Dorothea Reuss at Gera

Dorothea Reuss zu Gera (born October 28, 1570 in Gera ; † December 2, 1631 in Obersontheim ) was the wife of Georg Friedrich I von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg (1562–1600) and common ancestral mother of three lines of the princes of Hohenlohe . A few years after the death of her first husband, she married Wilhelm Schenk von Limpurg (1568–1633), who had the widow's castle in Michelbach an der Bilz built for her. She is shown life-size on the epitaph of her first husband in the choir of the collegiate church in Öhringen , but was buried in Obersontheim, where she last lived with her second husband. She never used the widow's castle built for her.

Life

Epitaph for Georg Friedrich I. von Hohenlohe depicting his wife and children in the collegiate church in Öhringen

She was the daughter of Heinrich XVI. Reuss zu Gera and married at the age of 16 in Rödelheim , where at that time there was a secondary residence of the Counts of Solms , from whom their mother was descended, the 26-year-old Count Georg Friedrich I. von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg, who joined due to the early death of his father the Waldenburg Carnival was already in charge of the Hohenlohe house at the age of eight. Within seven years, a total of six children emerged from this marriage, including three sons, who were eagerly awaited as family owners and who became the progenitors of the Hohenlohe lines of Waldenburg, Pfedelbach and Schillingsfürst. Her husband died in 1600 at the age of 38.

A colored epitaph made of sandstone and alabaster by the Heilbronn sculptor Melchior Schmidt in the choir of the collegiate church in Öhringen shows George Friedrich I with Dorothea and the children in life-size depictions, kneeling in front of the crucified Christ. The epitaph is one of four important Hohenlohe grave monuments in the choir of the collegiate church, each of which shows the deceased and their relatives life-size.

In the marriage contract with her first husband, she was assured of an extensive Wittum and her husband's death increased her fortune by a special legacy of 10,000 guilders. Dorothea would have been covered by this and would not have had to marry again. Perhaps, however, as her children grew up, she feared that a daughter-in-law would soon displace her to her widow's estate, as had happened to her own mother-in-law (Agatha von Hohenlohe in Pfedelbach ) after her wedding. In 1606 she entered into a second marriage with Wilhelm Schenk von Limpurg (1568–1633). For the gift giving, the wedding was a welcome way out of the problem that he was the only one of seven brothers who had not started an official career with a prince and his brothers were suspicious of him due to the condominate management of the gift ownership and his stay with his mother. Due to the extensive property regime and the applicable inheritance regulations in the event that further offspring would result from the marriage with the gift, extensive contracts were concluded between the Hohenlohe family and the Limpurg gift shop upon marriage. The Hohenlohe house raised a marriage tax of 6000 guilders, which the taverns also had to guarantee as an abutment. In addition, the taverns had to prescribe a widow's estate worth Dorothea's fortune.

Since at the time of the wedding two more widow's residences were still pending and the assured widow's seat for the mother of Schenken Wilhelm in Michelbach an der Bilz had not yet been built, the taverns faced certain financial and structural problems. Wilhelm's mother finally renounced her Wittum in Michelbach and transferred it to Wilhelm, who was able to arrange at the family convention in 1608 that the widow's seat in Michelbach, which was now intended for Dorothea, should be built as the first of the outstanding buildings. From 1609 to around 1628, the Michelbach an der Bilz Castle was built on it. During the construction preparations, however, Wilhelm and Dorothea moved to Göppingen , where Wilhelm worked as the Württemberg governor . The couple did not return to Obersontheim until 1618 and moved into Obersontheim Castle , to which none of Wilhelm's brothers were claiming at the time.

Dorothea fell ill in the spring of 1631 and died on December 2, 1631. She was buried in Obersontheim, where her tombstone is preserved in the choir of the Evangelical parish church . She never used the widow's castle in Michelbach that was built for her. Her second husband Wilhelm Schenk von Limpurg died on February 14, 1633 and was probably buried at her side in Obersontheim. He, too, never used the Michelbacher Castle he built.

References and comments

1. ↑ So 1585, so in Hahn in Heimatbuch Michelbach 1980. Werner Schrenk: Die Öhringer Regentenfamilie . In: Öhringen. Stadt und Stift (= research from Württembergisch Franken 31), Sigmaringen 1988, p. 156, erroneously names the year of marriage 1562, confused with the year of birth of her husband Georg Friedrich I. von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg (1562–1600).
2. ↑ Illustration of the epitaph and information on the material on www.inschriften.net

literature

• Karl-Werner Hahn: From the development of the community Michelbach an der Bilz and its sub-communities . In: Michelbach an der Bilz. Contributions to the past and present , Michelbach an der Bilz 1980, pp. 61–137.

Web links

• Dorothea Reuss-Plauen at geneall.net with genealogical information