Adalbert of Prussia (1811–1873)

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Adalbert of Prussia
Monument to Prince Adalbert in Wilhelmshaven

Prince Heinrich Wilhelm Adalbert of Prussia (born October 29, 1811 in Berlin , † June 6, 1873 in Karlsbad ) was a son of Princess Marianne and Prince Wilhelm , the youngest brother of King Friedrich Wilhelm III . He was considered an expert on naval affairs and appeared in various navies as a consultant.

Life until 1848

Adalbert joined the Prussian army and served in the artillery . Several trips took him between 1826 and 1842 to the Netherlands , Great Britain , Russia , Turkey , Greece and Brazil .

Prince Adalbert developed an interest in naval issues at an early age and recognized during his many sea voyages the importance of naval forces for a modern trading and industrial nation. He dealt in detail with the theory of naval warfare and in 1835/1836 wrote a first plan for the construction of a Prussian fleet . As a continentally oriented land power, Prussia had practically no navy of its own at that time , but relied on the allied powers Great Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark . During the Schleswig-Holstein War (1848-1851) this strategy failed because Great Britain and the Netherlands remained neutral and Denmark became an opponent of the war. Within a few days, the Danish Navy brought German maritime trade in the North and Baltic Seas to a standstill.

The Reichsflotte 1848 to 1852

The Frankfurt National Assembly decided with “a majority bordering on unanimity” to set up its own German imperial fleet and to entrust Prince Adalbert with the management of the “Technical Naval Commission”. He presented his ideas in a "memorandum on the formation of a German fleet" (Potsdam 1848). In this maritime strategy document, which is still considered today, he distinguishes three types of fleets:

  • A navy for purely defensive coastal defense,
  • one for offensive defense and the most necessary protection of trade or
  • an independent sea power

Adalbert himself advocated the middle solution, because it did not provoke the great naval powers , but gave the German navy an important alliance value. In February 1849 Adalbert resigned from the Reichsflotte and then actively pursued the establishment of a Prussian Navy .

Prussian Navy from 1852

Solemn takeover of the jade region by Prince Adalbert of Prussia

After the failure of the revolution, in 1852 he urged Prussia to build a naval base on the North Sea . He arranged for the cession of an area on the west bank of the Inner Jade and on the northwest bank of the Jadebusen as agreed in the Jade Treaty of July 20, 1853 between Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg . The ceremonial takeover of the Jade area took place in the presence of Prince Adalbert of Prussia on November 23, 1854. In the following years the naval base and the city of Wilhelmshaven were built .

On March 30, 1854, Prince Adalbert was appointed Admiral of the Prussian Coasts and Commander in Chief of the Navy . During a training trip for Prussian warships in the summer of 1856, his ship was shot at by pirates of the Rifkabylen while visiting the Rif coast in Morocco . Thereupon he ordered a landing operation and directed it himself. Seven of his men were killed in a fierce battle, and he himself was shot through the thigh. This enterprise became known as the Battle of Tres Forcas .

Because of his naval plans, which were perceived as too ambitious in Prussia, Adalbert was gradually ousted from power in 1858, and in 1861 the navy came under the control of the army- dominated War Ministry .

During the German-Danish War in 1864, Adalbert commanded the Baltic Sea Squadron without being able to actively intervene in the war. Then he took over the supreme command of the Navy of the North German Confederation .

After the Franco-Prussian War (1870/1871), Adalbert, often dubbed Prince-Admiral, withdrew from the management of the now Imperial Navy and died two years later of liver disease. The funeral ceremony took place in the Berlin Cathedral .

family

He was married to the dancer Therese Elßler (wife von Barnim), his only son, Adalbert von Barnim (* 1841) died in 1860 during an expedition on the Nile .

Honors

Water gate of the Naval School Mürwik with the wooden statue of Prince Adalbert of Prussia in the archway (2007)

Ships

Three warships were named after Prince Adalbert:

Streets and squares

  • Since January 21, 1847, Adalbertstrasse has been named after him in the Berlin districts of Mitte and Kreuzberg. (see also: Adalbertbrücke )
  • In Wilhelmshaven, Adalbertstrasse and Adalbertplatz are named after him.
  • In the Wik district of the Schleswig-Holstein state capital Kiel, Adalbertstrasse in the so-called marine quarter is named after him.

Monuments

literature

Web links

Commons : Adalbert von Preußen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gerhard Wiechmann: The Prussian-German Navy in Latin America 1866-1914, a study of German gunboat policy. Cape. 2. Diss., Oldenburg 2000, p. 24 ff. HM Hauschild, Bremen 2002. ISBN 3-89757-142-0 .
  2. ↑ Adalbertstrasse. In: Street name lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein (near  Kaupert )
personal data
SURNAME Prussia, Adalbert von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian prince
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1811
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH June 6, 1873
Place of death Carlsbad