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Günther XL, Count of Schwarzburg

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Mother
  
Magdalena of Hohnstein

Name
  
Gunther Count


Gunther XL, Count of Schwarzburg

Spouse(s)
  
Elisabeth of Isenburg-Budingen-Ronneburg

Father
  
Henry XXXI of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg

Born
  
31 October 1499 Sondershausen (
1499-10-31
)

Died
  
10 November 1552(1552-11-10) (aged 53) Gehren

Noble family
  
House of Schwarzburg

Günther XL, Count of Schwarzburg nicknamed the Rich or Günther with the fat mouth (31 October 1499 in Sondershausen – 10 November 1552 in Gehren), was a ruling Count of Schwarzburg.

Contents

Life

Guenther was the eldest son of Count Henry XXXI of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (1473–1526) and his first wife Magdalena of Hohnstein (1480–1504). Over time, Günther united all but one all of the Schwarzburg possessions in one hand He introduced Protestantism in his country and fought on the Protestant side against the emperor in the Schmalkaldic War. Günther benefitted considerably from the political downfall of the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin.

Günther XL, Count of Schwarzburg httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

In feudal matters, he came into conflict with Elector John Frederick of Saxony. The Elector invaded Schwarzburg and torched the city of Sondershausen. Günther had to flee, and was only able to return after the battle of Mühlberg in 1547.

To demonstrate his accumulated wealth and power, he largely demolished the existing castle in Sondershausen in 1533 and built a new Renaissance château on the site. This château forms the old North, East and South wings of the current Sondershausen Palace.

After his death, the County of Schwarzburg was divided among his four sons. Thus, he became the ancestor of the two lines of the House of Schwarzburg that survived until the 20th century: Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.

Marriage and issue

On 29 November 1528, Günther XL married Elisabeth (d. 14 May 1572), the daughter of Count Philip of Isenburg-Büdingen-Ronneburg. They had the following children:

  • Günther XLI (1529–1583), nicknamed "the Bellicose", Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt
  • Magdalena (1530–1565), married in 1552, to Count John Albert VI of Mansfeld-Arnstein
  • Amalie (1531–1542)
  • John Günther I (1532–1586), Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
  • William I (1534–1597), Count of Schwarzburg-Frankenhausen
  • Philip (1536-1536)
  • Albert VII (1537–1605), Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
  • Otto Henry? (1538–1539) or Ottilie?
  • Sybilla Anna (1540–1578), married in 1571 to Count Louis III of Isenburg-Birstein-Büdingen
  • Elisabeth (1541–1612), married in 1576 to John VII, Count of Oldenburg

    • References

    Günther XL, Count of Schwarzburg Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA