Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym
Encyclopedia
Lebrecht of Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym (Bernburg
, 28 June 1669 – Bad Ems
, 17 May 1727), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and the first ruler of the principality of Anhalt(-Bernburg)-Zeitz-Hoym (later renamed Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym
).
He was the second son of Victor Amadeus, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
,by his wife Elisabeth, daughter of Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
.
after the introduction of primogeniture
, Lebrecht acquired in 1707 the towns of Belleben
, Hoym
, Reinstedt, and Frose
as compensation. When his father died in 1718, Lebrecht also inherited the town of Zeitz
.
, Lebrecht was betrothed to Charlotte (b. Schaumburg, 28 September 1673 - d. Bernburg, 31 January 1700), the youngest of the three surviving daughters of the Countess with her husband, Adolph of Nassau-Dillenburg. Under the terms of that contract, Charlotte was declared the sole heiress of the County of Holzappel (which included the county of Schaumburg with the towns of Esterau and Charlottenberg
). The marriage was performed in Schaumburg
on 12 April 1692. They had five children:
A widower, Lebrecht was serving in the Netherlands
when he fell in love with Baroness Eberhardine Jacobine Wilhelmine of Weede (b. Grave, 9 August 1685 - d. Grave, 13 February 1724), daughter of Baron Johann Georg von Weede, Governor of Grave (created a Baron by the Emperor in 1675; a Protestant himself, but married to a Catholic who raised their daughter in that religion). The couple was married in Grave on 27 June 1702. They had six children:
By contract of 23 February 1703, Lebrecht explained that after the death of his wife he wished not to remarry, so as not to diminish the possessions of the House of Anhalt through further partitions; but he found a way to reconcile his conscience with this intention by marrying a person who only looked for companionship in marriage and had no desire for princely rank. Remarriages with persons of unequal rank
after a first equal marriage leaving posterity were not unusual in Germany, and under these conditions he obtained the consent of his father to this union.
The contract, signed by a notary and two witnesses, specified that the Baroness of Weede would not usurp the rank of princess or seek to be raised to that rank but would remain a baroness under the name of "Baroness of Bähringen," and never use the name, title, or arms of Anhalt for herself. A sum of 45,000 Thaler
s was set for her upkeep and that of her children, which would be used to purchase a suitable estate. Should she die without heirs, or at the extinction of her issue, the sum or the estate purchased with it would be returned to her husband and his heirs.
This contract notwithstanding, Lebrecht sought and obtained from the Emperor her elevation to the rank of Countess with the style of "Hoch- und Wohlgebohren" and new arms (1 August 1705). Lebrecht's father fought in vain to have this elevation reversed.
After the death of Lebrecht, the two surviving sons from his marriage with the Countess of Weede obtained the Bailiwick
of Zeitz, but both died unmarried and childless.
On 14 September 1725 Lebrecht married for a third time and again morganatically to Sophie Sibylla of Ingersleben (b. 18 March? 1684 - d. Hoym, 31 March 1726), a lady at his court and daughter of Just Adam of Ingersleben, of well-established Anhalt nobility. Despite all the efforts of her husband, the Reichshofrat denied Sophie the right to the styles "princely" and "Durchlaucht". Lebrecht survive her by only fourteen months.
Bernburg
Bernburg is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the district of Salzlandkreis. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 30 km downstream from Halle. The town is dominated by its huge Renaissance castle featuring a museum as well as a popular, recently updated bear pit in its...
, 28 June 1669 – Bad Ems
Bad Ems
Bad Ems is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the county seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a bathing resort on the river Lahn...
, 17 May 1727), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and the first ruler of the principality of Anhalt(-Bernburg)-Zeitz-Hoym (later renamed Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym
Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym
Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym was a German principality and member of the Holy Roman Empire. The death of Prince Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg in 1718, resulted in the partition of his land with his second son Lebrecht inheriting what was originally known as Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym.The name of the...
).
He was the second son of Victor Amadeus, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
Victor Amadeus, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg....
,by his wife Elisabeth, daughter of Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
Frederick was the Duke of Zweibrücken from 1635 until 1661.-Life:Frederick was born in Zweibrücken in 1616 as the elder son of John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. He succeeded his father in 1635. During his reign, Palatinate-Zweibrücken was devastated during the Thirty Years' War...
.
Life
Excluded from the government of the principality of Anhalt-BernburgAnhalt-Bernburg
Anhalt-Bernburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt...
after the introduction of primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
, Lebrecht acquired in 1707 the towns of Belleben
Könnern
' is a town in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the river Saale, approx. 15 km south of Bernburg, and 25 km northwest of Halle ....
, Hoym
Hoym
Hoym is a town and former municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 15 July 2009, it is part of the town Seeland. Hoym is located on the river Selke, between the towns Aschersleben and Quedlinburg. One of the main features of the town is Schloss Hoym,...
, Reinstedt, and Frose
Frose
Frose is a village and a former municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 15 July 2009, it is part of the town Seeland....
as compensation. When his father died in 1718, Lebrecht also inherited the town of Zeitz
Zeitz
Zeitz is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, in the middle of the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony.-History:...
.
Marriages and Issue
By a contract made on 1 September 1690 between his father and Elisabeth Charlotte Melander, Countess of HolzappelHolzappel
Holzappel is a municipality in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, with a population in 2006 of 1100.Holzappel was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1643 until 1714. It was founded by Peter Melander of Holzappel, an imperial field marshal during the Thirty Years'...
, Lebrecht was betrothed to Charlotte (b. Schaumburg, 28 September 1673 - d. Bernburg, 31 January 1700), the youngest of the three surviving daughters of the Countess with her husband, Adolph of Nassau-Dillenburg. Under the terms of that contract, Charlotte was declared the sole heiress of the County of Holzappel (which included the county of Schaumburg with the towns of Esterau and Charlottenberg
Charlottenberg
Charlottenberg is a locality and the seat of Eda Municipality in Värmland County, Sweden with 2,048 inhabitants in 2005.Situated some 7 km from the Norwegian border, the town has a population of around 3,000. Charlottenberg railway station is the last station in Sweden before the Norwegian border,...
). The marriage was performed in Schaumburg
Schaumburg
Schaumburg is a district of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia .-History:...
on 12 April 1692. They had five children:
- Victor I Amadeus Adolph, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-HoymVictor I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-HoymVictor I Amadeus Adolph of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym , was a German prince of the House of Ascania from the Anhalt-Bernburg branch and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym.He was the eldest son of Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym, by his first wife Charlotte,...
(b. Schaumburg, 7 September 1693 - d. Schaumburg, 15 April 1772). - Frederick William (b. Schaumburg, 12 April 1695 - killed in action at DenainDenainIt is the largest of 39 communes which comprise the association of communes of Porte du Hainaut, with a total population of 147,989, as of 1999. Denain had a population of 20,360, on a land area of 11.52 km² .-References:* -External links:...
, 24 July 1712). - Elisabeth Charlotte (b. Bernburg, 4 December 1696 - d. Schaumburg, 14 June 1754).
- Christian (b. Bernburg, 27 November 1698 - killed in action at PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, 29 April 1720). - Victoria Hedwig (b. Bernburg, 30 January 1700 - d. Schaumburg, 10 February 1701).
A widower, Lebrecht was serving in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
when he fell in love with Baroness Eberhardine Jacobine Wilhelmine of Weede (b. Grave, 9 August 1685 - d. Grave, 13 February 1724), daughter of Baron Johann Georg von Weede, Governor of Grave (created a Baron by the Emperor in 1675; a Protestant himself, but married to a Catholic who raised their daughter in that religion). The couple was married in Grave on 27 June 1702. They had six children:
- Victoria Sophie (b. Zeitz, 10 January 1704 - d. Zeitz, 18 May 1704).
- Charlotte Wilhelmine (b. Schaumburg, 24 November 1704 - d. BarchfeldBarchfeldBarchfeld is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany....
, 11 November 1766), married on 31 October 1724 to William, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld. - John George (b. Zeitz, 30 October 1705 - d. Zeitz, 18 May 1707).
- Joseph Karl (b. Zeitz, 26 December 1706 - d. Zeitz, 18 February 1737).
- Sophie Christine Eberhardine (b. Zeitz, 6 February 1710 - d. Neustadt an der OrlaNeustadt an der OrlaNeustadt an der Orla is a town in Saale-Orla-Kreis district, in Thuringia. It is situated at the small river Orla, 17 km north of Schleiz, and 25 km southeast of Jena.-Setting:...
, 26 October 1784), married on 10 November 1728 to Christian, Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. - Victor Lebrecht (b. Zeitz, 7 November 1711 - d. Zeitz, 5 December 1737).
By contract of 23 February 1703, Lebrecht explained that after the death of his wife he wished not to remarry, so as not to diminish the possessions of the House of Anhalt through further partitions; but he found a way to reconcile his conscience with this intention by marrying a person who only looked for companionship in marriage and had no desire for princely rank. Remarriages with persons of unequal rank
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
after a first equal marriage leaving posterity were not unusual in Germany, and under these conditions he obtained the consent of his father to this union.
The contract, signed by a notary and two witnesses, specified that the Baroness of Weede would not usurp the rank of princess or seek to be raised to that rank but would remain a baroness under the name of "Baroness of Bähringen," and never use the name, title, or arms of Anhalt for herself. A sum of 45,000 Thaler
Thaler
The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
s was set for her upkeep and that of her children, which would be used to purchase a suitable estate. Should she die without heirs, or at the extinction of her issue, the sum or the estate purchased with it would be returned to her husband and his heirs.
This contract notwithstanding, Lebrecht sought and obtained from the Emperor her elevation to the rank of Countess with the style of "Hoch- und Wohlgebohren" and new arms (1 August 1705). Lebrecht's father fought in vain to have this elevation reversed.
After the death of Lebrecht, the two surviving sons from his marriage with the Countess of Weede obtained the Bailiwick
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
of Zeitz, but both died unmarried and childless.
On 14 September 1725 Lebrecht married for a third time and again morganatically to Sophie Sibylla of Ingersleben (b. 18 March? 1684 - d. Hoym, 31 March 1726), a lady at his court and daughter of Just Adam of Ingersleben, of well-established Anhalt nobility. Despite all the efforts of her husband, the Reichshofrat denied Sophie the right to the styles "princely" and "Durchlaucht". Lebrecht survive her by only fourteen months.