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Principality of Reuss-Greiz (1778?1848) Furstentum Reuß-Greiz Principality of the Reuss Elder Line (1848?1918) Furstentum Reuß alterer Linie
1778?1918
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Ich Bau Auf Gott "I build on God"
Anthem:   Gott, erhalt' in Deiner Gnaden Unsern Fursten "God, Save in Your Mercy Our Prince"
Reuss-Greiz within the German Empire
Reuss-Greiz within Thuringia
Capital	Greiz
Government	Principality
Prince
? 1778?1800	Heinrich XI
? 1800?1817	Heinrich XIII
? 1817?1836	Heinrich XIX
? 1836?1859	Heinrich XX
? 1859?1902	Heinrich XXII
? 1902?1918	Heinrich XXIV
Minister of State
? 1782?1833	Franz von Grun (first)
? 1901?1918	Ernst von Meding (last)
History
? Established	12 May 1778
? Disestablished	11 November 1918
Preceded by Succeeded by Imperial County of Reuss People's State of Reuss

The Principality of Reuss-Greiz ( German : Furstentum Reuß-Greiz ), officially called the Principality of the Reuss Elder Line ( German : Furstentum Reuß alterer Linie ) after 1848, was a sovereign state in the German Empire, ruled by members of the House of Reuss . The Counts Reuss of Greiz, Lower-Greiz and Upper-Greiz ( German : Reuß zu Greiz, Untergreiz und Obergreiz ) were elevated to princely status in 1778 and thereafter bore the title of Prince Reuss, Elder Line , or Prince Reuss of Greiz .

Similarly to the more numerous Reuss Junior Line , the male members of this house were all named "Heinrich", in honour of Emperor Heinrich VI , who had benefited the family. They were numbered sequentially by birth, rather than by reign, with the last series beginning with Heinrich I (born 1693) and ending with Heinrich XXIV (1878?1927).

The territory had an area of 317 km ² and over 72,000 inhabitants in 1910.

Reuss-Greiz preserved the Frankfurt Parliament flag, which later became the flag of Germany .

Territory [ edit ]

In 1919, in the aftermath of World War I , the territory of the Elder Line was merged with that of the Junior Line as the People's State of Reuss , which was incorporated into the new state of Thuringia in 1920. The Elder Line died out in 1927 with the death of the childless Heinrich XXIV , after which its claims were passed to the Junior Line.

• 
  The Upper Castle at Greiz
• 
  The Lower Castle at Greiz

Princes of Reuss-Greiz (1778?1918) [ edit ]

Notable figures [ edit ]

• Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz , second wife of former German Emperor Wilhelm II
• Princess Caroline Reuss of Greiz , wife of Wilhelm Ernst, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
• Prince Heinrich XV of Reuss-Plauen , Generalfeldmarschall of the Holy Roman Empire

See also [ edit ]

• Flag of Germany , whose modern colors match those of the Reuss-Greiz principality