Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Benedikt and Richard (2010)

Family coat of arms of the Princely House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born October 29, 1934 in Gießen ; †  March 13, 2017 in Bad Berleburg ) was a German entrepreneur and, as head of the Sayn-Wittgenstein- Berleburg family, also head of the Sayn family -Wittgenstein.

family

Richard was the eldest of five children of Gustav Albrecht Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1907-1944) and his wife, the Swedish Countess Margareta Fouché d'Otrante (1909-2005).

In terms of nobility he would have been the 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg , but considering that his father had been missing in Russia since 1944 and his death could never be proven, he never held the title of prince (which had been legally abolished since 1919) . Since his father was officially declared dead in 1969, Richard had been the head of the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg family and the entire Sayn-Wittgenstein family . His full name was Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Count of Sayn, Lord of Homburg, Vallendar, Neumagen and Neuenhemsbach .

Richard met his future wife at the wedding of the then Dutch Crown Princess Beatrix von Oranien-Nassau and the German diplomat Claus von Amsberg . On February 3, 1968, he married Princess Benedigte of Denmark (born April 29, 1944), the second daughter of King Friedrich IX, at Fredensborg Palace . (1899–1972) and Queen Ingrid (1910–2000).

The marriage had three children:

• Gustav Frederik Philip Richard (born January 12, 1969 in Frankfurt)
• Alexandra Rosemarie Ingrid Benedigte (born November 20, 1970 in Copenhagen)
• Nathalie Xenia Margareta Benedigte (born May 2, 1975 in Copenhagen)

Life

Richard attended high school and studied law in Tübingen . Since 1955 he was a member of the Corps Suevia Tübingen . After completing his studies, he joined the Wittgenstein-Berleburg'sche Rentkammer based at Berleburg Castle ; The Rentkammer manages around 13,000 hectares of forest and around 150 properties in Germany and abroad as well as company holdings. The entrepreneur's succession has been a matter of dispute since 2017 after his cousin Ludwig Ferdinand considered himself entitled to interpret his father's will at the Bad Berleburg district court and to assert his own claims. The AG Bad Berleburg rejected this authorization in the first instance. In the second instance, the Hamm Higher Regional Court confirmed the decision of the AG Bad Berleburg on July 23, 2020. The decision of the OLG Hamm is not contestable; a complaint to the BGH was not admitted.

European bison in the Rothaar Mountains

In 2003, Richard Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg had the idea to reintroduce bison in the Rothaar Mountains. In March 2010 the nature and species protection project "Wisente im Rothaargebirge" was officially started. In 2013 the first bison were released from an enclosure in the bison wilderness on Rothaarsteig .

Regarding the legal dispute between forest farmers from the Sauerland and the sponsoring association of the bison project, Richard Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg said in September 2015: "If they manage to get rid of the bison that are now walking around outside, then it may well be that their yards are on fire. They also know that very well. I don't light them, but I know how to do it. ”This led to investigations by the Siegen public prosecutor's office for disturbing the public peace by threatening criminal offenses (Section 126 of the Criminal Code). The prince later apologized publicly and personally to the Sauerland forest farmers. In December 2015, the public prosecutor closed the case against payment of 5,000 euros to the children's hospice in Olpe.

honors and awards

• On May 7, 1997 in Frederikshavn , Denmark, the RoRo and rail ferry Prins Richard was christened in his name.
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Elephant Order (Denmark)
• Commander with Grand Cross of the North Star Order (Sweden)
• Grand Cross of the Order de Isabel la Católica (Spain)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands)

literature

• Johannes Burkardt and Ulf Lückel: The Princely House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Werl 2005, ISBN 3-9810315-0-4

Web links

Commons : Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Richard zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Christoph Vetter: Mourning for Richard Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Westfalenpost , March 14, 2017, accessed on March 14, 2017 . 
2. ^ ^{A b} Obituary notice Richard Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. (No longer available online.) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , March 17, 2017, formerly in the original ; accessed on March 17, 2017 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
3. ↑ Press release Jochen König, Duisburg and Head of Rentkammer Berleburg, Johannes Röhl from August 1, 2018, printed in the Westfalenpost , Wittgenstein local edition from the same day.
4. ↑ Christoph Vetter, Westfalenpost from August 1, 2018: https://www.wp.de/staedte/wittgenstein/familienstreit-in-wittgenstein-um-das-erbe-von-prinz-richard-id214989751.html last access: 23 October 2018, 09.20 a.m.
5. ^ Lars-Peter Dickel: Family dispute in the Princely House occupies the district court. The amount in dispute is estimated at half a billion euros. The background is a dispute over a 76 year old will. Westfalenpost dated February 5, 2019, p. PBB 1.
6. ^ AG Bad Berleburg (Az. 2 Lw 3/17)
7. ↑ Westfalenpost (PBB) dated May 7, 2019: First decision about royal inheritance .
8. ↑ Martin Völkel: Everything stays as usual at Berleburg Castle. OLG Hamm decides in the inheritance conflict in the house Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg - namely for Prince Gustav. Siegener newspaper from July 31, 2020.
9. ↑ Lars-Peter Dickel: Line under the inheritance dispute . Westfalenpost, local edition Wittgenstein from July 31, 2020.
10. ↑ A green home for the gentle giants. Bison herd in Bad Berleburg is to be released in spring. dapd report on Welt Online , February 22, 2013, accessed March 14, 2017 . 
11. ↑ Wittgensteiner angry speech: proceedings discontinued . Weekly newspaper for agriculture & rural life, December 15, 2015, accessed on March 14, 2017.