Principality of Reuss-Gera

Principality of Reuss-Gera Fürstentum Reuß-Gera  (German)
1806–1918
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Ich bau auf Gott "I build on God"
Anthem: Heil unserm Fürsten, Heil! "Hail to our Prince, Hail!"
Reuss Junior Line within the German Empire
Reuss Junior Line within Thuringia
Capital	Gera
Government	Principality
Prince
• 1806–1818	Heinrich XLII
• 1818–1854	Heinrich LXII
• 1854–1867	Heinrich LXVII
• 1867–1913	Heinrich XIV
• 1913–1918	Heinrich XXVII
Minister of State
• 1825–1839	Gustav von Strauch
• 1918	Paul Ruckdeschel
History
• Established	9 April 1806
• Disestablished	11 November 1918
Area
1905	827 km2 (319 sq mi)
Population
• 1905	144570
Preceded by Succeeded by Imperial County of Reuss People's State of Reuss

The Principality of Reuss-Gera (German: Fürstentum Reuß-Gera), called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line (German: Fürstentum Reuß jüngerer Linie) after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Reuss. It was one of the successor states of the Imperial County of Reuss. The Counts Reuss of Gera, of Schleiz, of Lobenstein, of Köstritz and of Ebersdorf, each became princes in 1806, and they and their reigning successors bore the title of Prince of Reuss-Gera. One may also refer to them using their branch names (for example: Prince Reuss of Köstriz).

Territory

The territories of four separate branches of the Junior Line amalgamated between 1824 and 1848. In 1905, the principality of the Reuss Junior Line had an area of 827 km² (319 square miles) and a population of 145,000, with Gera as its capital.

In the aftermath of World War I, the territory of the Junior Line merged with that of the Elder Line in 1919 as the People's State of Reuss, which became part of the new state of Thuringia on 1 May 1920.

The princely house

The House of Reuss practises an unusual system of naming and numbering the male members of the family, every one of whom for centuries has borne the name "Heinrich". While most royal and noble houses give numbers only to the reigning head of the house, and that in the order of his reign, the Reuss Junior Line used a numbering sequence for all male family members which began and ended roughly as centuries began and ended.

In consequence of this naming system, certain heads of the Reuss Junior Line have had the highest numbers attached to their name of any European nobility. Note also that the male children within a single nuclear family need not bear sequential numbers, as all members of the larger family use a common numbering system. For example, the sons of Prince Heinrich LXVII Reuss of Schleiz, in order of their births, used the names Heinrich V, Heinrich VIII, Heinrich XI, Heinrich XIV, and Heinrich XVI.

A notable member of this family, Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf (1757–1831), became the maternal grandmother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

The designation of "Junior Line" fell into abeyance in 1930; the Elder Line had become extinct as its last male member, Heinrich XXIV, renounced his rights in 1918 and died unmarried in 1927.

Other notable figures

• Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz (1822–1862)
• Prince Heinrich XXIV Reuss of Köstritz (1855–1910), composer
• Princess Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz (1860–1917), Tsaritsa of Bulgaria
• Prince Heinrich XXXII Reuss of Köstritz, heir presumptive to Wilhelmina of the Netherlands until 1909
• Princess Magdalena Reuss of Köstritz, wife of Prince Hubertus of Prussia

References