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County of Sayn-Wittgenstein Grafschaft Sayn-Wittgenstein | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1384–1607 | |||||||||||||||
 Sayn and Wittgenstein ca. 1450 | |||||||||||||||
| Status | State of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||||||||
| Capital | Wittgenstein Castle | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Principality | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||||||
| 1345 | |||||||||||||||
• Counties merged | 1384 | ||||||||||||||
| 1607 | |||||||||||||||
| 1808 | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Today part of | Germany | ||||||||||||||
Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern North Rhine-Westphalia.
Sayn-Wittgenstein was created when Count Salentin of Sayn-Homburg, a member of the House of Sponheim, married the heiress Countess Adelaide of Wittgenstein in 1345. The united counties then became known as Sayn-Wittgenstein, although it only officially became known as such during the reign of Salentin's successor Count John. The territory of Sayn-Wittgenstein was often divided between northern (centered on Bad Berleburg) and southern (centered on Bad Laasphe) divisions, although the border between the two often shifted. Sayn-Wittgenstein was partitioned in 1607 into: Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (in the originally territories of Sayn), and Sayn-Wittgenstein-Wittgenstein. The area of both former counties is known today as "Wittgenstein", and is part of the district Siegen-Wittgenstein in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Four dynastic branches of the House of Sayn were extant at the beginning of the 20th century, each possessing its own secundogeniture. [1] [2] In order of seniority of legitimate descent from their progenitor, Ludwig I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1532-1605), they were the: [1] [2]
Some of these lines had junior branches, both dynastic and non-dynastic, the latter including families whose right to the princely title was recognized by the Russian, Prussian, Bavarian or Austrian monarchies, whereas other morganatic branches used lesser titles accorded by German sovereigns (e.g. Baron von Kleydorff, Hesse, 1868; Count von Hachenburg, Prussia, 1883; Baron von Freusburg, Lippe, 1916; Baron von Altenburg, ?, 1909). [2] The last male of the comital line was Ottokar, Count zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1911-1995). [1]
On the death of Ludwig, 3rd Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein in 1912, the eldest of his three sons, Hereditary Prince August (1868-1947), became 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein and head of the third branch of the House of Sayn. [1] [2] Being a childless bachelor, the elder of whose two younger brothers, Georg (1873-1960), had married morganatically, while the younger, Wilhelm (1877-1958), was 49 and yet unmarried, August preserved the name and heritage of his branch of the House of Sayn by adopting Christian Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1908-1953). [1] [2] He was the second son of the late head of the entire House of Sayn, Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1882-1925), whose eldest son, Gustav Albrecht (1907-1944) had inherited the senior line's fortune and position. [1] [2]
In November 1960, Christian Heinrich, being the divorced father of two daughters by his dynastic marriage to Beatrix Grafin von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1921-2006), married Dagmar Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (1919-2002), elder daughter of his adopted father's younger brother, Georg, who died seven months before the wedding. [1] As Georg's children by his morganatic wife, Marie Rühm, (created Baroness von Freusburg by the reigning Prince of Lippe in 1916) had been de-morganatized[ citation needed ] by the declaration of their uncle August on 11 February 1947[ citation needed ], her marriage to Christian Heinrich was deemed a dynastic match, ensuring that their son Bernhart would be born in compliance with the house laws of his adoptive ancestors, the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohensteins, as well as being a grandson of the last dynastic male of that family, Prince Georg. [1]
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Ludwig Adolf Friedrich, 2nd Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg, from 1861 Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, was a Russian and German aristocrat. Among his properties were the famed Mir Castle Complex and Verkiai Palace.
Sayn was a small German county of the Holy Roman Empire which, during the Middle Ages, existed within what is today Rheinland-Pfalz.
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn was a county of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, comprising the lands of the region of Sayn. It was created as a partition of Sayn-Wittgenstein in 1607, although it was not until the next year that it obtained fully the Countship of Sayn. The succession was never clear, leading to the annexation of the county in 1623 by the Archbishop of Cologne. It was not until a treaty in 1648 that it was decided the county would pass to the sisters Ernestine and Johanette of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, under the regency of their mother, Countess Louise Juliane von Erbach (1603–1670). They partitioned the county into Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen and Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg soon after.
Ludwig Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher.
Bad Berleburg is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately 30 km (19 mi) northeast of Siegen and 35 km (22 mi) northwest of Marburg an der Lahn.
Mannus Riedesel (1662–1726) was a master builder in the early 18th century in the Counties of Wittgenstein and surrounding areas, now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the Federal Republic of Germany. At least ten structures that he built are known to exist, and are regarded as jewels of "half-timbered" Fachwerk construction." Though not well known outside Wittgenstein, his name and surviving structures are familiar to many there.
Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth is a German nobleman and a banker.
Bernhart Otto Peter, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein is a German businessman and the current head of the Princely House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein.
Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg from 1904 to 1918.
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein was a county and later principality between Hesse-Darmstadt and Westphalia.
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein.
Prince Frederick William Adolf of Nassau-Siegen, German: Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf Fürst von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Fürst zu Nassau, Graf zu Katzenelnbogen, Vianden, Diez, Limburg und Bronkhorst, Herr zu Beilstein, Stirum, Wisch, Borculo, Lichtenvoorde und Wildenborch, Erbbannerherr des Herzogtums Geldern und der Grafschaft Zutphen, was since 1691 Fürst of Nassau-Siegen, a part of the County of Nassau. He descended from the House of Nassau-Siegen, a cadet branch of the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau.
Countess Louise Juliane of Erbach was a German regent; Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn by marriage to Ernest of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
Louis I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein, nicknamed "the Elder", formally "Louis I of Sayn, Count at Wittgenstein" ruled the County of Wittgenstein, on the upper reaches of the rivers Lahn and Eder, from 1558 until his death. He converted his county to Calvinism and was an influential politician in the service to the Electoral Palatinate.
Johanetta of Sayn-Wittgenstein was a German countess of the house of Sayn-Wittgenstein, who became the third wife of Count John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg.
Leonilla Ivanovna Baryatinskaya, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, was a Russian aristocrat who married Ludwig, Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. She was the subject of a number of portraits by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.
Johannetta, Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen, was Sovereign Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen from 1648 to 1701. She was also Landgravine of Hesse-Braubach by marriage to John, Landgrave of Hesse-Braubach, and Duchess of Saxe-Marksuhl by marriage to John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach.
Ernestine of Sayn-Wittgenstein, was a German ruler, Sovereign Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg in 1648-1661. She was also Countess consort of Manderscheid-Blankenheim by marriage to.
Prince August Fredrik zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, known professionally as August Wittgenstein, is a German-Swedish actor and member of the princely House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. Wittgenstein has appeared in English, German, and Swedish language films, starring in the 2013 German television movie Open Desert. He is known for his portrayals of Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse in The Crown and Count Alfred Eckbrecht von Dürckheim-Montmartin in Ludwig II as well as his roles as Karl Tennstedt in Das Boot and Andreas Wolf in Deadwind.
Countess Sophie Polyxena Concordia of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, German: Sophia Polyxena Concordia Gräfin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, official titles: Gräfin zu Sayn, Wittgenstein und Hohenstein, Frau zu Homburg, Vallendar, Neumagen, Lohra und Klettenberg, was a countess from the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein and through marriage Fürstin of Nassau-Siegen.
