Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Coat of arms of the Princes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Hohenlohe-Langenburg (German pronunciation: [hoːənˌloːə ˈlaŋənbʊɐ̯k]) was a German county of northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located around Langenburg.

History[]

In 1253 the town and castle of Langenburg were inherited by the lords of Hohenlohe, after the lords of Langenburg had become extinct. The lordship of Hohenlohe was elevated to the status of a county in 1495. Of the protestant branch of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, which underwent several partitions and inherited the county of Gleichen in Thuringia (with its residence in Ohrdruf) in 1631, the senior line became extinct in 1805, while in 1701 the junior line divided itself into three branches, those of Langenburg, Ingelfingen and Kirchberg.

In 1701, Hohenlohe-Neuenstein was partitioned into Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen and Hohenlohe-Kirchberg. Hohenlohe-Langenburg was raised from a county to a principality in 1701, and was mediatised to Württemberg in 1806.

The House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg remained Protestant, and has remained closely related to Europe's Protestant ruling dynasties. Queen Adelaide of the United Kingdom was a Hohenlohe-Langenburg on her mother's side and her cousin, Prince Ernst, married in 1828 Feodora of Leiningen, the half-sister of the future Queen Victoria. In 1896, Feodora's grandson, another Prince Ernst, married Victoria's granddaughter, Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Prince Gottfried (1897–1960) was married in 1931 to his second cousin once removed, Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark (1905–1981). She was the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and his wife Princess Alice of Battenberg, and sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Prince Karl Gustav Wilhelm (1777–1866) of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, who came from a younger branch, founded a Catholic, Bohemian branch at Rothenhaus Castle (today Červený Hrádek Castle in Jirkov, Czech Republic) in the 19th century. As one of the 16 mediatized princely houses, the family had a hereditary seat in the House of Lords (Austria).

Counts of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1610–1764)[]

Philipp Ernst, Count 1610–1628 (1584–1628); son of Wolfgang zu Hohenlohe (d. 1610)
- Ludwig Kraft, Count 1628–1632 (1613–1632)
- Joachim Albert, Count 1632–1650 (1619–1675); also Count of Hohenlohe-Kirchberg
- Henry Frederick, Count 1650–1699 (1625–1699)
  - Christian Kraft, Count 1699–1701 (1668–1743); also Count of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen
  - Frederick Eberhard, Count 1699–1701 (1672–1737); also Count of Hohenlohe-Kirchberg
  - Albert Wolfgang, Count 1701–1715 (1659–1715)
    - Louis, Count 1715–1764 (1696–1765); raised to Prince Jan 7, 1764

Princes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1764–1806; titular to the present)[]

Antique print of the princely arms

Louis, 1st Prince 1764–1765 (1696–1765)
- Christian Albert, 2nd Prince 1765–1789 (1726–1789)
  - Carl Ludwig I, 3rd Prince 1789–1825 (1762–1825)
    - Ernst I, 4th Prince 1825–1860 (1794–1860)
      - Carl Ludwig II, 5th Prince April 12–21, 1860 (1829–1907); renounced his rights
      - Hermann, 6th Prince 1860–1913 (1832–1913)
        Ernst II, 7th Prince 1913–1950 (1863–1950)
        Gottfried, 8th Prince 1950–1960 (1897–1960)
        Kraft Alexander, 9th Prince 1960–2004 (1935–2004)
        Philipp Gottfried Alexander, 10th Prince 2004–present (b. 1970)
        Max-Leopold^[1]
        
        Gustav^[1]
        
        Prince Georg Andreas (b. 1938)
- Prince Friedrich Ernst (1750–1794)
  - Prince Karl Gustav Wilhelm (1777–1866)
    - Prince Ludwig Karl Gustav (1823–1866)
      - Prince Gottfried Karl Joseph (1860–1933); all other heirs of this house descend from him

References[]

^ ^a ^b Langenburg Castle

External links[]

European Heraldry page

[langenburg-1] Langenburg Castle

[1]