Günther Friedrich Karl II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

Günther Friedrich Karl II of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (24 September 1801 – 15 September 1889) was the ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen following his father's abdication in 1835 until his own abdication in 1880. After Schwarzburg-Sondershausen joined the North German Confederation, he joined the Royal Prussian Army, and in 1879 became General of the Infantry.

Günther Friedrich Karl II
Prince Günther Friedrich Karl II, 1837
Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Reign	19 August 1835 – 17 July 1880
Predecessor	Günther Friedrich Karl I
Successor	Charles Gonthier
Born	(1801-09-24)24 September 1801 Sondershausen
Died	15 September 1889(1889-09-15) (aged 87) Sondershausen
Spouse	Princess Caroline of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt ​ ​ (m. 1827; died 1833)​ Princess Mathilde zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen ​ ​ (m. 1835; div. 1852)​
Issue	Günther Friedrich Karl Alexander Elisabeth Caroline Louise Karl Günther Leopold Marie Hugh
House	House of Schwarzburg
Father	Günther Friedrich Karl I
Mother	Caroline of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

Early life

The Prince was born at Sondershausen Palace in Sondershausen on 24 September 1801. He was the only son of Günther Friedrich Karl I and Caroline of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1774–1854).^[1] His older sister Emilie was married to Prince Leopold II of Lippe, the reigning prince of Lippe.^[2][3]

His paternal grandparents were Christian Günther III and the former Charlotte Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Bernburg (a daughter of Prince Victor Frederick II of Anhalt-Bernburg). His maternal grandparents were Prince Friedrich Karl of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Friederike Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.^[4] Through his sister, he was uncle to nine, including Leopold III, Prince of Lippe (who married Princess Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt), Woldemar, Prince of Lippe (who married Princess Sophie of Baden), and Alexander, Prince of Lippe.^[3]

Career

Royal Monogram of Gonthier Frederick Charles II

In 1806, during his father's reign, the Holy Roman Empire, which delicately held the German monarchies together, collapsed and the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen joined the Confederation of the Rhine which was a group of states of Napoleon Bonaparte's First French Empire. It also collapsed in 1813 and, in 1815, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen joined the German Confederation created by the Congress of Vienna.^[5]

His father ruled as an absolute monarch and was deeply unpopular over his refusal to make any concessions to increase government participation by his subjects.^[6] His father's actions led to a palace revolt spearheaded by Günther Frederick Charles II that was known as the Ebeleben Revolution,^[7] which resulted in his father's abdication on 19 August 1835 in Günther Frederick Charles II's favor.^[8] His father spent the rest of his life at his hunting lodge, Jagdschloss "Zum Possen" near Sondershausen, where he died in April 1837.^[9]

Not long after Günther Friedrich Karl II became the reigning prince, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen joined the Zollverein. In 1840, the principality adopted a new constitution instituting the first state parliament. During the Revolutions of 1848, uprisings in the principality led to another new constitution which limited the prince's rights. In 1857, the constitution was reformed and the majority of the prince's rights were restored.^{[citation needed]}

In 1867, the principality joined the North German Confederation as one of seven principalities led by the Kingdom of Prussia, the largest and predominant member. Günther Friedrich Karl II became a Major General in the Prussian Army and in 1879 became General of the Infantry. In 1871, the German Empire was formed and the principality became a constituent member. On 17 July 1880, Günther Friedrich Karl II abdicated, due to an eye condition, in favor of his son, Charles Günther.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

His first wife, Princess Caroline of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

His second wife, Princess Mathilde zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen

On 12 March 1827 Günther Friedrich Karl II married his first cousin, Princess Caroline of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, a daughter of Prince Charles Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (son of Frederick Charles, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt) and Landgravine Louise Ulrica of Hesse-Homburg (daughter of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg). Before her death on 29 March 1833, they had four children, including:^[1]

• Günther Friedrich Karl Alexander (1829–1833), who died in childhood.^[10]
• Elisabeth Caroline Louise (1829–1893), who died unmarried.^[10]
• Karl Günther (1830–1909), who married Princess Marie Gasparine of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxony, the daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg.^[11]
• Günther Leopold (1832–1906), who died unmarried.^[10]

After her death, he married Princess Friederike Mathilde zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1814–1888), a daughter of August, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen and Louise of Württemberg.^[12] Before their divorce in 1852,^[13] they had two more children, including:^[14][15]

• Marie Pauline Caroline Luise Wilhelmine Auguste (1837–1921), who died unmarried.^[10]
• Günther Friedrich Karl August Hugo (1839–1871), who died unmarried.^[10]

Princess Mathilde died at Mirabell Palace in Salzburg, Austria in 1888. Günther Friedrich Karl II died in Sondershausen on 15 September 1889. In April 1896, Prince Karl Günther and the remaining dynasts, his brother Prince Leopold and cousin Prince Günther Victor of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, none of whom had male issue,^[16] agreed that their morganatic relative Prince Sizzo of Leutenberg was to become a member of the princely house with full succession rights. Their decision became law on 1 June 1896.^[17] Upon Prince Karl Günther's death in 1909, he was succeeded by his cousin, Prince Günther Victor, in whom both Schwarzburg principalities became vested in a personal union. On the death of the childless Prince Günther Victor in 1925, he was succeeded by Prince Sizzo.^[a]

Orders and decorations

•  Kingdom of Bavaria: Knight of the Royal Order of Saint Hubert, 1822^[19]
•  Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, 1835^[20]
•  Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Falcon, 18 October 1838^[21]
• Kingdom of Prussia:^[22]
  • Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, 17 May 1850
  • Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, 5 April 1875
•  Oldenburg: Grand Cross of the House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown, 12 April 1863^[23]
• Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, 1872^[24]

References

Notes

1. Upon the fall of the German monarchies in 1918, during the German Revolution of 1918-1919, the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen became a republic and, in 1920, joined with other small states in the area to form the new state of Thuringia.^[18]

Sources

1. Camp, David Nelson (1869). The American Year-book and National Register for 1869: Astronomical, Historical, Political, Financial, Commercial, Agricultural, Educational, and Religious. A General View of the United States, Including Every Department of the National and State Governments: Together with a Brief Account of Foreign States. Embracing Educational, Religious and Industrial Statistics; Facts Relating to Public Institutions and Societies; Miscellaneous Essays; Important Events; Obituaries; Etc. O.D. Case. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
2. The People's Cyclopedia of Universal Knowledge: With Numerous Appendixes Invaluable for Reference in All Departments of Industrial Life, the Whole Brought Down to the Year 1883. Phillips & Hunt. 1879. p. 1933. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
3. Martin, Frederick; Keltie, Sir John Scott; Renwick, Isaac Parker Anderson; Epstein, Mortimer; Steinberg, Sigfrid Henry; Paxton, John; Hunter (Librarian), Brian; Turner, Barry (1870). The Statesman's Year-book. Macmillan. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
4. Friedrich Apfelstedt: Das Haus Kevernburg-Schwarzburg von seinem Ursprunge bis auf unsere Zeit, ISBN 3-910132-29-4
5. Appleton's Annual Cyclopædia and Register of Important Events of the Year ... D. Appleton & Company. 1890. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
6. Schmidt, Julian (1858). Geschichte der Französischen Literatur seit der Revolution 1789 (in German). F. L. Herbig. p. 483. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
7. Bradstock, Andrew (1997). Faith in the Revolution: The Political Theologies of Müntzer and Winstanley. SPCK. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-281-05067-3. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
8. Ripley, George; Dana, Charles Anderson (1862). The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge. D. Appleton. p. 423.
9. Dr. Kamill von Behr: Genealogie der in Europa regierenden Fürstenhäuser, Leipzig, 1870
10. The American Almanac, Year-book, Cyclopaedia and Atlas. New York American and journal. 1904. p. 166. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
11. The Book of Kings: The royal houses. Garnstone Press. 1973. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-900391-19-4. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
12. Friedrichs, Elisabeth (12 December 2016). Die deutschsprachigen Schriftstellerinnen des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts: Repertorien zur deutschen Literaturgeschichte, Band 9 (in German). Springer-Verlag. p. 284. ISBN 978-3-476-03141-9. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
13. The American Almanac, Year-book, Cyclopaedia and Atlas. New York American and Journal, Hearst's Chicago American and San Francisco Examiner. 1903. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
14. Conversations-Lexikon der Gegenwart: in vier Bänden. F bis J. 2 (in German). Brockhaus. 1839. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
15. Schriften der Gesellschaft für Theatergeschichte (in German). 1965. p. 101. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
16. "A SOVEREIGN FIGHTS HIS HEIR-APPARENT.PRINCELY BLACK EYES". The North-Eastern Daily Gazette. 7 April 1890. p. 4. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
17. Zeydel, Edwin H. (1919) Constitutions of the German Empire and German States. P 411
18. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1922. p. 723. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
19. "Königliche Orden", Hof- und – Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern (in German), Munich: Druck and Verlag, 1833, p. 8
20. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1877), "Königliche Orden" p. 21
21. Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1869), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 11
22. "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), 1, Berlin: 5, 935, 1886
23. Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg: 1879. Schulze. 1879. p. 33.
24. Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1884), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 32

External links

• House of Schwarzburg

Günther Friedrich Karl II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen House of Schwarzburg Born: 24 September 1801 Died: 15 September 1889
Preceded by Günther Frederick Charles I	Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 1835-1880; abdicated	Succeeded by Karl Günther