Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode

This article is about Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1691–1771);
see also Christian-Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1864–1940)

Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode

Count Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (* 2. April 1691 in Gedern ; † 25. October 1771 in Wernigerode ) ruled 1710-1771 on since 1714 under the direct sovereignty of Brandenburg-Prussia standing county of Wernigerode in the Harz Mountains.

Its full title as was his empire wedding Gräfliche excellence, the high-born Count and Lord, Lord Christian Ernst, the Holy Roman Empire Graf zu Stolberg, Koenigstein , Rochefort , Wernigerode and Hohenstein , Mr. Epstein , Münzenberg , Breuberg , Aigmont , Lohra and Klettenberg etc. etc Knights of the Royal Prussian Black Eagle Order .

Life

Christian Ernst is the 10th child of Count Ludwig Christian zu Stolberg's second marriage . His mother was the Duchess Christine zu Mecklenburg , daughter of Gustav Adolf von Mecklenburg-Güstrow . Friedrich Carl zu Stolberg-Gedern was a younger brother.

Christine zu Stolberg, b. Duchess of Mecklenburg, the count's mother, who led the government for him from 1710–1713 as a guardian

According to his father's will of January 23, 1699, after his death he received the county of Wernigerode, over which his uncle Count Ernst zu Stolberg had ruled, the Hohnstein Forest south of Benneckenstein and the claims to the pledged office of Elbingerode (Harz). After the death of his father in 1710 he took over the inheritance under the tutelage of his mother and called himself from then on Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode . He moved the seat of government from Ilsenburg back to Wernigerode , whose castle he had renovated and expanded.

Bookplate by Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1721)

In 1714, Count Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode had to recognize the sovereignty of Brandenburg-Prussia over the county of Wernigerode in a recess .

On May 21, 1738 he issued a Primogeniturordnung , which provided for the succession only in male line and thus forbade future partitions of the County of Wernigerode. When his brother Heinrich August died in 1748, he inherited the Franconian rule of Schwarza .

Christian Ernst was a knight of the Royal Prussian Black Eagle Order and the Royal Danish Order de l'union parfaite . From 1735 to 1745 he served as a privy councilor to his cousin, King Christian VI. from Denmark helpful services.

Out of consideration for his royal Prussian liege lord , however, he refused to accept the Danish order of elephants and, in 1742, the award of imperial prince , which was also pronounced for him and his line , which was therefore limited in its execution to Stolberg-Gedern . He paid all possible attentions to King Friedrich Wilhelm I , which were always gratefully returned. Particularly noteworthy here is the provision of large people for the king's army. In this way important purposes were sometimes achieved, such as the establishment of friendly relations with the estates of the empire or with the crown of Denmark. He also diligently provided the king with news from Denmark, Mecklenburg and Wernigerode and drew his attention to new, especially military installations and inventions. For his part, the king was very fond of his genuinely esteemed vassal and declared that he always considered the count's ideas as much as possible.

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  Medal 1760 for the 50th anniversary of the government

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  Description of the anniversary medal

During the government of Count Christian Ernst, building activity developed within the county of Wernigerode, so he had the pleasure garden redesigned in the French style and the building of an orangery built. It is also thanks to him that the later so-called cloud house was built on the Brocken .

progeny

Since March 31, 1712 he was married to Sophie Charlotte Countess zu Leiningen-Westerburg (1695–1762). She was the daughter of Johann Anton Graf zu Leiningen-Westerburg in Schadeck and Christine Luise Countess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein . The two had a son.

• Heinrich Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1716–1778) ∞ (I) Marie Elisabeth von Promnitz (1717–1741), daughter of Erdmann II. Von Promnitz (1683–1745); ∞ (II) Christiane Anna von Anhalt-Köthen (1726–1790), daughter of August von Anhalt-Köthen (1697–1755)

literature

• Ernst Förstemann : Count Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode , Hanover 1886.
• Eduard Jacobs :  Stolberg-Wernigerode, Christian Ernst Graf to . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 36, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, pp. 381-386.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  CHRISTIAN ERNST Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 1003-1004.
• Kai Festerling: Christian Ernst (1691–1771) and Heinrich Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1716–1778). A contribution to the study of noble father-son relationships in the early modern period (Master's thesis; Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg), Magdeburg 2011.
• Mareike Säck: Christian Ernst and Sophie Charlotte zu Stolberg-Wernigerode as the founders of stately pietism in their county, in: Claus Veltmann [u. a.] (ed.), ennobled with divine goodness. Nobility and Hallescher Pietism as reflected in the royal collections Stolberg-Wernigerode, Halle / Saale 2014, pp. 38–49
• Mareike Fingerhut-Säck: Expanding the kingdom of God on earth. Introduction and consolidation of Pietism by the count couple Sophie Charlotte and Christian Ernst in his county (1710–1771). Dissertation, Magdeburg 2017, Halle 2019

Individual evidence

1. ^ Johann Friedrich Joachim : The newly opened Münzcabinet , Volume 2, Nuremberg 1764, p. 303 , cf. also Johann Heinrich Zedler : Large complete universal lexicon of all sciences , Leipzig and Halle 1744, p. 360.
2. ^ Eduard Jacobs: Stolberg-Wernigerode, Christian Ernst Graf zu in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 36 (1893), pp. 381–386 ( online version )

predecessor	Office	successor
serious	Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode 1710 - 1771	Heinrich Ernst