Christian William I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

Christian William I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Christian William, first Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Spouse(s)	Antonie Sybille of Barby-Mühlingen Christiane Wilhelmine of Saxe-Weimar
Noble family	House of Schwarzburg
Father	Anton Günther I, Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Mother	Countess Palatine Maria Magdalene of Birkenfeld
Born	18 August 1645(1645-08-18) Sondershausen
Died	10 May 1721(1721-05-10) (aged 75) Sondershausen

Christian William I of Schwarzburg (born: 18 August 1645 in Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen; died: 10 May 1721, ibid) was Count and later Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Count of Hohenstein, Lord of Sondershausen, Arnstadt and Leutenberg. From 1681, he also carried the title of Count in Ebeleben, and from 1716 Count in Arnstadt.

Life

Christian William was a son of Count Anton Günther I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and his wife Countess Palatine Maria Magdalene of Birkenfeld (1622-1689).

In 1666 he succeeded his father jointly with his brother Anton Günther II. In 1681, they divided the country and Anton Günther became Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt. On 3 September 1697, the brothers were raised to Imperial Princes by Emperor Leopold I. Anton Günther died in 1716 and Arnstadt fell back to Christian William.

He concluded a treaty of succession with his brother, in which the indivisibility of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was established and primogeniture would determine the succession. After Count Louis Frederick I of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt joined the treaty in 1710, it was confirmed in 1719 by Emperor Charles VI.

During Christian Williams reign, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen broke away from the increasing dominance of Electoral Saxony.

He renovated his Sondershausen Palace and reshaped it from a Renaissance style to a Baroque style.

A cultural center in northern Thuringia was named after him.

Marriage and issue

In 1672, Christian Williams was engaged with the hymn poet Ludmilla Elisabeth of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, but she died unexpectedly later that year.

He married on 22 August 1673 Antonie Sybille (1641-1684), daughter of Count Albert Frederick I of Barby-Mühlingen, and had their children with the following:

• Anton Albert (1674-1680)
• August William (1676-1690)
• Günther XLIII (1678-1740), who succeeded him as ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1720-1740)
• Sophie Magdalene (1680-1751), married Count George Albert of Schönburg-Hartenstein (1673-1716)
• Christiane Emilie (1681-1751) married Duke Adolph Frederick II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
• Albertine Louise (1682-1765)
• Antonie Sibille (1684)

Christian William married a second time in 1684, with Christiane Wilhelmine (1658-1712), daughter of the Duke John Ernest II of Saxe-Weimar, with whom he had the following children:

• Johanne Auguste (1686-1703)
• Christiane Wilhelmine (1688-1749)
• Henry XXXV (1689-1758), who succeeded his half-brother Günther as ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1740-1758)
• August I (1691-1750), who also held the title of Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, but never ruled
• Ernestine Henriette (1692-1759)
• Rudolph (1695-1749)
• William II (1699-1762)
• Christian (1700-1749), who also held the title of Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, but never ruled

References

• Bernhard Anemüller (1876) (in German). "Christian Wilhelm I.". In Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). 4. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 211–212.
• Friedrich Apfelstedt: Heimathskunde für die Bewohner des Fürstenthums Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Part 3: Geschichte des Fürstlich-Schwarzburgischen Hauses, Eupel, Sondershausen, 1856 (reprinted: Donhof, Arnstadt, 1998, ISBN 3-86162-025-1)
• Friedrich Apfelstedt: Das Haus Kevernburg-Schwarzburg von seinem Ursprunge bis auf unsere Zeit, Betram, Sondershausen, 1890 (reprinted: Thüringer Chronik-Verl. Müllerott, Arnstadt, 1996, ISBN 3-910132-29-4)

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

Christian William I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen House of Schwarzburg Born: 18 August 1645 Died: 10 May 1721
Preceded by Anton Günther I as Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen	Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 1666-1720	Succeeded by Günther XLIII as Günther I

Persondata
Name	Christian William, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Alternative names	Christian Wilhelm, Fürst von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Short description	Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1666-1720)
Date of birth	18 August 1645
Place of birth	Sondershausen
Date of death	10 May 1721
Place of death	Sondershausen