Felix von Bethmann Hollweg

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Felix von Bethmann Hollweg

Felix von Bethmann Hollweg (* December 21, 1824 at Rheineck Castle ; † February 20, 1900 in Hohenfinow ) was a Prussian district administrator , landlord, member of the Reichstag ( Free Conservative Party ) and the Prussian manor house . His son Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg was German Chancellor from 1909 to 1917 .

Life

Felix von Bethmann Hollweg was born in 1824 as the second son of the lawyer and later politician ( weekly newspaper party ) Moritz August von Bethmann-Hollweg at Rheineck Castle near Bad Breisig . His grandfather was Johann Jakob Bethmann-Hollweg , a Frankfurt banker. With his financial legacy, Felix von Bethmann Hollweg was able to acquire the orphaned Hohenfinow estate near Berlin in 1855 and, according to his father's acidic comment, to be “ finally adopted by Prussia ”.

Felix von Bethmann Hollweg was his father's counterpart in many areas. In 1866, during the German War , he hoped that the Prussian spirit would awaken against Austria and contradicted his grandfather, who always spoke of a " fratricidal war ". His father had been a member of the liberal weekly newspaper party, but he felt close to the conservatism of the Ostelbier from the start. He considered democracy “ pathetic ” and “ good for nothing but chatting ”.

In the summer of 1853, Felix von Bethmann Hollweg stayed with his brother-in-law Albert von Pourtalès in Oberhofen on Lake Thun . There he met the cousin of his host, Isabella von Rougemont, a Swiss descendant of a Huguenot family . The Rougemonts had a well-to-do lifestyle and spent the winters in their city apartment in Paris . Bethmann Hollweg asked for Isabella's hand and took her home to Hohenfinow. There she gave birth to her second son, Theobald, on November 29, 1856. Grandfather Moritz August wrote in retrospect about this event: “ In November, Mama [his wife] went from Berlin to Hohenfinow to see Isabella's birth, the birth of our dear Theobald, the heir to the grandfather's sense of science. "

He led his family with patriarchal severity. The upbringing of his sons should make them dutiful men. Gerhard von Mutius , Bethmann Hollweg's nephew, wrote that he was " fiery and violent down to the white hair ". More subtle traits lay in his above-average musicality. Bethmann Hollweg was Felix Mendelssohn's vocal student in Leipzig in his youth .

From 1874 Felix von Bethmann Hollweg was district administrator of the Oberbarnim district . In Bad Freienwalde he made lasting contributions to road construction. The budget of the Kreissparkasse grew under him from 750,000 marks to 5 million marks.

In 1877, Bethmann Hollweg was elected to the Reichstag for the Free Conservative Party . He filled the parliamentary post with no interest and only until 1878. In 1886 his son Theobald followed him to the district office, which is why he devoted himself to his estate for three years. In 1889 the appointment to the Prussian mansion was made by the new emperor and king Wilhelm II. As crown prince, he had been hunting several times in Hohenfinow and shot his first roebuck there. On his 75th birthday, the Kaiser appointed Bethmann Hollweg to the Real Privy Council with the title “Excellence”. At the same time, the gentleman resigned from Hohenfinow.

In 1900 Felix von Bethmann Hollweg died in Hohenfinow. Like his son Theobald later, he was buried on the property.

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personal data
SURNAME Bethmann Hollweg, Felix von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian district administrator, landlord and politician (Free Conservative Party), Member of the Parliament and the Prussian manor house
DATE OF BIRTH December 21, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH Rheineck Castle
DATE OF DEATH February 20, 1900
Place of death Hohenfinow