Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten (1661–1728)

Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten

Alexander Burgrave and Count zu Dohna-Schlobitten (born January 25, 1661 at Coppet Castle on Lake Geneva ; † February 25, 1728 in Königsberg in Prussia ) was a Brandenburg - Prussian field marshal and diplomat .

Life

origin

Alexander von Dohna was born the son of Friedrich von Dohna (1621–1688), Governor of the Principality of Orange , and Sperentia du Puy Montbrun. Like his brother Christoph von Dohna , he was raised by Pierre Bayle , among others , and went on longer educational trips.

Military career

Since 1679 he was in Brandenburg military service and became captain of the offices of Mohrungen and Liebstadt in East Prussia . On December 31, 1686 he became a colonel and a privy councilor . The new Elector Friedrich III. von Brandenburg sent him several times as a diplomat to Poland , for example in 1688 to renew the treaties between Brandenburg and Poland. In 1689 and 1690 he took part in the campaign against France and was wounded in the assault on Bonn on October 10, 1689. On October 19, 1689 he was promoted to sergeant-general. Since October 9, 1690, as major general, he was chief of Infantry Regiment No. 16 , which bore his name. He was sent to Stockholm on a diplomatic mission and, on February 1, 1691, he was actually a secret council. On April 11, 1692 he became governor of Pillau . In 1693 he took part as brigadier general in the campaign in the Netherlands against France and was promoted to lieutenant general on January 25, 1695 .

On February 11, 1695, at the instigation of the Electress Sophie Charlotte, against the will of the First Minister von Danckelmann, he received the appointment as chief court master of the elector and later King Friedrich Wilhelm . Together with the Huguenot Jean Philippe Rebeur , who joined on May 8, 1697 , he led the education of the Prince Elector for the next nine years. On January 17, 1701 he was one of the first to be accepted into the High Order of the Black Eagle . As an opponent of Count Kolbe von Wartenberg , he largely withdrew from the court in 1704 - he only kept his seat on the Privy Council. After the fall of Wartenberg, he took on more responsibility again, becoming head of the commission for the establishment of the chamber and domain system in Prussia. From June 1712 until his death he was chairman of the Königsberg government. On March 25, 1713 he was promoted to General of the Infantry by the new King Friedrich Wilhelm I and finally to Field Marshal on September 5.

Cultural work

He was the ancestor of the Schlobitten family. Under him, between 1696 and 1736, the magnificent new building of the castle was built, which integrated the older manor house. The architects were Jean Baptiste Broebes (1660-1720) and Johann Caspar Hindersin (1667-1738).

family

Dohna was married to Amalia Emilie Luise Countess zu Dohna-Carimmern (* July 28, 1661, † April 2, 1724) since September 10, 1684. He had 15 children from his first marriage.

Luise Charlotte (born January 5, 1688, † May 25, 1736), married Count Friedrich Wilhelm zu Wied-Neuwied (1684–1737) in 1704

Albrecht Christoph (* September 23, 1698; † May 3, 1752) was a lieutenant colonel and until 1728 commander of an infantry regiment, then chief steward of Queen Sophie Dorothea .

Alexander Emil (born April 17, 1704, † September 30, 1745) fell as a colonel and commander of an infantry regiment in the Battle of Thrush .

Wilhelmine Amalie († 1757) married Otto Magnus von Dönhoff's first marriage

After the death of his first wife, on December 26, 1725, he entered into a second marriage with Johanna Sophie Countess zu Dohna-Reichertswalde (* August 27, 1682; † April 2, 1735 in Königsberg (Prussia)).

literature

Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 1, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1937], DNB 367632764 , p. 47 f., No. 78.

Lothar Graf zu Dohna: Dohna-Schlobitten, Alexander Burggraf and Graf zu. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 52 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Publications by and about Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten in VD 17 .

personal data
SURNAME	Dohna-Schlobitten, Alexander too
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Dohna-Schlobitten, Alexander Burggraf and Graf zu (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	General and diplomat from Kurbrandenburg
DATE OF BIRTH	January 25, 1661
PLACE OF BIRTH	Coppet Castle on Lake Geneva
DATE OF DEATH	February 25, 1728
Place of death	Königsberg (Prussia)