Meinrad II Charles Anthony of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1 November 1673 in

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, ...

– 20 October 1715 in Sigmaringen) was

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen () was a principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the junior House of Hohenzollern#Swabian branch, Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. The Swabian Hohenzollerns were elevated to princes in 162 ...

from 1689 until his death.

Life

Meinrad was a son of Prince Maximilian I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636–1689) from his marriage to Maria Clara (1635–1715), the daughter of Count Albert of Berg-s'-Heerenberg. He was still a minor when he succeeded his father in 1689 and initially, he stood under the guardianship of his mother and his uncle

Franz Anton, Count of Hohenzollern-Haigerloch Franz Anton, Count of Hohenzollern-Haigerloch (2 December 1657 at Sigmaringen Castle – 14 October 1702 in Friedlingen), was a reigning Count of Hohenzollern-Haigerloch. Life Franz Anton was the youngest son of Prince Meinrad I, Prince of ...

. He studied at the

University of Ingolstadt The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of four faculties: theology, law, artes liberales and medicine, all of w ...

and embarked on a military career. He fought in the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...

, the Hungarian rebellion and the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

. In 1692, Emperor Leopold I raised the Swabian branch 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 ...

Imperial Prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

s, under the condition that they would practice

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

in the future, i.e. they were not allowed to increase the number of imperial princes by further subdividing their principalities. In 1695, Meinrad II concluded a treaty of inheritance with the Elector of Brandenburg: if either the Swabian or the Brandenburg line of Hohenzollern were to die out, then the other line would inherit their territories. In 1702, Meinrad's uncle Francis Anthony died. Both his sons had joined the clergy, so Hohenzollern-Haigerloch fell back to Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. In 1708, Meinrad founded a

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...

works in Laucherthal (now part of

Sigmaringendorf Sigmaringendorf ( Swabian: ''Semmerengadorf'') is a small town in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. In Sigmaringendorf the small river ''Lauchert'' flows into the Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and ety ...

), which is now owned by Zollern GmbH, a company which is still partially owned by the descendants of the Princes of Hohenzollern.

Marriage and issue

On 22 November 1700 in Sigmaringen, he married Johanna Katharina von Montfort, (1678–1759), a daughter of Count John Anthony I of Montfort-Tettnang. They had the following children: * Joseph Friedrich Ernst (1702–1769), his successor, married: *# in 1722 to Countess Marie of Oettingen-Spielberg (1703–1737) *# in 1738 to Countess Judith of Closen (1718–1743) *# in 1743 to Countess Maria Theresa of Waldburg-Trauchburg (1696–1761) * Anna Maria (1707–1783) * Franz Wilhelm (1704–1737), married in 1724 to Countess Marie Catharina of Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg (1702–1739) * Charles Wolfgang (1708–1709)

Ancestry

References

* Gustav Schilling: ''Geschichte des Hauses Hohenzollern in genealogisch fortlaufenden Biographien aller seiner Regenten von den ältesten bis auf die neuesten Zeiten, nach Urkunden und andern authentischen Quellen''. Fleischer, Leipzig, 1843, p. 279
Online
* Günter Schmitt: ''Sigmaringen'', in: Günter Schmitt: ''Burgenführer Schwäbische Alb'', vol. 3: ''Donautal. Wandern und entdecken zwischen Sigmaringen und Tuttlingen'', Biberacher Verlagsdruckerei, Biberach, 1990, , p. 41-62

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meinrad 02 Hohenzollern Sigmaringen Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen House of Hohenzollern 1673 births 1715 deaths 17th-century German people 18th-century German people

Life

Marriage and issue

Ancestry

See also

References

External links