Adalbert of Prussia (1811–1873)
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
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
Ships
Three warships were named after Prince Adalbert:
- The Aries ship SMS Prinz Adalbert of the Prussian Navy from 1864,
- the cruiser frigate of the Imperial Navy SMS Prinz Adalbert from 1876,
- the great cruiser of the Imperial Navy SMS Prinz Adalbert from 1901.
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
- Bronze statue based on a design by the sculptor Karl Schuler on Adalbertplatz in Wilhelmshaven, unveiled on September 16, 1882.
- Wooden memorial standing in the water gate at the marina of the Mürwik naval school , with a view of the Flensburg Fjord .
literature
- Frank Ganseuer: Prince Adalbert of Prussia - inventor of the German Navy . In: Schiff & Zeit , editor of the DGSM , edition: 118-20201, pp. 9–17.
- Herman Granier: Adalbert (Heinrich Wilhelm A.) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, pp. 779-788.
- Adolph Kohut : Prince-Admiral Adalbert of Prussia and the German fleet. Pictures from the life and work of the first German admiral . Volks- u. Jugendschriften-Verlag, Leipzig 1913. (= New Illustrated Folk and Youth Writings Collection edited by the Central Examination Committee of the New Prussian Teachers' Association 3)
- Friedrich-Christian Stahl: Adalbert, Heinrich Wilhelm. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 46 ( digitized version ).
- Jörg Duppler : Prince Adalbert of Prussia. Founder of the German Navy . Edited by the German Marine Institute, Mittler, Herford u. a. 1986, ISBN 3-8132-0249-6 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Adalbert von Prussia in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ^ 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 .
- ↑ 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 |