Friedrich Karl, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

by Susan Flantzer

Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen: The County of Schwarzburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1195 to 1595, when it was partitioned into Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The new counties remained in the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution. In 1697, the County of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The County of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was elevated to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1710.

The death of Karl Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen without an heir in 1909 caused the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen to be united under Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in a personal union. Following his succession in Sondershausen, Prince Günther Victor dropped the name Rudolstadt from his title and assumed the title Prince of Schwarzburg.

At the end of World War I, Prince Günther Victor was the last German prince to renounce his throne, abdicating on November 22, 1918. He made an agreement with the government that awarded him an annual pension and the right to use several of the family residences. The territory that encompassed the Principalities of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen is now located in the German state of Thuringia.

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Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich Karl had the shortest reign of all the Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt – only two and a half years. He was born in Rudolstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia, on June 7, 1736. The only surviving son and the third of the three children of Ludwig Günther II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Sophie Henrietta Reuss of Untergreiz, Friedrich Karl had three siblings but two died in infancy:

  • Friederike Sophie (born and died 1734), died in infancy
  • Christiane Friederike (1735 – 1788), nun at Gandersheim Abbey
  • Christian Ernst (born and died 1739), died in infancy

After being educated by private tutors, Friedrich Karl was sent to France from 1755 – 1756 to perfect his French. While in France, he visited factories, libraries, and natural history collections. As a child, Friedrich Karl began his natural history collection. In 1757, he created the Princely Natural History Collection at the Schloss Ludwigsburg in Rudolstadt. Later, his natural history collection became part of the Natural History Museum of Rudolstadt. Passionate about natural history, Friedrich Karl continued collecting and maintained correspondence with many German scientists throughout his life.

Friedrich Karl’s first wife Friederike; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 21, 1763, Friedrich Karl married his paternal first cousin once removed Friederike of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1745 – 1778), daughter of Johann Friedrich, reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Bernardina Christina of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Friedrich Karl and Friederike had six children:

Friedrich Karl’s wife Friederike predeceased him, dying on January 26, 1778, aged 32. She was buried at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg, the castle church at Schwarzburg Castle. On November 28, 1780, Friedrich Karl married Auguste of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1752–1805), daughter of Prince Johann August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Countess Luise Reuss of Schleiz, but their marriage was childless.

Komödienhaus on the Anger in the 19th century; Credit – https://theater-rudolstadt.de/theater/geschichte/

Upon the death of his father on August 29, 1790, 54-year-old Friedrich Karl became the reigning Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. He had few accomplishments during his short reign. In 1792, Friedrich Karl ordered the construction of a theater, called the Komödienhaus on the Anger, to provide education and culture to the citizens of his principality. However, he died before it was completed. The theater opening took place on July 26, 1793, three months after his death, under the supervision of his son and successor Ludwig Friedrich II. The theater was under the artistic direction of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, considered the greatest writer in the German language. The theater was one of the best in German monarchies at the time and evolved into the current Theater-Rudolstadt (link in German).

Friedrich Karl suffered a stroke in 1792. He died on April 13, 1793, in Rudolstadt, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia, at the age of 56. He was buried with his first wife at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg, the castle church at Schwarzburg Castle in Schwarzburg, in Schwarzburg, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, now in the German state of Thuringia. His second wife Auguste survived him by twelve years, dying on May 28, 1805, at the age of 52, and was also buried at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg, the castle church at Schwarzburg Castle.

Stadtkirche St. Andreas; Credit – Wikipedia

In the early 1940s, the remains of the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt family buried at the Schlosskirche Schwarzburg were transferred to the Stadtkirche St. Andreas in Rudolstadt, Thuringia, Germany before the demolition of Schwarzburg Castle and Schlosskirche Schwarzburg by the German government who planned to convert the castle into Adolf Hitler’s Imperial Guest House. However, the construction was never completed and the ruins of the castle and the incomplete construction of the guest house were left for years until reconstruction of the original castle, which is still occurring, began.

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Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Friedrich Karl (Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt). [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Karl_(Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt)> [Accessed 30 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Frederick Charles, Prince Of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Charles,_Prince_of_Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt> [Accessed 30 October 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Royal Burial Sites Of The Principality Of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/royal-burial-sites-of-the-principality-of-schwarzburg-rudolstadt/> [Accessed 20 October 2020].
  • Theater Rudolstadt. 2020. Geschichte – Die Vielfältige Historie Des Theaters Rudolstadt. [online] Available at: <https://theater-rudolstadt.de/theater/geschichte/> [Accessed 30 October 2020].