Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Ludwig Adolf Friedrich, 2nd Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg (8 June 1799 – 20 June 1866), from 1861 Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, was a Russo-German aristocrat. Among his properties were the famed Mir Castle Complex and Verkiai Palace. Early life Ludwig was born on 8 June 1799 in Kovno, Vilna Governorate. He was the eldest child of the celebrated German-Russian field marshal, Peter, 1st Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg. Ludwig was half-Polish through his mother, Antonia Cäcilie Snarska (1778–1856), and was formally known in Russian as Lev Petrovich Vitgenshtein. On his paternal side, he was descended from a family of ruling German Counts whose seat was in Berleburg (present day North Rhine-Westphalia) and his grandparents were Count Christian Louis Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg and his, first wife, Countess Amalie Ludowika Finck von Finckenstein (1740-1771). His maternal grandparents were Count Stanislaw Snarski (b. 1752) and his wife, Maria Kazimiera Swolinska (b. 1756). Career In 1821, he represented Russia at the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom, but his career came to a halt when his participation in the Decembrist societies was revealed in 1826. He secured a pardon through the intervention of his influential father.