Royal Families: House of Württemberg

One of the most interesting noble families of Germany, certainly is the
House of Württemberg.

From their capital Stuttgart, in southwest Germany, they spread their
wings across Europe.

They really had lots of interesting links with many other royal families
inter alia: Nassau (The Netherlands), Romanov (Russia), Bourbons,
Orléans, Liechtenstein etc.

Besides this enthralling links they also had a very nice royal history
with some surprising facts.



Royal history

The House of Württemberg probably had its origins in the vicinity of the
Salian dynasty.

Around 1080, ancestors of the modern Württemberg, then called
"Wirtemberg" settled themselves in the Stuttgart region.

It was Conrad of Württemberg who became the heir of the House of
Beutelsbach and built the Wirtemberg Castle. Around 1089 he received
the title Count.

In 1495, at the Diet of Worms, Count Eberhard V was raised to Duke, in
German Herzog, by the later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I.



Between 1534 and 1537, Duke Ulrich introduced the Protestant
Reformation. The Duke himself became the head of the Local Protestan
Church.



However in the 18th. century the Protestant male line became extinct,
the Head of the House was succeeded by Duke Charles Alexander, who
was a Roman Catholic.

Despite having a Catholic royal family, Protestantism survived as the
established church, run by a church council.

With the accession of Duke Frederick II of Württemberg in 1797, the
royal family was again Protestant.

During the reign of Napoleon I of France, Württemberg became a part
of the Confederation of the Rhine. Duke Frederick II of Württemberg was
made Elector in May 1803. In January 1806 he was made King of
Württemberg (because of being an ally of Napoleon).



In 1871 the Royal Dukedom of Teck was created for dynastic reasons
for Francis, Duke of Teck.

In 1918, at the end of World War I, during the German revolution, all the
monarchies in Germany were abolished. King William of Württemberg
abdicated on 30 November 1918.



All about royal families

All branches of the House of Württemberg descended from
Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (1732-1797). There were 5
branches with lots of ties.

Inter alia the branch who descended from Duke Louis of Württemberg
was related to George Cambridge, 2nd Marquess of Cambridge and
a female link to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (1822-1892), sister of Tsar Alexander II of
Russia, married King Charles I of Württemberg.



Princess Sophie of Württemberg married King Willem II of The
Netherlands.

Elisabeth Wilhelm Louise of Württemberg married
Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor.

As mentioned above there are many examples of the ties of the
House of Württemberg across Europe and the United Kingdom.


Source pictures: Wikipedia

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