Ludwig Eugen (Württemberg)

Ludwig Eugen Johann (born January 6, 1731 in Frankfurt am Main ; † May 20, 1795 in Ludwigsburg ) was the thirteenth reigning Duke of Württemberg from 1793 to 1795 .

Ludwig Eugen

Former Schloss Wasserlos (now the district hospital)

Life

Ludwig Eugen was the second son of Duke Karl Alexander ( House of Württemberg ) and Maria Augusta von Thurn und Taxis . His older brother was Duke Carl Eugen .

Ludwig Eugen spent his childhood with his two brothers at the court of Frederick II of Prussia . In 1743 he appointed him Colonel of the Cavalry and Chief of Dragoon Regiment No. 2 . In 1749 he entered the service of Louis XV. from France and became the owner of a German cavalry regiment. At the beginning of the Seven Years' War between France and England he occupied the island of Menorca (previously: Minorka) for France in 1756 , for which he was promoted to lieutenant general , lieutenant-général des armées du roi . In the following year he joined the Austrian army as a volunteer and took part in all other campaigns of the Seven Years' War.

In 1762 he married Countess Sophie Albertine von Beichlingen in a morganatic marriage and withdrew into private life.

The connection resulted in three daughters:

• Sophie Antoinette (June 17, 1763 - May 19, 1775)
• Wilhelmine Friederike Elisabeth (* July 4, 1764; † August 9, 1817) ⚭ 1789 Kraft Ernst von Oettingen-Wallerstein (1748–1802)
• Henriette Charlotte Friederike (born March 11, 1767 - † May 23, 1817) ⚭ 1796 Karl von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Jagstberg (1766–1838)

During this time he began a lively correspondence with Jean-Jacques Rousseau , whom he admired , who among other things dealt with the question of whether and how the principles developed in Rousseau's “Emile” can be applied to the upbringing of princesses. Rousseau's proposal to have his daughters raised by a governess was rejected because he did not want to have his wife and his wife deprived of the "divine right" to raise their children themselves.

In 1790, the native of Frankfurt bought the old castle complex in Wasserlos near Alzenau in Lower Franconia and had a castle built there. When he succeeded his brother as Duke of Württemberg in 1793, he gave up Wasserlos.

During his reign he tried to build up the education system in Württemberg according to the principles developed by Rousseau.

After less than two years in government, Ludwig Eugen died of a stroke. His younger brother Friedrich Eugen became his successor .

literature

• Otto von Alberti :  Ludwig Eugen . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, p. 598 f.
• Constantin von Wurzbach : Württemberg, Ludwig Eugen Herzog . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 58th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1889, p. 253 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Sönke Lorenz (Ed.): The House of Württemberg. A biographical lexicon . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-17-013605-4 , pp. 266-268.
• Eberhard Fritz: Duke Ludwig Eugen von Württemberg: next-born son and Württemberg regent in a transitional period. In: Ludwigsburg history sheets 66/2012. Pp. 65-94.

Web links

• Works by and about Ludwig Eugen  in the German Digital Library

predecessor	Office	successor
Carl Eugene	Duke of Württemberg 1793–1795	Friedrich Eugene