page_title: Imperial County of Reuss
section_title: Main partition
hierarchical_section_title: Imperial County of Reuss / History of the various states / Main partition
caption_attribution_description: 18th century map of the Reuss principalities, Thuringia, Germany
context_page_description: Reuss was the name of several historical states located in present-day Thuringia, Germany. Its rulers, the House of Reuss, named all of their male children Heinrich after the end of the 12th century in honour of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, to whom they owed the estates of Weida and Gera. The head of each branch of the family bore the German title Fürst as did their male children.
context_section_description: In 1564 the sons of Henry XIII of Reuss at Greiz divided the estates into
  Reuss at Lower Greiz, descendants of Henry XIV the Elder
  Reuss at Upper Greiz, descendants of Henry XV the Middle
  Reuss at Gera, descendants of Henry XVI the Younger.
  While the Middle Reuss became extinct in 1616, the Older and Younger lines were divided again several times until in 1778 Count Henry XI united the possessions of Upper and Lower Greiz to the Principality of Reuss Elder Line. In return the remaining estates of Gera, considerably larger though, became the Principality of Reuss Younger Line in 1806.
  The two remaining Reuss principalities went on to join in turn the German Confederation (in 1815). Henry XXII of Reuss Elder line is notable among the more modern princes of this house for his enmity to Prussia, which he opposed in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, when the Prussian troops occupied his domain. Henry joined the North German Confederation and the new German Empire (1871). He alone of all the confederate princes remained until his death (1902) an implacable enemy of Prince Bismarck and of the conditions created in Germany by the foundation of the empire. His daughter Hermine Reuss of Greiz however became the second wife of the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II later. His son, Heinrich XXIV, Prince Reuss of Greiz (1878–1927), being incapable of ruling, the regency passed to the ruling prince of the younger line of Reuss. Both lines lost their thrones in German Revolution of 1918–19.
  Of both lines, only the Köstritz side branch of the Younger Line still exists today; their main seat is Ernstbrunn Castle in Austria, although the family regained some properties in the former Reuss states following German Reunification in 1990.
caption: The Reuss territories in the 18th century: Green: Reuss elder line (Greiz, Burgk)Red: Reuss-Gera (with Saalburg)Yellow: Reuss-SchleizBrown: Reuss-Lobenstein
exif: {}