Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Eberhard Louis
Duke of Württemberg
Reign23 June 1677 –
31 October 1733
PredecessorWilliam Louis
SuccessorCharles Alexander
Born(1676-09-18)18 September 1676
Stuttgart, Germany
Died31 October 1733(1733-10-31) (aged 57)
Ludwigsburg, Germany
Spouse
Joanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach
(m. 1697)
Lutheran
Coat of arms

Duke Eberhard Louis (18 September 1676 – 31 October 1733) was the

Duke of Württemberg
, from 1692 until 1733.

Biography

A cherub paints the portrait of Duke Eberhard Ludwig in this 1711 mural by Luca Antonio Colomba in the Ludwigsburg Palace

Eberhard Louis was born in Stuttgart the third child of Duke William Louis and his wife, Magdalena Sibylla of Hesse-Darmstadt. After the early and unexpected death of his father in 1677, the royal court decided to give guardianship to his uncle, Frederick Charles, Duke of Württemberg-Winnental.

In 1693, Magdalena Sibylla had the 16-year-old Eberhard Louis prematurely proclaimed Duke of Württemberg by Emperor

Joanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach
.

In 1707 he became the field marshal of the Swabian troops in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Shortly before 1700, he visited

Louis XIV of France at the Palace of Versailles and planned to make Württemberg an absolutist state. He raised taxes, but financing still remained an obstacle. In 1704, he laid the foundation for his Ludwigsburg Palace. To save money, he allowed the workers to reside tax-free around the palace for 15 years. Later, the city of Ludwigsburg
developed out of these residences.

As of 1711, Eberhard Louis spent ever more time in Ludwigsburg, usually in the company of his mistress, Wilhelmine von Grävenitz, whom he married in 1707. Because of pressure from the emperor, the marriage had to be quickly dissolved, and Grävenitz went into exile. Eberhard Louis followed her to Switzerland, where they stayed until 1710. The influential mistress was only allowed to return to the royal court once she had married another man, Graf von Würben. For over two decades, Grävenitz had a strong influence on the government of the land, and it was she who, together with Eberhard Ludwig, moved the royal residence and capital of the duchy from Stuttgart to the sparsely populated city of Ludwigsburg. Duchess Joanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach stayed in the royal palace in Stuttgart.

Because of the early death of his heir,

Prince Frederick Louis, in 1731, the power threatened to shift into Catholic hands, which was unthinkable for Protestant Württemberg. Thus Duke Eberhard Louis dissolved his relations with Wilhelmine von Grävenitz and hoped to receive an heir from his legitimate and long ignored wife, Joanna Elisabeth. However, as he died in Ludwigsburg of a stroke on October 31, 1733, he left no heir behind. The duchy then fell into the hands of his converted cousin, Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg
of the bloodline Württemberg-Winnental, though only for a few years.

Tolerance

For his time, Eberhard Louis was a very tolerant ruler, commonly noted by modern scholars as "enlightened."

Roman Catholic, whom Eberhard Louis guaranteed freedom from religious persecution.[2]

Ancestors

Citations

  1. ^ Owens 2011, p. 169.
  2. ^ Owens 2011, pp. 169–70"...that neither me nor my wife will be attacked or troubled because of our profession of the Roman Catholic religion; therefore, the same shall be practised by us in a neighboring village." —Johann Christoph Pez

References

  • Owens, Samantha; Reul, Barbara M.; Stockigt, Janice B., eds. (2011). "The Court of Württemberg-Stuttgart". Music at German Courts, 1715–1760: Changing Artistic Priorities. Foreword by Michael Talbot. Suffolk, UK: .
Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg
House of Württemberg
Born: 18 September 1676 Died: 31 October 1733
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Duke of Württemberg

1677–1733
Succeeded by
Charles I Alexander