolstadt 20 Jun 1854)
• 1b) Karoline Auguste Friederike Cäcilie
• (Rudolstadt 17 Jul 1792-Rudolstadt 4 Mar 1794)
• 2b) FRIEDRICH GÜNTHER Fst von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (Rudolstadt 6 Nov
• 1793-Schloß Heidecksburg 28 Jun 1867); m.1st Dessau 15 Apr 1816 Auguste
• Pss of Anhalt-Dessau (Dessau 18 Aug 1793-Rudolstadt 12 Jun 1854); m.2d
• Dresden 7 Aug 1855 Helene Pss of Anhalt (Dessau 1 Mar 1835-Rudolstadt
• 6 Jun 1860); m.3d (morganatically) Schwarzburg 24 Sep 1861 Marie Schultze,
• cr 1864 Gfn von Brockenburg (Insterburg 22 Oct 1840-Bern 19 Mar 1909)
• 1c) Friedrich Günther (Rudolstadt
• 31 Jan 1818-Rudolstadt 16 Mar 1821)
• 2c) Günther (Rudolstadt 5 Nov
• 1821-Rudolstadt 11 Nov 1845)
• 3c) Gustav (Rudolstadt 7 Jan
• 1828-Rudolstadt 30 Nov 1837)
• 4c) Helene, cr 1860 Pss von Leutenberg (Rudolstadt 2 Jun 1860
• -Hannover 17 May 1937); m. Rudolstadt 24 Jan 1884 Hans Pr von
• Schoenaich-Carolath (Saabor 26 Aug 1849-Hannover 5/6 May 1910)
• 5c) Günther SIZZO, cr 1860 Pr von Leutenberg, recognized as heir
• presumptive 1896, succeeded his cousin as Fst von Schwarzburg
• 1925 (Rudolstadt 3 Jun 1860- Großharthau 24 Mar 1926); m. Dessau
• 25 Jan 1897 Alexandra Pss of Anhalt (Dessau 4 Apr 1868-
• Schwetzingen 26 Aug 1958)
• 1d) Marie-Antoinette (Großharthau 7 Feb 1898-Schloß Blumenthal
• 4 Nov 1984); m. Wildenfels 4 Jan 1925 Friedrich Magnus Gf zu Solms
• -Wildenfels (Wildenfels 1 Nov 1886-Groß-Schweidnitz 6 Sep 1945)
• 2d) Irene (Großhartau 27 May 1899-Munich 28 Feb 1939)
• 3d) FRIEDRICH GÜNTHER Fst von Schwarzburg (Großharthau 5 Mar 1901-Munich
• 9 Nov 1971); m. Heinrichau, Silesia 7 Mar 1938 (div 1938) Sophie Pss of
• Saxe-Weimar (Weimar 20 Nov 1911-Hamburg 21 Nov 1988)
• 3b) Thekla (Rudolstadt 23 Feb 1795-Gauernitz 4 Jan 1861); m.
• Rudolstadt 11 Apr 1817 Otto Viktor Fst von Schönburg-Waldenburg
• (1 Mar 1785-16 Feb 1859)
• 4b) Karoline (Rudolstadt 7 Jun
• 1796-Rudolstadt 18 Dec 1796)
• 5b) ALBERT Fst von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (Rudolstadt 30 Apr 1798-
• Rudolstadt 26 Nov 1869); m. Berlin-Schönhausen 26 Jul 1827 Auguste
• Pss zu Solms-Braunfels (Triesdorf 25 Jul 1804-Eichberg 8 Oct 1865)
• 1c) Karl Günther Friedrich Ernst Wilhelm
• (Rudolstadt 30 Apr 1828-Rudolstadt 9 May 1828)
• 2c) Elisabeth (Rudolstadt 1 Oct 1833-Detmold 27 Nov 1896);
• m. Rudolstadt 17 Apr 1852 Leopold Fst zur Lippe (Detmold 1
• Sep 1821-Detmold 8 Dec 1875)
• 3c) GEORG Albert Fst von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
• (Rudolstadt 23 Nov 1838-Rudolstadt 19 Jan 1890)
• 4c) Ernst (Rudolstadt 15
• Mar 1848-Rudolstadt 19 Mar 1848)
• 6b) Bernhard (Rudolstadt 23 Jun
• 1801-Rudolstadt 26 Jan 1816)
• 7b) Rudolph (Rudolstadt 23 Jun
• 1801-Rudolstadt 21 Jul 1808)
• 3a) Therese Sophie Henriette (Rudolstadt
• 31 Mar 1770-Rudolstadt 23 May 1783)
• 4a) Karl Günther (Rudolstadt 23 Aug 1771-Rudolstadt 4 Feb 1825)
• ; m. Homburg 19 Jun 1793 Ulrike Ldgvne of Hesse-Homburg (Homburg
• 26 Oct 1772-Rudolstadt 18 Sep 1854)
• 1b) Friedrich (b.and d.
• Rudolstadt 6 Oct 1798)
• 2b) Ludwig Heinrich Theodor (Rudolstadt
• 9 May 1800-Rudolstadt 20 Jul 1800)
• 3b) Franz Friedrich Karl Adolf (Rudolstadt 27 Sep 1801-Rudolstadt
• 1 Jul 1875); m. Waldenburg 27 Sep 1847 Mathilde Pss von Schönburg
• -Waldenburg (Waldenburg 18 Nov 1826-Rudolstadt 22 Mar 1914)
• 1c) Marie Karoline Auguste (Rudolstadt 29 Jan 1850-The Hague
• 22 Apr 1922); m. Rudolstadt 4 Jul 1868 Friedrich Franz III,
• Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Ludwigslust 28 Feb 1823
• -Schwerin 15 Apr 1883)
• 2c) GÜNTHER Victor Fst von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, succeeded
• his cousin Georg as Fürst von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1890,
• succeeded his cousin Karl as Fürst von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
• in 1909, and assumed the title Fürst von Schwarzburg; abdicated
• 22 Nov 1918 (Rudolstadt 21 Aug 1852-Sondershausen 16 Apr 1925);
• m. Rudolstadt 9 Dec 1891 Anna Pss von Schönburg-Waldenburg
• (Hermsdorf 19 Feb 1871-Sondershausen 7 Nov 1951)
• 3c) Thekla (Rudolstadt 12 Aug
• 1859-Rudolstadt 5 Feb 1939)
• 4c) Luise (Rudolstadt 5 Jan
• 1862-Droyssig 7 Jun 1867)
• 4b) Karoline Auguste Luise Amalie (Rudolstadt 4 Apr 1804
• -Rudolstadt 14 Jan 1829); m. Rudolstadt 6 Aug 1825 Georg
• Pr of Anhalt (Dessau 21 Feb 1896-Dresden 16 Oct 1865)
• 5b) Wilhelm Friedrich (Rudolstadt
• 31 May 1806-Dresden 6 May 1849)
• 6b) Karoline Irene Marie (Rudolstadt 6 Apr 1809-Arnstadt
• 29 Mar 1833); m. Rudolstadt 12 Mar 1827 Günther Fst von
• Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1801-1889)
• 5a) Wilhelmine Friederike Karoline (Rudolstadt 21 Jan 1774
• -Arnstadt 11 Jan 1854); m. Rudolstadt 23 Jun 1799 Günther
• Fst von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1760-1837)
• 6a) Christiane Luise (Rudolstadt 2 Nov 1775-Kassel 25
• Dec 1808); m. Rudolstadt 10 Apr 1796 Ernst Konstantin
• Ldgve of Hesse-Philippsthal (1771-1849)