Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg
Encyclopedia
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, August 3, 1750 – Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, March 7, 1820), nicknamed the blind duke, was between 1778 and 1801 the sixth Duke of Arenberg and 12th Duke of Aarschot
Duke of Aarschot
The Duke of Aarschot was one of the most important titles in the Low Countries, named after the Flemish city of Aarschot. The title was held by the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg...
. Between 1803 and 1810 he ruled a Duchy in North-western Germany also called Duchy of Arenberg.
He was born in Brussels as son of Charles Marie Raymond of Arenberg
Charles Marie Raymond of Arenberg
Charles Marie Raymond d'Arenberg was the fifth Duke of Arenberg, 11th Duke of Aarschot and an Austrian Field Marshal.-Biography:...
, one of the most prominent nobles in the Austrian Netherlands, and Louise Margaret von der Mark und Schleide.
At the age of 24, during a hunting party, he was hit in the face by a shotgun and remained blind for the rest of his life.
Unable to pursue the usual military career, he turned to science, art and music.
Under his patronage, the first manned gas-filled balloon flight in history took off from the front lawn of the Arenberg Castle
Arenberg Castle
Arenberg Castle is a castle in Heverlee close to Leuven in Belgium. It is surrounded by a park.-History:The site had been the castle of the lords of Heverlee since the 12th century, but this family became impoverished and had to sell the site in 1445 to the Croÿ family from Picardy...
on November 21, 1783; the balloonist was professor Jan Pieter Minckeleers.
At the beginning of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, he succeeded in keeping his possessions, but when Bonaparte annexed the Rhineland, he lost most of his territories. In the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803 though, he was compensated with Recklinghausen
Vest Recklinghausen
Vest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster in the north...
and Meppen
Meppen, Germany
Meppen is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund-Ems canal...
, together also named the Duchy of Arenberg. In 1810 he abdicated in favor of his son Prosper Louis
Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg
Prosper-Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg was also the 13th Duke of Aarschot, 2nd Duke of Meppen and 2nd prince of Recklinghausen....
.
Louis Engelbert was named senator by Napoleon and a count of the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. After 1815, he returned to Belgium, where the Duchy of Arenberg was restored to the family by 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,...
, be it without the sovereignty of before.
Marriage and children
Ludwig Engelbert married Louise Antoinette of LauragaisLauragais
The Lauragais is an area of southwestern France located south-east of Toulouse....
, daughter of Count Louis Leopold of Lauraguais. They had six children:
- Pauline (1774–1810), married Count Joseph Johann von SchwarzenbergSchwarzenberg- People :* House of Schwarzenberg, Frankish and Bohemian aristocratic family which was first mentioned in 1172** Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg , Field Marshal in Austrian service during the Napoleonic Wars...
(1769–1833) - Louis Engelbert (1777-1777)
- Prosper LouisProsper Louis, 7th Duke of ArenbergProsper-Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg was also the 13th Duke of Aarschot, 2nd Duke of Meppen and 2nd prince of Recklinghausen....
(1785–1861), his successor - Philemon Paul Maria (1788–1844), Bishop of NamurRoman Catholic Diocese of NamurThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Namur is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussel.-Bishops of Namur since 1802:*Claude de Bexon...
- Peter d'Alcantara Karl, (1790–1877), since 1828 French Duke and Peer, married Alix Marie Charlotte of Talleyrand-Périgord (1808–1842) from the House of Talleyrand-PérigordHouse of Talleyrand-PérigordThe House of Talleyrand-Périgord was a French noble house that vanished in 2003 when Violette de Talleyrand-Périgord died.-Origins:A cadet branch of the family of sovereign counts of Périgord, they took their name from the estate of Périgord owned by these counts, and date back to Boso I, count of...
- Philipp Joseph (1794–1815)