Adolf of Mecklenburg

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Coat of arms of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Adolf, Duke of Mecklenburg [-Schwerin], rarely Adolf Friedrich (* December 18, 1785 in Ludwigslust ; † May 8, 1821 in Magdeburg ) was a prince and general from the House of Mecklenburg who converted to the Catholic Church .

origin

Adolf, Duke of Mecklenburg, came from the family of the Dukes of Mecklenburg and was the fourth son of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I (1756–1837) and his wife Luise von Sachsen-Gotha (1756–1808).

The family was strictly Protestant, although the prince's father had a small Catholic church built in the Ludwigslust residence between 1804 and 1809 at the request of his Catholic subjects. It was called St. Helena and St. Andreas . Together with the Catholic Church in Schwerin , it was one of the only two existing in the whole country.

biography

The prince served as an officer in the Prussian army , from where he took his leave in 1809. Later he was in the rank of general of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin .

Duke Adolf developed an interest in Catholic ceremonies and Catholic literature at an early age, which his father tried to prevent through a suitably instructed court master. Neither family members nor religious teachers nor the court master could prevent the young prince's interest in the Catholic Church. After studying the Catholic doctrine of Bishop Jacques Bénigne Bossuet himself, he finally made the decision to convert. In one copy of this work, he also entered his main motives for this step in handwriting in bullet points.

After a long period of hesitation, the father agreed to the change of religion, on which he made the condition of expulsion from the country and conversion abroad.

Duke Adolf converted to the Catholic faith in Geneva in 1818 (other sources mention Freiburg im Üechtland ). In Bern he joined the constitutional lawyer Karl Ludwig von Haller . Then he went to Rome to pay his respects to Pope Pius VII . When he was there, he received news of the death of his eldest brother, Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Mecklenburg († November 29, 1819). Since the succession had to be reorganized, Adolf Friedrich returned home.

He remained unmarried, had no offspring and died in Magdeburg in 1821, after a brief illness, at the age of only 35. He was buried in a burial chapel to the right of the entrance to the Catholic St. Helena and Andreas Church in Ludwigslust. His bones were transferred to the Louisen mausoleum on November 9, 1899 at the request of the then Duke Regent Johann Albrecht .

His sister Charlotte Friederike zu Mecklenburg (1784-1840) also converted to the Catholic Church in 1830 and settled permanently in Rome.

literature

  • David August Rosenthal : Images of converts from the nineteenth century. Volume 1, part 1, pages 332 u. 333, Schaffhausen, Hurter Verlag, 1871

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johannes Kunisch (editor): Gerhard von Scharnhorst, head of the military reorganization: (Prussia 1808-1809 ) , Böhlau Verlag, Cologne, 2009, pp. 170 and 829, ISBN 3412200662 ; (Digital scan 1) , (Digital scan 2)
  2. ↑ Juan PERRONE: El protestantismo y la Regla de Fe . Libreria historica de J. Subirana, 1854 ( google.es [accessed May 24, 2019]).
personal data
SURNAME Adolf of Mecklenburg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mecklenburg, Adolf zu (wrong form of name); Mecklenburg, Adolf Friedrich zu (wrong name form)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, officer, convert to the Catholic Church
DATE OF BIRTH December 18, 1785
PLACE OF BIRTH Ludwigslust
DATE OF DEATH May 8, 1821
Place of death Magdeburg