Eberhard von Danckelman

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Eberhard von Danckelman,
oil painting by David Richter d. Ä. (around 1690)

Eberhard Christoph Balthasar Freiherr von Danckelman (born November 23, 1643 in Lingen (Ems) ; † March 31, 1722 in Berlin ; also written as Danckelmann ) was tutor of the first Prussian king, Brandenburg minister, Prussian high president (= prime minister) and imperial baron .

Life

Childhood, education and first tasks

Eberhard Danckelman was the fourth of seven sons of a district judge and grew up in the county of Lingen . After studying in Utrecht , at the age of only 21, he became tutor of the (second-born) Brandenburg electoral prince, who later became King Friedrich I in Prussia. Danckelmann, in accordance with his own strictly Calvinist upbringing, treated the tender prince very harshly; he is said to have forced eight-year-old Friedrich to write down sentences like: "Fritz will remain a donkey".

Appointments to government offices

Friedrich I appointed him after taking office as Elector Friedrich III. of Brandenburg in 1688 as a secret council of state and war , in 1692 as president of the government of the Duchy of Cleves and finally in 1695 as prime minister and chief president of all state colleges. Danckelman worked according to plan on the centralization of the state administration, promoted the emergence of manufactories and strengthened the importance and influence of the bourgeoisie.

Danckelman was responsible for founding the University of Halle in 1694 and the Academy of Arts in Berlin in 1696.

With him his six brothers also gained influence, so that one spoke of Danckelman's seven stars. Emperor Leopold I raised him to the status of imperial baron together with his brothers .

Danckelman's success and power aroused the envy of other nobles, and the installation of his six brothers in influential offices increased the aversion to the "seven stars". He increased the hatred that had accumulated against him through his ruthless severity towards all subordinates.

Fall and arrest

Danckelman made enemies in influential circles by opposing Guelph policy. On November 27, 1697 he was overthrown and arrested at the instigation of his enemies Fuchs , Barfus and Dohna .

The charges against him comprised 290 charges, most of which were found to be unfounded. Nevertheless, the process dragged on for years. Without a judgment, Danckelman was finally sentenced to life imprisonment by a cabinet order from Frederick I. His goods were confiscated, including his magnificent palace, located right next to the Friedrichswerder town hall, which from then on was used as the “ Princely House ” to accommodate state guests. Danckelmann also lost his pension and his hereditary dignity. The most important reason for his fall will be found in the personal relationship with his former student - Friedrich I - who avoided meeting his former teacher again. Danckelman was imprisoned in the fortress Peitz from 1698 to 1707 .

Release, rehabilitation and posthumous honor

Friedrich I amnestied him in 1707 and allowed him to live in Cottbus . Danckelman was also granted 2000 thalers a year from the confiscated property. However, there was never a reconciliation with Friedrich I. After his accession to the throne in 1713, Friedrich Wilhelm I called him back to the court in an honorable manner and asked for his advice. A revision of his process and a return of his goods did not take place.

Eberhard von Danckelman died in Berlin in 1722 at the age of 78. Like his brothers, he was buried in the vault of the Dorotheenstadt Church . When the church was rebuilt from 1861 to 1863, her remains were buried in the adjacent churchyard. The tombs were lost when the church and churchyard were leveled in 1965 at the latest.

On April 14, 1885, a new street in what is now Berlin-Charlottenburg was called Danckelmannstrasse . Also in Neustadt (Dosse) a street was named in honor of Danckelman.

Bust in the Siegesallee

For the former Berliner Siegesallee , the sculptor Gustav Eberlein designed a marble bust of Danckelman as a side figure of monument group 26 to the central statue for King Friedrich I, unveiled on May 3, 1900. Danckelman holds a certificate in his hand and is dressed in an allong wig and a serious look presented as a far-sighted, determined statesman. The bust has been preserved with slight damage and has been kept in the Spandau Citadel since May 2009 .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Karin Feuerstein-Praßer: The Prussian queens . Munich 2009, p. 65f.
  2. ^ Hans Saring:  Danckelman, Eberhard Christoph Balthasar von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 503 f. ( Digitized version ).
  3. ^ Danckelmann, Eberhard Christoph Balthasar Freiherr von . In: Meyer's New Lexicon in eight volumes. VEB Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig, 1964/1965, Volume 2, p. 408
  4. ^ The Electress Sophie Charlotte of Hanover (1668–1705), daughter of the first Guelph Elector Ernst August (1629–1698), who had ruled Hanover since 1692 , was a bitter opponent of Danckelman.
  5. ↑ Historical guide, sites and monuments of history in the districts of Dresden, Cottbus . 2nd Edition. Urania-Verlag, Leipzig / Berlin / Jena 1988, p. 264
  6. ^ Hans-Jürgen Mende: Lexicon of Berlin burial places . Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86514-206-1 , pp. 40–41. Erika Schachinger: The Dorotheenstadt 1673–1708. A Berlin suburb . Böhlau, Cologne a. a. 2001, ISBN 978-3-412-10601-0 , p. 62.
  7. ↑ Danckelmannstrasse. In: Street name lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein (near  Kaupert )
  8. ↑ Uta Lehnert: The Kaiser and the Siegesallee. Réclame Royale . Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-496-01189-0 , p. 196
personal data
SURNAME Danckelman, Eberhard von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Danckelmann, Eberhard Freiherr von; Danckelman, Eberhardus Christophorus Balthazar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Brandenburg Minister and Baron of the Reich
DATE OF BIRTH November 23, 1643
PLACE OF BIRTH Lingen (Ems)
DATE OF DEATH March 31, 1722
Place of death Berlin