Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

), Germany. The residence was the town and palace in Berleburg (now

Bad Berleburg Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest of ...

History

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was a partition of Sayn-Wittgenstein in the 16th century; the southern and more-developed portion was the County of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Wittgenstein with its seat Laaspe (now Bad Laasphe) and its residence Wittgenstein Castle, whereas Berleburg is tucked away in a very rural landscape in the midst of vast forests. Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was raised from a county with Imperial immediacy to an immediate principality (''Reichsfürstentum'') in 1792, and was mediatised to the Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1806 before being annexed to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

in 1816.

Counts and reigning princes

Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1607–1792)

* Georg V (1565–1631, ruled 1607–1631) * Ludwig Casimir (1598–1643, ruled 1631–1643) * Georg Wilhelm (1636–1684, ruled 1643–1684) * Ludwig Franz (1660–1694, ruled 1684–1694) * Casimir (1687–1741, ruled 1694–1741) * Ludwig Ferdinand (1712–1773, ruled 1741–1773) * Christian Heinrich (1753–1800, ruled as '' Graf'' 1773–1792)

Princes of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (since 1792)Burkardt & Lückel

* Christian Heinrich, 1st Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1753–1800, ruled as '' Fürst'' 1792–1800) * Albrecht, 2nd Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1777–1851, ruled 1800–1806) * Albrecht, 3rd Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1834–1904) *

Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (german: Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, 27 May 1882 – 25 April 1925) was Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg from 1904 to 1918. Life Prince Richard was born on 27 May 1882 at Berlebu ...

(27 May 1882 - 25 April 1925) *

Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

(28 February 1907 - 1944, declared dead 29 November 1969) * Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (29 October 1934 – 13 March 2017) * Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (13 March 2017 - )

Line of succession

Four branches of the House of Sayn were extant at the beginning of the 20th century, each having inherited its own

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

while the family enjoyed Imperial immediacy as

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s 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 ...

.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' Band XIX. "Sayn-Wittgenstein". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2011, pp.314-338. German. . Almanach de Gotha ''Sayn und Wittgenstein''.

Justus Perthes Johann Georg Justus Perthes (11 September 1749, Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt – 2 May 1816, Gotha, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg) was a German publisher and founder of the publishing house that bears his name. Life He was born in the Thuringian t ...

, 1944, pp.284-291. French. In order of seniority of legitimate descent from their progenitor, Ludwig I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1532-1605), they were the: #Princes ('' Fürsten'') zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, descended from Count Georg (1565-1631) #Princes (''Fürsten'') zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, descended from Count Christian Ludwig (1725-1797) #Counts zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, descended from Count Georg Ernst (1735-1792) #Princes (''Fürsten'') zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, descended from Count Ludwig (1571-1634) Some of these lines further splintered into cadet branches, both

dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

and non-dynastic, the latter including families whose right to the princely title was recognized by the Russian,

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

or Bavarian monarchies, whereas other

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

branches used lesser titles in Germany. On the death of Ludwig, 3rd Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein in 1912, the eldest of his three sons, Hereditary Prince August (1868-1947), became 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein and head of the third branch of the House of Sayn. Being a childless bachelor, the elder of whose two younger brothers, Georg (1873-1960), had married morganatically, while the younger, Wilhelm (1877-1958), was 49 and yet unmarried, August preserved the name and heritage of his branch of the House of Sayn by adopting Prince Christian Heinrich (1908-1953) of the Berleburg line. He was the second son of the late head of the entire House of Sayn,

(1882-1925), whose eldest son

(1907-1944), had inherited the senior line's fortune and position. In November 1960, Christian Heinrich, being the divorced father of three daughters by his dynastic marriage to Countess Beatrix von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1921-2006), married Princess Dagmar (1919-2002), elder daughter of his adopted father's younger brother, Georg, who died seven months before the wedding. As Georg's children by his morganatic wife, Marie Rühm, (created Baroness von Freusburg by the reigning

Prince of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a historical state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It was founded in the 1640s under a separ ...

in 1916) had been de-morganatized by declaration of their uncle August on 11 February 1947, her marriage to Christian Heinrich was deemed a dynastic match, ensuring that their son Bernhart would be born in compliance with the

house law House law or House laws (''Hausgesetze'') are rules that govern a royal family or dynasty in matters of eligibility for succession to a throne, membership in a dynasty, exercise of a regency, or entitlement to dynastic rank, titles and styles. ...

s of his adoptive ancestors, the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohensteins, while also being a grandson of the last dynastic male of that family, Prince Georg. Royal Wedding Stockholm 2010-Konserthuset-418

Royal Wedding Stockholm 2010-Konserthuset-418

* ''

(1882-1925)'' ** ''

(1907-missing 1944, declared dead 1969)'' *** '' Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg'' (1934-2017) **** Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1969) *** (1)

Prince Robin of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Prince Robin of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (Robin Alexander Wolfgang Udo Eugen Wilhelm Gottfried; born 29 January 1938) is the son of Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and his wife, Franco-Swedish noblewoman Margareta Fo ...

(b 1938) **** (2) Prince Sebastian of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1971) ***** (3) Prince Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 2004) ***** (4) Prince Philipp of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 2011) ** ''Christian-Heinrich, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (1908-1983)'' *** (5) Bernhart, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (b 1962) **** (6) Wenzel, Hereditary Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (b 1997) ** ''

Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Prinz Ludwig Ferdinand Paul Franz Stanislaus Ulrich Otto Ludolf zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (4 April 1910 – 22 November 1943) was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's C ...

(1910-1943)'' *** (7) Prince Otto Ludwig of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1938) **** (8) Prince Stanislaus of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1965) ***** (9) Prince Friedrich of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1996) ***** (10) Prince August of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1998) **** (11) Prince Maximilian-Alexander of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1980) *** (12) Prince Johann-Stanislaus of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1939) **** (13) Prince Otto-Ludwig of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1972) ***** (14) Prince Justus-Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 2005) ***** (15) Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 2007) **** (16) Prince Constantin of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1978) *** (17) Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1942) **** (18) Prince Carl Albrecht of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1976) **** (19) Prince August-Frederik of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (b 1981)

References

External links

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg family website
(in German)

{{Authority control