Viktor II, Duke of Ratibor
Victor II, Duke of Ratibor, Prince of Corvey, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (German: Viktor Amadeus 2. Herzog von Ratibor, 2. Fürst von Corvey, Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst; 6 September 1847 – 9 August 1923) was a member of the House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst and Duke of the Silesian duchy of Ratibor (Polish: Racibórz).
Victor II | |||||
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Duke of Ratibor, Prince of Corvey, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | |||||
![]() Victor II painting by Philip de László, 1898 | |||||
Born | Rauden Castle, Kingdom of Prussia | 6 September 1847||||
Died | 9 August 1923 75) Corvey Abbey, Weimar Republic | (aged||||
Spouse | Countess Maria Breunner-Enkevoirth | ||||
Issue |
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House | Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | ||||
Father | Victor I, Duke of Ratibor | ||||
Mother | Princess Amélie of Fürstenberg |
Early life and family
Victor was born at Rauden Castle, Kingdom of Prussia, eldest son of Victor I, Duke of Ratibor (1818–1893), (son of Franz Joseph, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst and Princess Constanze of Hohenlohe-Langenburg) and his wife, Princess Amélie of Fürstenberg (1821–1899), (daughter of Karl Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg and Princess Amalie of Baden).
He studied Law in Bonn and Göttingen and was a member of the Corps Borussia (1867) and Corps Saxonia (1890). In Saxonia were also his four brothers, Max, Karl Egon, Franz (Colonel à la suite) and Egon (Lord Chamberlain).
Military career
After making his Doctorate in Law he entered the Potsdamer Life Guards Hussar Regiment in which he fought during the Franco-Prussian War.
Political career
Between 1873 and 1876 he worked at the German Embassy in Vienna. In 1893 he took over the dominions Kieferstädtel and Zembowitz in Upper Silesia.
From 1897 to 1921 he was Chairman of the Silesia Province respectively of the Upper Silesian provincial parliament. As a member of the Free Conservative Party, he ran in 1885 and 1888 for the Prussian House of Representatives. Since 1893, he was a member of the Prussian House of Lords. From 1896 to 1904 he was chairman of the New Coalition Party.
Marriage
![](../I/Laszlo_-_Duchess_Viktor_of_Ratibor.jpg.webp)
Victor married 19 June 1877 at Vienna to Countess Maria Breunner-Enkevoirth (1856–1929), daughter of Count August Breunner-Enkevoirth, and his wife, Countess Agatha Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsövidék.
They had four children:
- Victor III, Duke of Ratibor (2 February 1879, Rauden – 11 November 1945, Corvey), married in 1910 to Princess Elisabeth of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg (1886–1976), had issue.
- Prince Hans of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (8 March 1882, Rauden – 5 January 1948, Walkersdorf Castle), married in 1918 to Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz (1898–1992), no issue.
- Princess Agatha of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (24 July 1888, Rauden – 12 December 1960, Wiesbaden), married in 1910 to Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia (1880–1925), had issue.
- Princess Margaret of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (3 Mar 1894, Rauden – 23 May 1973, Corvey)
Honours, awards and arms
Military appointments
- Major general à la suite of the Prussian Army[1]
- Honorary Citizen of Breslau, 1913
Orders and decorations
Kingdom of Prussia:[1]
- Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class on Black Band[2]
- Knight of the Prussian Crown, 1st Class, 8 February 1893[3]
- Knight of the Black Eagle, with Collar
- Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
- Red Cross Medal, 3rd Class
Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class[1]
Baden:[4]
- Knight of the Zähringer Lion, 1st Class with Swords and Oak Leaves, 1872
- Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1893
- Knight of the Order of Berthold the First, 1893
Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order[1]
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon[1]
Kingdom of Saxony: Grand Cross of the Albert Order, with Golden Star, 1898[5]
Schaumburg-Lippe: Military Merit Medal[1]
Austria-Hungary: Commander of the Order of Franz Joseph, 1876[6]
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion[1]
Persian Empire: Order of the Lion and the Sun, 1st Class[1]
Sweden-Norway: Commander Grand Cross of the North Star, 7 September 1893[7]
Arms
![](../I/Ratibor-Corvey-Hohenlohe-Wappen.png.webp)
Ancestry
Ancestors of Viktor II, Duke of Ratibor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes and sources
- Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser, Reference: 1956
References
- "Offiziere à la suite der Armee", Rangliste de Königlich Preußischen Armee (in German), Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn, 1914, p. 37 – via hathitrust.org
- "Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), Berlin, 3: 770, 1877 – via hathitrust.org
- "Königliche Kronen-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 67 – via hathitrust.org
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - "Großherzogliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden, Karlsruhe, 1896, pp. 64, 80 – via blb-karlsruhe.de
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Sachsen (1901). "Königlich Orden". Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901. Dresden: Heinrich. p. 163 – via hathitrust.org.
- "Franz Joseph-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1914, p. 192, retrieved 15 November 2021
- Sveriges statskalender (PDF) (in Swedish), 1895, p. 463, retrieved 16 November 2021 – via gupea.ub.gu.se