Günther Victor (Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt)
Günther Victor von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (born August 21, 1852 in Rudolstadt ; † April 16, 1925 in Sondershausen ) from the Schwarzburg family , was Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt from 1890 to 1918 and Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen from 1909 to 1918 .
Life
Günther Victor's parents were Prince Adolph von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1801–1875) and Princess Mathilde von Schönburg-Waldenburg (1826–1914), daughter of Prince Otto Victor von Schönburg . Although he came from a branch of the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt family, he later ruled Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt as a prince in personal union and from 1909 also Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The upbringing took place from 1863 to 1868 in private lessons by Pastor Paul Leo. Then Günther Victor attended the Vitzthumsche Gymnasium in Dresden . From 1868 he was also prepared for a military career by a military companion. At this time study trips to Belgium, France and England were made.
The war against France caused Günther Victor to leave school in 1870. He joined the Dragoon Regiment of the Mecklenburg troops on August 5, 1870 and was promoted to second lieutenant on October 6, 1870 . From October 12, 1870, he served as an orderly officer under his brother-in-law, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , who had married Günther Victor's older sister Marie (1850-1922) in 1868. In the course of the war, Günther Victor took part in the sieges of Toul , Metz , Soissons and Paris as well as the battles at Orléans and Le Mans . His achievements were honored with the award of the Iron Cross II. Class and the Schwarzburg Honor Cross, II. Class with Swords.
In 1871 the prince was released from military service and studied law, political science and art history in Leipzig . From February 1874 Günther Victor returned to active duty. He served in the 1st Hanoverian Uhlan Regiment No. 13 and was promoted to Rittmeister and squadron chief by June 1884 . On August 12, 1889, he was transferred to the Guard Cuirassier Regiment as chief of the 2nd Squadron .
On January 19, 1890, the ruling Prince Georg Albert von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt died . The following day, Günther Victor took over the government, succeeding his second cousin. According to the constitution of March 1854 of the principality, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a constitutional monarchy . Günther Victor lived extremely withdrawn and avoided the public. He left the business of government to the Minister of State. In November 1890 Günther Victor got engaged to Luise Charlotte von Sachsen-Altenburg in the first year of his reign . The engagement was broken off again in 1891. The betrothed couldn't get along. In 1891 he was engaged and married to his cousin Anna Luise von Schönburg-Waldenburg .
On March 28, 1909, Prince Karl Günther von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen died childless, and the line of special houses became extinct in the male line. According to the house contract of 1713, Günther Victor also became Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen in personal union. With the extinction of the Sondershäuser line, the addition of Rudolstadt was dropped in the name and the regent was now called Prince of Schwarzburg. A unification of the two principalities failed in particular because of the different constitutional law. Both Rudolstadt and Sondershausen remained residential cities, and the principalities continued to have their own voice in the Federal Council of the German Empire .
The November Revolution of 1918 led to the end of the monarchies . With a law passed by Prince Günther Victor on November 22, 1918 and confirmed by the state parliament, a severance payment agreement was made about his property and financial circumstances. The chamber property with an area of 22,600 hectares, the coin collection in Rudolstadt and the weapons collection in the armory of Schwarzburg Castle became the property of the state. The former sovereign was awarded a lifelong annual pension of 150,000 marks and rights to use the Schwarzburg Castle , the Rathsfeld hunting lodge and some rooms in the Heidecksburg . In addition, the main content of the castles became his property, and he was entitled to hunting rights in the Schwarzburg Forest and fishing rights in the Schwarza . On November 23, 1918, Günther Viktor laid down the affairs of government for Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and on November 25, 1918 for Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The Schwarzburger was thus the last German federal prince to renounce the throne.
Günther Viktor died on April 16, 1925. Since the marriage with Anna Luise remained childless, in 1896 Prince Sizzo von Leutenberg , who came from a morganatic marriage of Prince Friedrich Günther von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, who died in 1867, with Countess Helene von Reina, was declared a successor and Head of the Schwarzburg House.
personality
Prince Günther was described as an educated and art-loving, at the same time shy and reserved person. Since his childhood of unstable health, he had to undergo repeated long spa stays. It was suggested that he suffered from "epilepsy-like seizures". Günther - who was primarily interested in architecture and drawing through his art studies, also portrayed his wife - by no means untalented. Anna Luise's estate includes a large collection of Günther's drawings, primarily exercise sketches in the form of studies of nudes, portraits and nature, as well as caricatures, which, in terms of artistic expression, suggest training paired with talent.
“Prince Günther was very afraid of public appearances. “... Prince Günther Viktor ... is one of the loveliest, most distinguished people one can get to know; but unfortunately, you don't get to know him. ... He flees all outward pageantry, all of course often hollow, public action ... One can understand that a prince, who may get to know human fallibility better than many among him, withdraws from public life ... But one becomes by not eliminating the fact that the majority of people are alien to such beings. ""
See also
literature
- Jens Henkel, Lutz Unbehaun (Red.): The princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. 1710-1918. (= Small series of cultural history. Vol. 1). 2nd, expanded edition. Thuringian State Museum Heidecksburg, Rudolstadt 1998, ISBN 3-910013-27-9 .
- Heinrich Friedrich Theodor Apfelstedt : The House of Kevernburg-Schwarzburg from its origins to our time. Shown in the family tables of its main and secondary lines and with biographical notes on the most important members of the same. Bertram, Sondershausen 1890 (reprint. Thüringer Chronik-Verlag Müllerott, Arnstadt 1996, ISBN 3-910132-29-4 ).
- Heinrich Schöppl: The regents of the principality Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Rudolstadt 1915.
- Gerlinde Countess von Westphalen: Anna Luise von Schwarzburg. The last princess. Jenzig Verlag, 2nd edition 2011, ISBN 978-3-910141-79-7 .
- Söding: List of officers of the Royal Prussian 7th Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 96. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1912, pp. 4–6.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Gerlinde Countess von Westphalen: Anna Luise von Schwarzburg. The last princess. Jenzig Verlag, 2nd edition 2011, p. 21.
- ^ Ulrich Hess: History of Thuringia. 1866 to 1914. Edited from the estate by Volker Wahl . Verlag Hermann Böhlaus Successor, Weimar 1991, ISBN 3-7400-0077-5 , p. 482.
- ↑ Gerlinde Countess von Westphalen, op.cit., P. 22.
- ↑ Gerlinde Countess von Westphalen, op.cit., P. 51.
- ↑ Gerlinde Countess von Westphalen, op.cit., P. 74.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Georg Albert |
Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt 1890–1918 |
End of the monarchy |
| Karl Günther |
Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 1909–1918 |
End of the monarchy |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Günther Victor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Günther Victor |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German nobleman, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 21, 1852 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rudolstadt |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 16, 1925 |
| Place of death | Sondershausen |