Günther XL, Count of Schwarzburg nicknamed ''the Rich'' or ''Günther with the fat mouth'' (31 October 1499 in

Sondershausen Sondershausen is a town in Thuringia, central Germany, capital of the Kyffhäuserkreis district, situated about 50 km north of Erfurt. On 1 December 2007, the former municipality Schernberg was incorporated by Sondershausen. Until 1918 it ...

– 10 November 1552 in

Gehren Gehren is a town and a former independent municipality in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 7 km southeast of Ilmenau. It officially became a town in its own right ('Stadt') in 1855. However, since July 2018, it ...

), was a ruling Count of

Schwarzburg Schwarzburg may refer to: * Schwarzburg (municipality) * The House of Schwarzburg * Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * Schwarzburg-Sondershausen * House of Schwarzburg * 13th-century fortress built by the Teutonic Order in Transylvania, present day Codlea ...

Life

Guenther was the eldest son of Henry XXXI, Count of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (1473–1526) and his first wife Magdalena of Hohnstein (1480–1504). His paternal grandparents were Guenther XXI. (XXXVIII.) von Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (1450–1484) and Katharina von Querfurt (1452–1521). Over time, Günther united all but one of the Schwarzburg possessions in one hand. He introduced

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

in his country and fought on the Protestant side against the emperor in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...

. Günther benefitted considerably from the political downfall of the Ernestine branch of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

. In feudal matters, he came into conflict with Elector

Johann Frederick I, Elector of Saxony John Frederick I (30 June 1503 in Torgau – 3 March 1554 in Weimar), called the Magnanimous, was the Elector of Saxony (1532–1547) and head of the Schmalkaldic League. Early years John Frederick was the eldest son of Elector John by his fir ...

. The Elector invaded Schwarzburg and torched the city of

. Günther had to flee, and was only able to return after the battle of Mühlberg in 1547. To demonstrate his accumulated wealth and power, he largely demolished the existing castle in Sondershausen in 1533 and built a new

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

château on the site. This château forms the old North, East and South wings of the current

Sondershausen Palace From an architectural and art historical point of view Sondershausen Palace can be considered one of the most important palace complexes in Thuringia. It is an irregular four-wing complex. With its imposing silhouette the former Schwarzburg residenc ...

. After his death, the County of Schwarzburg was divided among his four sons. Thus, he became the ancestor of the two lines of the

House 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 An ...

that survived until the 20th century:

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 ...

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 th ...

Marriage and issue

On 29 November 1528, Günther XL married Elisabeth (d. 14 May 1572), the daughter of Count Philip of Isenburg-Büdingen-Ronneburg. They had the following children: *

Günther XLI, Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt Günther XLI, Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt, nicknamed "the Quarrelsome" or , (25 September 1529 in Sondershausen – 23 May 1583 in Antwerp) was the ruling count of Schwarzburg from 1552 to 1571 and then Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt until hi ...

(1529–1583), nicknamed "the Bellicose", Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt * Magdalena (1530–1565), married in 1552, to Count John Albert VI of Mansfeld-Arnstein * Amalie (1531–1542) *

John Günther I, Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen John Günther I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (also known as ''Hans Günther'' or ''Johann Günther''; 20 December 1532 in Sondershausen – 28 October 1586 in Arnstadt) was the co-ruler of Schwarzburg from 1552 until 1571 and the sole ruler Sc ...

(1532–1586), Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen *

William I, Count of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen William I, Count of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen (4 October 1534 in Sondershausen – 30 September 1597 in Straußberg, which is today part of Sondershausen), was the ruling Count of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen from 1571 until his death. He was t ...

(1534–1597), Count of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen * Philip (1536-1536) * Albert VII, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1537–1605), Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * Otto Henry? (1538–1539) or Ottilie? * Sybilla Anna (1540–1578), married in 1571 to Count Louis III of Isenburg-Birstein-Büdingen * Elisabeth (1541–1612), married in 1576 to

John VII, Count of Oldenburg Count John VII of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (nicknamed "the Dike Builder"; 9 September 1540 in Oldenburg – 12 November 1603 in Oldenburg) was a member of the House of Oldenburg and was the ruling Count of County of Oldenburg from 1573 until his ...

References

* Horst Fleischer ''et al.'': ''Die Grafen von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt: Albrecht VII. bis Albert Anton'', in: ''Kleine kulturgeschichtliche Reihe'' vol. 3, 2nd ed., Rudolstadt, 2004, * Friedrich Apfelstedt: ''Das Haus Kevernburg-Schwarzburg von seinem Ursprunge bis auf unsere Zeit'', Arnstadt, 1890, * Johann Christian August Junghans: ''Geschichte der schwarzburgischen Regenten'', Leipzig, 1821
Online
* Kurt Hermann: ''Die Erbteilungen im Hause Schwarzburg'', Halle, 1919 * Dr. Kamill von Behr: ''Genealogie der in Europa regierenden Fürstenhäuser'', Leipzig, 1870 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther 40, Count of Schwarzburg House of Schwarzburg Counts of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen People from Sondershausen 1499 births 1552 deaths 16th-century German people