Princess Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł (; 27 February 1667 – 25 March 1695) was a magnate Princess of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

and an active reformer.

Life

Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

in the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

. A member of the Radziwiłł family, she was the last agnatic-line member of the most prominent

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

s of Lithuania, and a descendant of the Gediminids and Jagiellons. Radziwiłł inherited Dubingiai,

Slutsk Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450. Geography ...

and many other lands from her father Prince Bogusław Radziwiłł. Her mother was an heiress in her own right and brought much wealth including the duchies of

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

and Biržai. Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł's death in Brieg in 1695 marks the end of the Biržai-Dubingiai Radziwiłł family line. She was the last Radziwiłł to own Biržai Castle and Dubingiai Castle with their lands. Her father, Prince Bogusław Radziwiłł was the son of Janusz Radziwill (1579–1620) and Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg, and along with his cousin (and future father-in-law) Janusz Radziwiłł (1612–55) played a dramatic and treacherous role in The Deluge, or Swedish invasion of Poland. Following the Swedish retreat and Polish resurgence, Bogusław Radziwiłł chose exile in Brandenburg-Prussia, with his mother's family. His wife and Ludwika Karolina's mother, Anna Maria Radziwiłł, the only child and heiress of Janusz Radziwiłł died shortly after giving birth to Ludwika Karolina. Bogusław followed less than two years later, leaving the infant Radziwiłł orphaned and very wealthy. Her guardianship was entrusted to her father's cousin and host (and her future father-in-law) Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. Radziwiłł spent most of her life in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and Königsberg, but paid much attention to her lands in the grand duchy. Like her father, she funded the printing of books in the

Lithuanian language Lithuanian (, ) is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the language of Lithuanians and the official language of Lithuania as well as one of t ...

, and supported education and

parishes. She established scholarships for Lithuanian students of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

in the universities of Königsberg,

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...

, and Berlin. Radziwiłł financed the issue of the

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

and primer in the

, ''Pradzia pamoksla del mazu Weykialu…'', which was printed in Königsberg in 1680. It was the second primer intended for schools following the Catechism by Martynas Mažvydas. Radziwiłł was sued by King

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

for the alleged breach of the prenuptial agreement with his son, Jakub Ludwik Sobieski, with the intention to seize her estates. The case was lost, since it was proven that the agreement was falsified; its conclusion date was later than Radziwiłł's actual marriage date.Barbora Radvilaitė. Kas ji?
Voruta Radziwiłł first married Margrave Louis of Brandenburg (1666-1687), the youngest son of Frederick William the Great Elector and Princess Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau, at Königsberg Castle on 7 January 1681 at the age of thirteen. She gave the lordships of Serrey and Tauroggen in Lithuania to the margrave shortly before his death in 1687. The properties passed to the Brandenburg electors of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

despite the protests of John Sobieski as king of Poland. Following her second marriage into the Sulzbach branch of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

, the Elector Palatine also claimed the two properties in right of his wife. The dispute was not resolved until a compromise was signed in 1741 between the Sulzbachs and the King of Prussia in 1741, by which the Hohenzollerns kept the lands in question but recognized the rights of Count Palatine Charles Theodore of Sulzbach to succeed to the throne of the Palatinate when its line of Wittelsbachs died out. After Louis's untimely early death, Radziwiłł married Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine. Her heirs were born of this second marriage. Of their four children, only the youngest daughter, Countess Palatine Elizabeth Augusta Sophie of Neuburg survived childhood. Her descendants include Kings of Bavaria and a number of other royal and princely families, including Duchess Amalie in Bavaria, who married Duke Wilhelm Karl of Urach, who, after Lithuania was declared independent in 1918, would be invited by the Council of Lithuania to be King Mindaugas II of Lithuania, and was mother of the latter's children and descendants.

Marriages and issue

On 7 January 1681, Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł married Margrave Louis of Brandenburg. He died suddenly the morning of 7 April 1687 amid rumors of poison. This marriage was childless. Radziwiłł remarried in Berlin on 10 August 1688 to the future Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine, brother-in-law of

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

. The couple had four children, of whom only one survived childhood: * Countess Palatine Leopoldine Eleonore Josephine of Neuburg (27 December 1689, Brieg – 8 March 1693). * Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Neuburg (7 December 1690 – 1692). * Countess Palatine Elisabeth Auguste Sofie of Neuburg (17 March 1693, Brieg – 30 January 1728, Mannheim); married on 1717 to her kinsman Joseph Charles, Hereditary Prince of Sulzbach. * a son (born and died 22 March 1695, Brieg).

Ancestry

References

*Bogusław Radziwiłł (1979) ''Autobiografia''. Warsaw. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Radziwill, Liudvika Karolina 1667 births 1695 deaths Nobility from Königsberg Lithuanian Calvinist and Reformed Christians Polish Calvinist and Reformed Christians Liudvika Karolina Radvilaite Countesses Palatine of Neuburg House of Wittelsbach Lithuanian princesses House of Hohenzollern Electresses of the Palatinate Margravines of Brandenburg Duchesses of Jülich Duchesses of Berg German royalty 17th-century Prussian people 17th-century Polish landowners 17th-century Lithuanian nobility 17th-century Lithuanian women 17th-century Polish women 17th-century Prussian women Deaths in childbirth Burials at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg 17th-century women landowners