Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, with its capital at Rudolstadt.

History

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since the 11th century, the ancestral seat of the comital family had been at Schwarzburg Castle, though after 1340, for most of its existence as a polity had the capital at the larger town of Rudolstadt. In 1583 Count Günther XLI of Schwarzburg, the eldest son of Günther XL the Rich and ruler over the united Schwarzburg lands, had died without issue. He was succeeded by his younger brothers, whereby Albert VII received the territory around Rudolstadt. After their brother William I, Count of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen had died in 1597, the surviving brothers Albert VII and John Günther I established the two counties of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and

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 (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principal ...

by the 1599 Treaty of Stadtilm. Albert's descendants ruled as sovereign

counts Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Count Albert Anton (1662–1710) was elevated to the rank of a

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 ...

by Emperor Leopold I; it was however his son Louis Frederick I (1710–1718) who first bore the princely title, whereby Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1711 became a

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

under the same entity. It withstood mediatisation and after the empire's dissolution joined the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

in 1807 and the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

in 1815. In 1905 Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt had an area of and a population of 97,000. On 23 November 1918, during the

German Revolution of 1918–1919 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and the fall of all the German monarchies, Prince Günther Victor was the last to abdicate. The former principality became a "Free State" in 1919 and joined the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

as a constituent state. In 1920, it joined with other small states in the area to form the new state of

. File:Schloss Schwarzburg 1900.jpg, The castle at Schwarzburg File:Treppsteinblick 1900.jpg, Aerial view of Schwarzburg File:Heidecksburg.jpg, Heidecksburg residence at Rudolstadt

Rulers of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Counts of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

* 1574–1605: Count Albrecht VII (1537–1605), son of Count Günther XL of Schwarzburg, founder of the county (state) of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * 1605–1630: Count Charles Günther I (1576–1630), succeeded by younger brother Louis Günther I * 1612–1634 Count Albrecht Günther (1582–1634) * 1630–1646: Count Louis Günther I (1581–1646) * 1646–1662:

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

Emilie of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst (1614–70) * 1662–1710: Count Albert Anton (1641–1710)

Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

* 1710–1718: Prince Louis Frederick I (1667–1718) * 1718–1744: Prince Frederick Anton (1692–1744) * 1744–1767: Prince John Frederick (1721–67) * 1767–1790: Prince Louis Günther II (1708–90) * 1790–1793: Prince Frederick Charles (1736–93) * 1793–1807: Prince Louis Frederick II (1767–1807) * 1807–1814:

Caroline Louise of Hesse-Homburg (1771–1854) * 1814–1867: Prince Frederick Günther (1793–1867) * 1867–1869: Prince Albert (1798–1869) * 1869–1890: Prince Georg Albert (1838–90) * 1890–1918: Prince Günther Victor (1852–1925), also succeeded as Prince of

in 1909 upon the death of Prince Karl Günther.

References

External links