Wilhelm Carl zu Leiningen-Guntersblum

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Johann Baptist Hoechele: Family picture of the children of Elector Carl Theodor, 1790: Eleonore von Bretzenheim with her husband Count Wilhelm Carl zu Leiningen-Guntersblum (in the background on the right), in the center Prince Karl August von und zu Bretzenheim with his wife and sister Friederike (in black ), on the left Karoline von Isenburg with her husband
Glass coat of arms of the count, in the Museum Grünstadt

Wilhelm Carl Graf zu Leiningen-Guntersblum (since 1803 Leiningen-Billigheim) (* July 5, 1737 ; † January 26, 1809 ) was a Count of the Holy Roman Empire from 1787 to 1806 with a seat and vote in the Wetterau Counts' Association of the secular bank at the Imperial Council of Princes . From 1806 to 1809, he was Baden nobleman .

prehistory

Wilhelm Carl belonged to the Hardenburger (also Dagsburger) line of the house of Leiningen . His parents were Johann Franz, Count of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg (1698–1750) and Countess Charlotte of Walderode zu Eckhausen (1703–1745).

His great-grandfather, who came from this branch of the family, Count Johann Ludwig von Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (1643–1687) lived or ruled in Guntersblum near Worms . From a first, unofficial connection with Countess Amalie Sybille von Daun (daughter of Count Wilhelm Wirich von Daun-Falkenstein ), he had an illegitimate son (* 1673) with the same name as himself, who was excluded from regular succession.

Count Johann Ludwig von Leiningen-Falkenburg left his partner Amalie Sybille von Daun - with whom he said he had lived in a " marriage of conscience" - and in 1678 married Countess Sophia Sibylla von Leiningen-Westerburg-Oberbronn. The descendants resulting from this now official connection were entitled to inheritance in the Leiningen-Falkenburg line, but expired in the male line in 1774 after they had previously split into the two sub-lines Leiningen-Falkenburg-Guntersblum and Leiningen-Falkenburg-Heidesheim. From the latter branch (Falkenburg-Heidesheim) came Maria Luise Albertine zu Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (1729-1818), the grandmother of King Ludwig I of Bavaria . When the male line of the Leiningen-Falkenburg line was extinguished, the relatives of the Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg line (prince in 1779) took over all of Leiningen-Falkenburg's possessions.

The illegitimate son of Count Johann Ludwig von Leiningen-Falkenburg, who had the same name as his father, had married Ernestina, Countess von Velen and Meggen. Their son Johann Franz (1698–1745) married Countess Charlotte von Walderode-Eckhausen (widowed Countess von Formentini). They are the parents of Wilhelm Carl zu Leiningen-Guntersblum.

He and his younger brother Wenzel Joseph sued their relatives, the princes of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg, at the Reichshofrat for the surrender of the property of their great-grandfather that had been confiscated in 1774, or they claimed their rights to succession in their lineage-falkenburg family line, from which they have so far been due to the illegitimate birth of their grandfather were excluded.

Decisions of the Reichshofrat dated February 15, 1782, February 4, 1783 and August 19, 1784 recognized their claims as justified. This finally led to a settlement between them and Prince Carl Friedrich Wilhelm zu Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg on January 17, 1787, through which they became sovereigns of the two Leiningen-Falkenburg offices of Guntersblum and Heidesheim , with the castles of the extinct line that existed there were declared. The remainder of the confiscated Leiningen-Falkenburg possessions remained with the princes of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg.

As a continuation of the Leiningen-Falkenburg family tribe, which had previously been considered extinct, the two independent count houses Leiningen-Guntersblum under Wilhelm Carl and Leiningen-Heidesheim under his brother Wenzel Joseph were created .

Life

The Count's Castle in Guntersblum (New Castle)

As a result of the circumstances described, Wilhelm Carl zu Leiningen received the former Leiningen-Falkenburg office of Guntersblum back from the property of his ancestors in 1787 and established his own Count's State of Leiningen-Guntersblum here. He initially resided in the Old Castle , built the New Castle from 1787 to 1789 and finally had to flee from the invading French. In the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss , the count received compensation for his Guntersblum territory on the left bank of the Rhine, which fell to the French Republic in 1801, by transferring the secularized Kurmainzer Kellerei Billigheim and granting a pension of 3,000 guilders. The family line was therefore no longer called Leiningen-Guntersblum from 1803, but rather Leiningen-Billigheim. In 1806 the county of Leiningen-Billigheim was mediatized as a result of the establishment of the Rhine Confederation and incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Baden as a rulership . Count Wilhelm Carl lost his government rights as well as his seat and vote in the Imperial Council of Dukes.

family

On November 21, 1787, Count Wilhelm Carl married Countess Eleonore von Bretzenheim (* 1771, † 1832), daughter of Elector Karl Theodor of Palatinate and Bavaria. She hated her husband, who was 34 years older, and she had various love affairs. The marriage was divorced in 1801 by a republican tribunal in Mainz , whose legitimacy Count Wilhelm Carl denied. The reason for the divorce was Eleonore's renewed liaison with a French general.

The marriage resulted in two daughters and two sons:

  • Elisabeth Auguste Margareta (* 1790; † 1874) had been married to Karl Freiherr Stockhorner von Starein (* 1773; † 1843) since 1811
  • Maria Anna Karoline Amalie (* 1792; † 1831) had been married to Maximilian Freiherr von Berlichingen (* 1787; † 1847) since 1811
  • Karl Theodor (* 1794; † 1869) was married to Maria Anna Countess von und zu Westerholt-Gysenberg (* 1802; † 1852) since 1822
  • Maximilian Joseph (* 1796; † 1799)

literature

  • Thomas Gehrlein: The Leiningen house. 900 years of total history with ancestral sequences. German princely houses. Issue 32.Börde Verlag, Werl 2011, ISBN 978-3-9811993-9-0 , p. 19.

Web links

Supporting documents and comments

  1. ^ House Leiningen in Online Gotha by Paul Theroff
  2. ^ Johann Samuelersch , Johann Gottfried Gruber : General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts. Section 2, part 43, 1889, article “Leiningen”; Extract from the source
  3. ^ Johann Ludwig Klüber : Treatises and observations for history, political and legal sciences. Volume 2, Frankfurt am Main 1834; (Digital scan)
  4. ↑ Karl Friedrich Dieck : The conscience marriage, legitimation through subsequent marriage and mismarriage, according to its effects on the ability of children to follow suit in fiefdoms and fideicommissen. Hall 1838; (Digital scan)
personal data
SURNAME Leiningen-Guntersblum, Wilhelm Carl zu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Leiningen-Billigheim, Wilhelm Carl Graf to
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Reichsgraf, nobleman of Baden
DATE OF BIRTH July 5, 1737
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1809