Paul Friedrich (Mecklenburg)

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Grand Duke Paul Friedrich

Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg [-Schwerin] (born September 15, 1800 in Ludwigslust ; † March 7, 1842 in Schwerin ) was Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in the Mecklenburg-Schwerin region .

Origin and life

Grave in Schwerin Cathedral

He was the son of the Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ludwig, who died in 1819, and the Russian Grand Duchess Helena Pawlowna Romanowa, as well as a grandson of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I.

After home education and training, Paul Friedrich studied languages in Geneva from the end of 1814 . Here he was also confirmed. He began his academic studies in Jena in 1818 and continued later in Rostock . The death of his father Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Ludwig in 1819 brought his studies to an abrupt end. Paul Friedrich then became the heir of his grandfather Friedrich Franz I and consequently Hereditary Grand Duke. After his grandfather's death, he became Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in the Schwerin region in 1837.

Paul Friedrich died on March 7, 1842 of the consequences of a severe cold that had not been fully cured, which he had contracted on January 24, 1842 while fighting the major fire at Schwerin Pfaffenteich. Grand Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg was buried on March 19, 1842 in the Holy Blood Chapel of Schwerin Cathedral. In 1852 his coffin, which had only been covered with a velvet cover, was reburied in the bronze sarcophagus made in Regensburg.

Act

Paul Friedrich improved the legal system and the infrastructure in the Grand Duchy. After more than seventy years, he moved the royal seat from Ludwigslust to Schwerin and planned a new palace here (today's Schwerin State Museum ) because the old palace no longer met its representative tasks. After the death of Paul Friedrich, his son Friedrich Franz II had construction work on the new palace interrupted. He later decided to convert the old castle.

Grand Duke Paul Friedrich was considered to be the modernizer of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin military. His reforms are based on the Prussian example . In 1837 he introduced the Prussian drill regulations of 1812. The construction of the Schwerin arsenal and the establishment of the Grand Ducal Military Education Institute after his death were also the result of his reform efforts.

Grand Duke Paul Friedrich was also the founder and namesake of Paulsstadt and Paulsdamm in Schwerin.

The extensive expansion of the Mecklenburg road network was also continued during his reign . The Grand Duke also supported the planning for the construction of railway lines in Mecklenburg, but he did not live to see the start of construction.

Military career

Paul Friedrich had to join the Mecklenburg military at the age of ten. From then on he was led as a second lieutenant in the Ludwigsluster Grenadier Guard Battalion . On April 24, 1822, the young Hereditary Grand Duke was appointed Major General in Mecklenburg-Schwerin . Only a month later he married a daughter of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. On October 1, 1824, the Prussian king granted his son-in-law the rank of Prussian major general and appointed him chief of the 24th Infantry Regiment garrisoned in Frankfurt an der Oder .

With effect from March 31, 1830 Paul Friedrich took over the task of the general inspector of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin military. So he was able to get an overview of the state of the Mecklenburg military at an early stage. After the death of his grandfather Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke Paul Friedrich took over the military leadership of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin troops. He also appointed himself chief of the Grenadier Guard Battalion on October 23, 1837 .

His promotion to Prussian Lieutenant General on March 20, 1838 marked the end of his military career.

Marriage and offspring

Paul Friedrich married on May 25, 1822 Alexandrine of Prussia (1803-1892), daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III. and Queen Luise of Prussia .

⚭ 1849 Auguste Reuss zu Schleiz-Köstritz (1822–1862)
⚭ 1864 Anna of Hesse and the Rhine (1843–1865)
⚭ 1868 Marie von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1850–1922)
⚭ Hugo Prince of Windisch-Graetz (1823–1904)
⚭ 1865 Alexandrine of Prussia (1842–1906)

Awards

(Source: Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Handbook 1841 )

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Memorial culture

Commemorative coin

5 thaler commemorative coin commemorating the death of Paul Friedrich
Back with date of death

Commemorative coins were minted in 1842 to mark the death of the Grand Duke. On the front ( obverse ) they show the right-hand bust framed by the name . On the reverse side ( lapel ), on the other hand, there is the lettering framed by a cypress wreath: ⋆ VOLLENDET D. 7. MARZ 1842.

Paul Friedrich Monument

Paul Friedrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin was erected a memorial in 1849 . The memorial, financed by donations, was created by the Berlin sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch .

The first work began as early as 1846. In August, the Mecklenburg granite for the base was delivered and the artist made a first clay model. The casting of the statue in July 1848 in the Einsiedel foundry in Lauchhammer was the highlight of the work. After the granite plinth had also been completed, the ceremonial inauguration in the Old Garden took place on February 23, 1849 .

The statue shows the idealized Grand Duke in military clothing. The donors had the three-part granite base marked with the simple inscription "Your Paul Friedrich die Stadt Schwerin MDCCCXLIX".

In 1935 the memorial had to give way because the National Socialists needed the Old Garden for their staged marches. The statue was then moved to the castle lake wing of Schwerin Castle.

In 2011 the 3.42 meter high bronze figure was extensively restored.

literature

Web links

Commons : Paul Friedrich  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Enrollment entry by Paul Friedrich von Mecklenburg . In: Rostocker Matriculation Portal , accessed on November 17, 2016.
  2. ^ Grand-Ducal Schwerin State Calendar 1838 . New annals of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1837. Published by the Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1838, p. 243 .
  3. ^ A b Klaus-Ullrich Keubke: Soldiers from Mecklenburg, Life Pictures from 1701–1871. Writings of the studio for portrait and history painting, Schwerin 2004, ISBN 3-00-014908-2 , p. 59.
  4. ↑ Allgemeine Preußische Staats-Zeitung . German states. No. 84 . Berlin March 21, 1842, p. 354 .
  5. ^ Otto Vitense: History of Mecklenburg . Friedrich Andreas Perthes AG, Gotha 1920, p. 438 .
  6. ^ Wilhelm Jesse: History of the city of Schwerin, from the first beginnings to the present. Volume 1. Verlag von Ludwig Davids, Schwerin 1913, p. 52 f.
  7. ↑ The coffin was temporarily moved to the chapel due to the renovation work; it was only moved back to the chapel in 1847.
  8. ^ Wilhelm Jesse: History of the city of Schwerin, from the first beginnings to the present. Volume 2. Printed and published by the Bärensprungschen Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1920, p. 405.
  9. ↑ Bernd Kasten, Matthias Manke, René Wiese: The Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2015, p. 64 ff.
  10. ^ Otto Vitense: History of Mecklenburg . Friedrich Andreas Perthes AG, Gotha 1920, p. 439 .
  11. ^ Lothar Schultz: Railways in Mecklenburg , Transpress Verlag für Verkehrwesen, Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-344-00068-3 , p. 17.
  12. ↑ a b Kurd Wolfgang von Schöning : The Generals of the Chur-Brandenburg and Royal Prussian Army from 1640-1840. Print Gebr. Unger, p. 282
  13. ↑ awarded on March 10, 1837 cf. State manual of the Grand Duchy of Saxony for the year 1840. Albrechtsche Hof-Buchdruckerei, Weimar 1840, p. 7.
  14. ^ Bernhard von Koehne (ed.): Journal for coin, seal and coat of arms. Second year. Verlag Ernst Siegfried Mittler, Berlin 1842, p. 322 f.
  15. ↑ Klaus-Ullrich Keubke: Schwerin continuity in transition: buildings, monuments, bodies of water, squares and streets. Writings of the studio for portrait and history painting, Schwerin 2002, ISBN 3-00-009679-5 , p. 99.
  16. ↑ Frank Hösel: Bronze monument of the Grand Duke Paul Friedrich. In: State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation (ed.): Cultural heritage in Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania. Volume 8. Schwerin 2014, pp. 205 f.
predecessor Office successor
Friedrich Franz I. Grand Duke of Mecklenburg [-Schwerin]
1837–1842 		Friedrich Franz II.
personal data
SURNAME Paul Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Grand Duke of Mecklenburg
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1800
PLACE OF BIRTH Ludwigslust
DATE OF DEATH March 7, 1842
Place of death Schwerin