Heinrich XXX. (Reuss-Gera)

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Heinrich XXX., Count Reuss zu Gera, portrait by Christian Leberecht Vogel

Heinrich XXX. (* April 24, 1727 in Gera ; † April 26, 1802 ibid) ruled from 1748 to 1802 as Count Reuss zu Gera, a branch of Reuss' younger line .

Life

Heinrich XXX. was the last representative of Count Reuss zu Gera and the only son of Count Heinrich XXV. (1681–1748) from his second marriage to Countess Palatine Sophie Marie von Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen .

At the beginning of his reign, Heinrich XXX. to the west of the Tinz moated castle , the summer residence of the Reuss-Gera family, completed in 1748, create a French-style landscape park with extensive water areas, garden quarters and a hermitage.

During the Seven Years' War from 1756 to 1763, the city of Gera was sacked several times and occupied by Prussian soldiers. In addition, Prussia demanded war contributions of tens of thousands of Reichstalers from the Russian county because, among other things, the required contingent of soldiers could not be provided. After the end of the war, Heinrich XXX spoke up. for the introduction of the Vienna Convention in the Russian countries in order to devalue the many coins in circulation and to enable the minting of new coins to stabilize the currency situation.

Johann Leonhard Oexlein: Medal on the occasion of the marriage of Count Heinrich XXX. and Countess Luise Christiane on October 28, 1773 in Hungen

Heinrich XXX. married his cousin, Count Palatine Luise Christiane von Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen , princess in Bavaria (1748–1829) , on October 28, 1773 at Hungen Castle . No children were born from the marriage, so that with the death of Heinrich XXX. the branch of the Lords and Counts Reuss zu Gera in the male line became extinct. The county was divided between the branches Reuss-Schleiz , Reuss-Lobenstein and Reuss-Ebersdorf and administered jointly.

Heinrich ordered the reintroduction of medieval punishments and attempted to rule the county in an absolutist style. In doing so, he encountered the resistance of the united knights and landscapes . When Heinrich ordered a tax increase to finance the reconstruction after the devastation of the Seven Years War , the representatives of the nobility and the cities disagreed. Because with this the count violated the prerogative of the estates that no extraordinary tax could be levied without their approval. In 1772 they sued the Reich Chamber of Commerce in Wetzlar , which in 1779 gave them the right in a recession . Count Heinrich XXX. had to bend.

A tough test for Heinrich XXX. was the great fire of Gera , which broke out on September 18, 1780 and devastated the entire old town and parts of the suburb. The two town churches of Sankt Salvator and Sankt Johannis with the old family crypt of the Gera Reuss family also fell victim to the flames. Heinrich commissioned the reconstruction of the Salvator Church, which cost 4,300 guilders, and was consecrated on December 25, 1782 after only ten months of construction.

Commemorative plaque from Carl Wetzel in memory of Heinrich XXX., Count Reuss zu Gera and his wife Luise Christiane in the town church of Sankt Salvator zu Gera

Heinrich XXX. was buried on May 5, 1802 in the Salvatorkirche Gera .

See also

literature

  • Berthold Schmidt : The Reuss, genealogy of the entire Reuss house older and younger line, as well as the extinct Vogtslinien to Weida, Gera and Plauen and the burgraves of Meißen from the House of Plauen. Schleiz 1903.
  • Berthold Schmidt: History of the Reussland. 1st and 2nd half volume, Gera 1923 and 1927.
  • Berthold Schmidt: Reussian coin history . Dresden 1907.
  • Thomas Gehrlein: The Reuss House . Part III and IV, Arnsberg 2015.

Web links

Commons : Heinrich XXX.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernst Paul Kretschmer: History of the city of Gera and its immediate surroundings . 1st volume. Gera 1926, p. Plate XXXVI .
  2. ↑ Alexander Jörk (ed.): Elements of the local history of Gera-Tinz . 5th edition. Gera 2015.
  3. ^ A b Thomas Gehrlein: The Reuss House . Part III and IV. Börde-Verlag, Theresia Platte, Arnsberg 2015, ISBN 978-3-9815864-7-3 , p. 15-16 .
  4. ^ Berthold Schmidt: The Reussen. Genealogy of the entire Reuss house older and younger line . Schleiz 1903.
personal data
SURNAME Heinrich XXX.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count Reuss of Gera
DATE OF BIRTH April 24, 1727
PLACE OF BIRTH Gera
DATE OF DEATH April 26, 1802
Place of death Gera