Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
Encyclopedia
Louis I of Anhalt-Köthen (Dessau
, 17 June 1579 – Köthen, 7 January 1650), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the unified principality of Anhalt
. From 1603, he was ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen
. He was also a founder of the first German Society (the Fruitbearing Society
).
Louis was the seventh son of Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt
, but fifth-born son of his second wife Eleonore, daughter of Christoph, Duke of Württemberg
.
From 1596 to 1597 the seventeen-year-old Louis made a Grand Tour
of Europe by traveling to Great Britain
, France
, and the Netherlands
. By the beginning of 1598 he was in Switzerland
, then visited Austria
, Hungary
, and Italy
, where he remained until 1602. During a stay in Florence
, Louis was accepted (with the assistance of his Italian tutor Bastiano de' Rossi) as the first German member of the Accademia della Crusca
, in which he was known by the name "L'Acceso."
In 1603 a formal division of the principality of Anhalt was agreed upon by the surviving co-rulers. Louis received Köthen, where he took up his principal residence.
Militarily and politically Louis remained cautious, preferring to promote agriculture vigorously. He built his new Schloss (official residence) in Italian style and had his court adopt Italian manners. With his financial support, a major educational initiative was launched in Köthen in 1619 under the auspices of Wolfgang Ratke
. Problems with the local clergy led to Ratke's imprisonment for eight months, and Louis left this project incomplete.
On the occasion of the funeral of his sister Dorothea Maria
, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, on 24 August 1617, the seneschal Kaspar von Teutleben proposed the establishment of a society on the model of the Accademia della Crusca. The creation of the Fruitbearing Society
was decided upon and Louis was appointed its first leader, a post he held until his death. As a member, Louis used the Latin motto "Vita mihi Christ, morse lucrum."
During the Thirty Years' War
, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
transferred the governorship of the Dioceses of Magdeburg
and Halberstadt
to Louis. This provoked the anger of Count Axel Oxenstierna
, who desired that post. This was also a source of tension in the Fruitbearing Society, because Oxenstierna was a member.
on 31 October 1606 Louis married Amöena Amalie (b. Bentheim
, 19 March 1586 - d. Oldenburg
, 8 September 1625), daughter of Arnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-Limburg, and younger sister of Anna, the wife of Prince Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg, Louis's older brother. They had two children:
The death of his only son left Louis without an heir, but it was only after the death of his wife eighteen months later that he decided to find a new wife who bore the needed heir to his principality.
In Detmold
on 12 September 1626 Louis married for a second time to Sophie (b. Detmold, 16 August 1599 - d. Köthen, 19 March 1654), daughter of Simon VI, Count of Lippe
. They had two children:
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
, 17 June 1579 – Köthen, 7 January 1650), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the unified principality of Anhalt
Anhalt
Anhalt was a sovereign county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Dukes of Anhalt :...
. From 1603, he was ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen
Anhalt-Köthen
Anhalt-Köthen has existed on two separate occasions. The first state was created in 1396 when the Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1552 when it was inherited by Anhalt-Dessau....
. He was also a founder of the first German Society (the Fruitbearing Society
Fruitbearing Society
The Fruitbearing Society was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility to emulate the idea of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence and similar groups already thriving in Italy, to be followed in later years also in France and Britain...
).
Louis was the seventh son of Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt
Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt
Joachim Ernest of Anhalt , was a German prince of the House of Ascania, ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and from 1570 sole ruler of all the Anhalt lands....
, but fifth-born son of his second wife Eleonore, daughter of Christoph, Duke of Württemberg
Christoph, Duke of Württemberg
Christoph of Württemberg, Duke of Württemberg ruled as Duke of Württemberg from 1550 until his death in 1568....
.
Life
After the death of his father in 1586, Louis inherited the principality of Anhalt jointly with his half- and full brothers. The youngest of all the sons of Joachim Ernest who survived adulthood, he grew up in Dessau at the court of his older brother and guardian, John George I.From 1596 to 1597 the seventeen-year-old Louis made a Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
of Europe by traveling to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and 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...
. By the beginning of 1598 he was in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, then visited Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where he remained until 1602. During a stay in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Louis was accepted (with the assistance of his Italian tutor Bastiano de' Rossi) as the first German member of the Accademia della Crusca
Accademia della Crusca
The Accademia della Crusca is an Italian society for scholars and Italian linguists and philologists established in Florence. After the Accademia Cosentina, it is the oldest Italian academy still in existence...
, in which he was known by the name "L'Acceso."
In 1603 a formal division of the principality of Anhalt was agreed upon by the surviving co-rulers. Louis received Köthen, where he took up his principal residence.
Militarily and politically Louis remained cautious, preferring to promote agriculture vigorously. He built his new Schloss (official residence) in Italian style and had his court adopt Italian manners. With his financial support, a major educational initiative was launched in Köthen in 1619 under the auspices of Wolfgang Ratke
Wolfgang Ratke
Wolfgang Ratke was a German educational reformer.-Early life:...
. Problems with the local clergy led to Ratke's imprisonment for eight months, and Louis left this project incomplete.
On the occasion of the funeral of his sister Dorothea Maria
Dorothea Maria of Anhalt
Dorothea Maria of Anhalt , was by birth a member of the House of Ascania and princess of Anhalt...
, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, on 24 August 1617, the seneschal Kaspar von Teutleben proposed the establishment of a society on the model of the Accademia della Crusca. The creation of the Fruitbearing Society
Fruitbearing Society
The Fruitbearing Society was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility to emulate the idea of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence and similar groups already thriving in Italy, to be followed in later years also in France and Britain...
was decided upon and Louis was appointed its first leader, a post he held until his death. As a member, Louis used the Latin motto "Vita mihi Christ, morse lucrum."
During the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
transferred the governorship of the Dioceses of Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
and Halberstadt
Halberstadt
Halberstadt is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the capital of the district of Harz. It is located on the German Half-Timbered House Road and the Magdeburg–Thale railway....
to Louis. This provoked the anger of Count Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre , Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of first Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina.Oxenstierna...
, who desired that post. This was also a source of tension in the Fruitbearing Society, because Oxenstierna was a member.
Marriages and Issue
In RhedaRheda
Rheda may refer to:* Hreða, an obscure Anglo-Saxon goddess*Rheda, Germany, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany* Reda, Poland, a town in Pomeranian Voivodeship, PolandSee also* Reda...
on 31 October 1606 Louis married Amöena Amalie (b. Bentheim
Bentheim
County of Bentheim is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe, the district of Emsland, and the districts of Steinfurt and Borken in North Rhine-Westphalia.- History :The District has roughly the same territory as the County of...
, 19 March 1586 - d. Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
, 8 September 1625), daughter of Arnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-Limburg, and younger sister of Anna, the wife of Prince Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg, Louis's older brother. They had two children:
- Louis, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-KöthenLouis of Anhalt-Köthen (the Younger)Louis of Anhalt-Köthen, called The Younger , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and heir to the principality of Anhalt-Köthen....
(b. Köthen, 19 October 1607 - d. Köthen, 15 March 1624). - Louise Amöena (b. Köthen, 28 November 1609 - d. Harderwyck, GeldernGeldernGeldern ) is a city in the northwest of the federal state North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the district of Cleves, which is part of the Düsseldorfadministrative region.-Location:...
, 26 March 1625).
The death of his only son left Louis without an heir, but it was only after the death of his wife eighteen months later that he decided to find a new wife who bore the needed heir to his principality.
In Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
on 12 September 1626 Louis married for a second time to Sophie (b. Detmold, 16 August 1599 - d. Köthen, 19 March 1654), daughter of Simon VI, Count of Lippe
Simon VI, Count of Lippe
Count Simon VI of Lippe was an imperial count and ruler of the County of Lippe from 1563 until his death.- Life :...
. They had two children:
- Amalie Louise (b. Köthen, 29 July 1634 - d. Köthen, 3 October 1635).
- William Louis, Prince of Anhalt-KöthenWilliam Louis, Prince of Anhalt-KöthenWilliam Louis of Anhalt-Köthen , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen....
(b. Köthen, 3 August 1638 - d. Köthen, 13 April 1665).