Albrecht VII, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

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Albrecht VII of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (16 January 1537 – 10 April 1605) was Count of Schwarzburg and founder of the Line of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, which later received the title of Prince. He was the youngest of the surviving sons of Count Günther XL of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg and his wife Countess Elisabeth zu Ysenburg-Büdingen in Birstein.

All possessions, which were united under his father, came after the death of Günther XL in 1552 to his four surviving sons, Günther XLI, Johann Günther, Wilhelm I and Albrecht VII, who divided their country in 1571. After the deaths of childless Günther XLI in 1583 and Wilhelm I in 1597, his possessions were divided between the still living brothers Johann Günther and Albrecht VII. This partition became the beginning of two lines of the house of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, both of which existed until the post-World War I major governmental changes of 1918.

Albrecht, studied at several German universities and in Padua. From 1557 he resided at the court of the Princes of Orange-Nassau. He served from 1563 under his brother Günther in the army of King of Denmark and from 1573 lived in Rudolstadt.

[edit] Family and children

He was married two times. Firstly, on 14 June 1575 he married with Countess Juliana of Nassau-Dillenburg, daughter of Count William I of Nassau-Dillenburg and had the following children:

  1. Count Karl Günther I of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (6 November 1576 – 24 September 1630)
  2. Elisabeth Juliane (1 January 1578 – 28 March 1658)
  3. Sophie (1 March 1579 – 24 August 1630), married on 30 March 1595 to Count Jobst II of Barby-Mühlingen
  4. Magdalene (12 April 1580 – 22 April 1632), married on 22 May 1597 to Heinrich II Reuss zu Gera
  5. Count Ludwig Günther I of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (27 May 1581 – 4 November 1646)
  6. Albrecht Günther I (8 August 1582 – 20 January 1634)
  7. Anna Sybilla (14 March 1584 – 22 August 1623), married on 15 November 1612 to Count Christian Günther I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
  8. Katharina Maria (13 July 1585 – 19 January 1659)
  9. Katharina Susanna (13 February 1587 – 19 April 1662)
  10. Heinrich Günther, died young in 1589

Secondly, on 2 March 1591 he married with Countess Albertine Elisabeth of Leiningen-Westerburg, but this marriage was childless.