Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 13.djvu/656

 SCHWARZBURG

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SCHWARZBURG

Schwarzburg, two small principalities of Central Germany, Schwarzburji-Rudolstadt and Schwarz- burg-Sondershausen, %\hich, however, have been con- nected by personal union under one sovereign since 1909. The principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt has an area of 363 square miles, and in 1910 had 100.712 inhabitants. The territory of the state con- sists of two non-contiguous districts, the Upper Barony in Thuringia and the Lower Barony south of the Harz Mountains. The Upper Barony (capital, Rudolstadt) has an area of 280 square miles; the Lower Barony (capital, Frankenhausen) an area of 83 square miles. The Upper Barony includes the exclave of Leutenberg lying to the east. As regards religion, in 1905, of 9ti.835 inhabitants 95,641 were Lutherans. 99-4 Catholics, and 82 Jews. Consequently the Catholics number only one per cent of the population: in 1871 they numbered only one-tenth per cent. The principality of Schwarzburg-Sonders- hausen has an area of about 333 square miles, and in 1910 had S9,9S4 inhabitants. The territory of this state also consists of two main districts called the Lower Barony situated south of the Harz, and the Upper Barony in Thuringia south of the Prussian city of Erfurt. The Lower Barony (capital, Sonders- haiisen) is in area about 200 square miles, while the Upper Baronv (capital, Arnstadt) has an area of about 132 square miles. In 1905 of the 85.152 in- habitants of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 83,389 were Lutherans, 1521 Catholics, and 195 Jews. The Catholics, therefore, number nearly two per cent of the population; in 1871 they were only three-tenths per cent.

The Schwarzburg principalities are a part of the region occupied by the old tribe of the Thuringians, who in the sixth centur\' succumbed to the united attack of the German tribes of the Franks and Saxons. In the ninth and tenth centuries several counts became independent rulers in different parts of the Thuringian territory. Among these were the counts of Keverenburg (Kafernburg), from whom sprang the princely house of Schwarzburg, which takes its name from a castle on the small Thuringian river called Schwarza. Gundar (Giinther), a son of the Franki-sh king I^othair IV, is regarded as the founder of the familv. The first count mentioned in a docu- ment is Sizzo III (1009-60). In the course of time appeared the ruling lines of Kafernburg, Schwarz- burg, and the senior and cadet lines of Blankenburg. In 1548 Giinther XL, who was also called Giinther with the Heavy Jaw, again united all the lands of Schwarzburg under his rule. The territories were again divided by various partitions and treaties, and finally, by the Hauptrezess of Ilm in 1599, into the two domains and lines of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Amstadt (or Schwarzburg-Son- dershaasen). In 1710 Emperor Jo.seph I raised Louis Frederick I of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt to the rank of a hereditary prince of the empire. In 1713 primogeniture was introduced, and a treaty of succession was made with Schwarzburg-Sonders- hausen. In 1807 Louis Frederick II joined the Con- federation of the Rhine; in 1815 Prince Frederick Giinther joined the German Confederation. In the war of 1866 between Pru.ssia and Austria the govern- ment voted again-st the Austrian proposal for the mobilization of the forces of the confederation against Pnissia. Ruler and people joined the North German Ojnfe^leration. Since 1871 the principality has been one of the confederated states of the German Empire. Prince Giinther Victor (b. 1852) has been the ruler since 1890.

In Schwarzburg-Amstadt the sons of Christian Giinther I foirndfi^l, without prejudice to the unity of the original territon,', three lines, those of Sonders- hausen, Amstaflt, and Ebeleben. However, the two latter lines became extinct (Arnstadt iu 1639,

and Ebeleben in 1681). After the death of Anthony Giinther I of the Sondcrshausen line his two sons divided the government between them and founded the lines of Sondershau.sen and Arnstadt. In 1697 the Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was made a prince of the empire, and his territory declared an independent princii)ality of the empire; the same rank and independence of territory was conferred upon the ruler of Schwarzburg- Arnstadt in 1709. Before this they had been under the suzerainty of various German states. The house of Schwarzburg- Arn.Uadt became extinct in 1716. The Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen became the sole ruler of the territory, which took the name of Schwarzburg- Sondershausen. The law of primogeniture had been introduced in Sondcrshausen in 1713, and a treaty of succession had been made with Rudolstadt. In 1806 Prince Giinther Frederick Charles secretly supported Prussia in the war between Prussia and France. Napoleon, on this account, sent a French army into the territory of Schwarzburg, which plun- dered and devastated the country. In 1807 the prince joined the Confederation of the Rhine, and in 1815 entered the German Confederation. In 1866, in the war between Prussia and Austria, both prince and people were opposed to the mobilization of the forces of the confederation against Prussia. They declared themselves on the side of Prussia, and the country joined the North German Confeder- ation. In 1871 the principaUty became one of the confederated states of the German Empire. With the death of Prince Charles Giinther in 1909 the Sondcrshausen Une became extinct. In virtue of the treaty of succession of 1713 the sovereignty went to Prince Giinther Victor of Schwarzburg- Rudolstadt, who since then has called himself Prince of Schwarzburg. The two principalities have not at the present time lost their constitutional inde- pendence by this personal union; however, a closer union of the two states is frequently urged. The marriage of Prince Giinther Victor of Schwarzburg being without issue, Prince Sizzo of Leutenberg has been recognized as a member of the ruling house of equal rank, and was made Prince of Schwarzburg in 1896. Prince Sizzo is the son of Prince Frederick Giinther, who died in 1867, by his morganatic mar- riage with the Countess von Reina, and the sover- eignty of both states will devolve upon him when Prince Giinther Victor dies.

Before the great religious schism of the sixteenth century the Schwarzburg domains belonged, in ecclesiastical matters, to the Archdiocese of Mainz. The permanent representative of the archbishop in Thuringia was an auxiliary bishop who resided at Erfurt. The Reformation found early entrance into Schwarzburg. In the Upper Barony it was definitively introduced by Count Henry XXXII (1531-38), who was called the "Reformer". At his death the Upper Barony fell to Count Giinther XL (1526-52). At first under the pressure exerted by his feudal suzerain, the strictly Catholic Duke George of Saxe- Meis.sen, Giinther remained a Catholic; still he en- couraged the new doctrine and, at the Diet of Ratis- bon in 1541, went over publicly to the Protestant side. All Catholic life vanished completely from hia territories. In the Catholic era the Schwarzburg territories had belonged to the Archdeanery of Jech- aburg, where in 1004 a monastery of Augustinian Canons Regular had been established; in 1552 the monastery received a Lutheran dean, and in 1572 was secularized. Venerable architectural monu- ments still give proof of the flourishing conditions of Catholic life in the era before the Reformation, although a large number of Catholic edifices were destroyed during the Peasants' War in 1525. Cele- brated memorials of this period are the ruins of the Bcocdictine Abbey of Paulinzella (intended both for