The House of Schwarzburg was one of the oldest noble families of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

. Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Günther in 1971, a claim to the headship of the house passed under

Semi-Salic The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old D ...

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

to his elder sister,

Princess Marie Antoinette of Schwarzburg Marie Antoinette, Princess of Schwarzburg (german: Marie Antoinette Prinzessin zu Schwarzburg; 7 February 18984 November 1984) was the eldest child of Sizzo, Prince of Schwarzburg. Early life and background Marie Antoinette was born at Großha ...

who married Friedrich Magnus V, Count of

Solms-Wildenfels Solms-Wildenfels was a minor County around Wildenfels in south-western Saxony, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins at Solms, Hesse. Solms-Wildenfels was a partition of Solms-Baruth. In 1741 it was partitioned between itself and Solms- ...

.James, John ''Almanach de Gotha, Volume I'', 2013. Reigning over the

County of Schwarzburg The House of Schwarzburg was one of the oldest noble families of Thuringia. Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Günther in 1971, a claim to the headship of the house passed under Semi-Salic primogeniture to his elder sister, Princess Marie A ...

and founded by Sizzo I of Schwarzburg (died 1160), the family split in the 16th century into the lines of

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county until 1697. In that year, it became a principality, which la ...

and

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since ...

, with the Sondershausen dying out in 1909.

Family history

The County of Schwarzburg was a state of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

from 1195 to 1595, when it was partitioned into

and

. It was ruled by counts from the House of Schwarzburg. Schwarzburg Castle was first mentioned in a 1071 deed. In 1123 Count Sizzo III of Käfernburg (Kevernburg), mentioned by the medieval chronicler

Lambert of Hersfeld Lambert of Hersfeld (also called Lampert; – 1082/85) was a medieval chronicler. His work represents a major source for the history of the German kingdom of Henry IV and the incipient Investiture Controversy in the eleventh century. Life What ...

and according to the

Annalista Saxo The Annalista Saxo ("Saxon annalist") is the anonymous author of an important imperial chronicle, believed to have originated in the mid-12th century at Nienburg Abbey in the Duchy of Saxony. General The chronicle of the "Annalista Saxo" is a c ...

a grandson of Prince

Yaropolk Izyaslavich Yaropolk Iziaslavich or Yaropolk Iziaslavych (died 1087) was a '' Kniaz'' (prince) during the eleventh-century in the Kievan Rus' kingdom and was the King of Rus (1076–1087). The son of Grand Prince Iziaslav I of Kiev (Kyiv) by a Polish ...

of Turov by his mother, rebuilt the castle calling himself a "Count of Schwarzburg". Sizzo also established

Georgenthal Georgenthal is a municipality in the district of Gotha, in Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. ...

Abbey and in 1157, he accompanied Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

during his campaign against High Duke

Bolesław IV the Curly Bolesław IV the Curly (; 1122 – 5 January 1173), a member of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Masovia from 1138 and High Duke of Poland from 1146 until his death. Early life Bolesław was the third son of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Polan ...

of Poland. In 1197, Sizzo's grandson Henry II divided the common heritage with his brother Günther III and made Schwarzburg Castle his residence. His territory then also comprised the nearby castle of

Blankenburg Blankenburg may refer to: Places * Blankenburg am Harz, a German town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt * Blankenburg Castle (Harz), the castle in Blankenburg am Harz (see above) * Bad Blankenburg, a German town in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt dis ...

. The most famous family member is Günther XXI von Schwarzburg. In 1349, he was elected as German king by the majority of electors. But, due to waning support, he renounced some months later and died shortly after. The Schwarzburg lands were again divided among his successors until in 1538 when Count Günther XL the Rich was able to unite the territories including Frankenhausen and

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide v ...

under his rule. He was succeeded by his eldest son Günther XLI. However, after his death in 1583, his younger brothers again divided the county: John Günther I received the territory around

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially preserved to ...

, later called

, while

Albrecht VII Albert VII may refer to: * Albert VII, Archduke of Austria (1559–1621) * Albert VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Albrecht VII, the Handsome, Duke of Mecklenburg in Güstrow (25 July 1486 – 5 January 1547), was a minor ruler in North Germa ...

inherited the lands of

. The partition was finally confirmed by the 1599 Treaty of

Stadtilm Stadtilm is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Ilm, 15 km northeast of Ilmenau, and 11 km southeast of Arnstadt. In July 2018 the former municipality of Ilmtal was merged into Stadtilm. ...

Counts of Schwarzburg and Käfernburg

House of Schwarzburg

Partitions of Schwarzburg under Schwarzburg rule

Table of rulers

(Note: There are two manners for numbering the rulers of this noble family: birth numbers or regnal numbers. This table uses the regnal numbers for avoiding confusion or holes in the numbering. There's a different numbering for Schwarzburg, Käfernburg (from Günther IIII onwards) and Hallermund (as an already existing county which came into the family by marriage)).

Counts and Princes of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

* 1552–1586: John Günther I * 1586–1631: Günther XLII, ''with'' Anton Henry, John Günther II and Christian Günther I * 1631–1638: Günther XLII, ''with'' Anton Henry and Christian Günther I * 1638–1642: Günther XLII, ''with'' Christian Günther I * 1642–1643: Günther XLII, ''with'' Anton Günther I * 1643–1666: Anton Günther I * 1666–1697: Christian William, ''with'' Anton Günther II * 1697–1716: Anton Günther II * 1697 – 10 May 1721: Christian William * 10 May 1721 – 28 November 1740: Günther XLIII * 28 November 1740 – 6 November 1758: Henry XXXV * 6 November 1758 – 14 October 1794: Christian Günther III * 14 October 1794 – 19 August 1835: Günther Friedrich Karl I * 19 August 1835 – 17 July 1880: Günther Friedrich Karl II * 17 July 1880 – 28 March 1909: Karl Günther * 28 March 1909 – November 1918: Günther Victor

References

External links

House Laws of Schwarzburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Schwarzburg Schwarzburg