Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz was Prince Reuss of Greiz from 1800 to 1817.

Early life

Heinrich XIII was born at Greiz

Greiz

Greiz is a town in Thuringia, and it is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster....

, Reuss, third child of Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz

Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz

-Early life:Heinrich XI was born at Greiz, Reuss, youngest child of Count Heinrich II Reuss of Obergreiz , and his wife, Countess Sophie Charlotte of Bothmer , .He succeeded his brother Henry IX as Count of...

 (1722–1800), (son of Count Heinrich II Reuss of Obergreiz and Countess Sophie Charlotte of Bothmer) and his wife, Countess Conradine Reuss of Köstritz (1719–1770), (daughter of Heinrich XXIV, Count Reuss of Köstritz and Baroness Marie Eleonore Emma of Promnitz-Dittersbach).

Prince Reuss of Greiz

At the death of his father in 28 June 1800, he succeeded as the Prince Reuss of Greiz.

After the devastation of Greiz by a fire in 1802, he orderded to rebuilt the city in a neoclassical style

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

, and he moved his residence from the Oberes Schloss (Upper Castle) to the Unteres Schloss (Lower Castle), to be more in contact with the people and social life of the Principality.

Henry also distinguished himself in his military service to Austria as a field marshal, to the point of being considered one of the best friends of the Emperor Joseph II

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...

 .

Henry XIII joined the Confederation of the Rhine

Confederation of the Rhine

The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...

 in 1815 and later was a member of the German Confederation

German Confederation

The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...

. At the Congress of Vienna

Congress of Vienna

The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...

 he was involved in a territorial dispute with the Kingdom of Saxony

Kingdom of Saxony

The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...

, from which emerged victorious and won the domain of the cities of Altgommla and Kühdorf

Kühdorf

Kühdorf is a municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany....

.

Marriage

Heinrich XIII married on 9 January 1786 in Kirchheimbolanden

Kirchheimbolanden

Kirchheimbolanden, the capital of Donnersbergkreis, is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, south-western Germany. It is situated approx. 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. The first part of the name, Kirchheim, dates back to 774. It became a town in 1368, and the...

 to Princess Wilhelmine Louise of Nassau-Weilburg (1765–1837), fourth child and second daughter of Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg

Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg

Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg , till 1753 Count of Nassau-Weilburg, was the first ruler of the Principality of Nassau-Weilburg between 1753 and 1788....

, and his wife, Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau.

They had three children:

• Prince Heinrich XVIII Reuss of Greiz (31 March 1787 – 31 March 1787)
• Heinrich XIX, Prince Reuss of Greiz
  Heinrich XIX, Prince Reuss of Greiz
  -Early life:Heinrich XIX was born at Offenbach, Grand Duchy of Hesse, elder surviving son of Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz , and his wife, Princess Wilhelmine Louise of Nassau-Weilburg , -Early life:Heinrich XIX was born at Offenbach, Grand Duchy of Hesse, elder surviving son of Heinrich...
  
   (1 March 1790 – 31 October 1836), married in 1822 to Princess Gasparine of Rohan-Rochefort, had issue.
• Heinrich XX, Prince Reuss of Greiz
  Heinrich XX, Prince Reuss of Greiz
  -Early life:Heinrich XIX was born at Offenbach, Grand Duchy of Hesse, younger surviving son of Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz , and his wife, Princess Wilhelmine Louise of Nassau-Weilburg , -Early life:Heinrich XIX was born at Offenbach, Grand Duchy of Hesse, younger surviving son of...
  
   (29 June 1794 – 8 November 1859), married firstly in 1834 to Princess Sophie of Löwenstein-Wertheim- Rosenberg, no issue, Princess Sophie died in 1838; Married secondly in 1839 to Landgravine Karoline of Hesse-Homburg, had issue.

Titles and styles

• 16 February 1747 – 17 March 1768: His Serene Highness Count Heinrich XIII Reuss of Obergreiz
• 17 March 1768 – 12 May 1778: His Serene Highness Count Heinrich XIII Reuss of Greiz
• 12 May 1778 – 28 June 1800: His Serene Highness Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss of Greiz
• 28 June 1800 – 29 January 1817: His Serene Highness The Prince Reuss of Greiz

Ancestry