Victor II, Duke of Ratibor


Victor II, Duke of Ratibor, Prince of Corvey, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst was a member of House of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst and Duke of the Silesian duchy of Ratibor.

Early life and family

Victor was born at Schloss Rauden, Kingdom of Prussia, eldest son of Victor I, Duke of Ratibor, and his wife, Princess Amélie of Fürstenberg,.
Ratibor studied Law in Bonn and Göttingen and was a member of the Corps Borussia and Saxonia. In Saxonia was also were his four brothers, Max, Karl Egon, Franz and Egon.

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.
In 1913 he became honorary citizen of Breslau.

Marriage

Victor married 19 June 1877 at Vienna to Countess Maria Breunner-Enkevoirth, daughter of Count August Breunner-Enkevoirth, and his wife, Countess Agatha Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsövidék.
They had four children: