Friedrich August von Zinzendorf

Friedrich August von Zinzendorf

Friedrich August Graf von Zinzendorf and Pottendorf (born August 3, 1733 in Hof bei Oschatz , † March 16, 1804 in Dresden ) was a Saxon statesman.

biography

Zinzendorf was a son of the Electorate Chamberlain Count Friedrich Christian von Zinzendorf and Pottendorf . He came from his second marriage to Countess Christiane Sophie von Callenberg and grew up in a strictly religious Protestant family. He was a brother of Karl von Zinzendorf and half-brother of Ludwig von Zinzendorf .

Friedrich August von Zinzendorf received military training and joined the Electoral Saxon army. During the Seven Years' War , the first lieutenant was captured by the Prussians on October 16, 1756 at Lilienstein . After his return to Dresden he was promoted to captain and appointed chamberlain. From 1759 he served in the French army under Count Franz Xaver von der Lausitz .

After the end of the war, he entered the diplomatic service . In 1764 Zinzendorf was appointed envoy to Sweden, but he did not take up this office until 1768. On October 3, 1767, Zinzendorf married Louise Johanna Sophie Countess von Bylandt-Palstercamp in Wildenfels , although their marriage remained childless. From 1784 to 1812 Countess Louise owned the stately Friedstein winery on Kötzschenbrodaer Flur. A memorial on the Gauernitz Elbe island also commemorates them .

On April 20, 1776, he was awarded the North Star Order in Commander's rank in Stockholm , and a year later he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary in Berlin. At this time he was conducting negotiations that led to the conclusion of the Teschen Peace in 1779, which he helped to sign, and thus to the end of the War of the Bavarian Succession . He was also involved in the creation of the Prince League. After the Peace of Basel he worked on the neutrality declaration of Saxony.

With the death of his brother Maximilian Erasmus on December 5, 1780, Zinzendorf became the heir to the Zinzendorf estates in Lower Austria. In 1799 Zinzendorf was appointed Minister of State for military command matters in the Electoral Saxony. In 1800 he was appointed general of the infantry . Zinzendorf's special support was given to the cadet corps and the Annaburg soldiers ' boys' institute .

Zinzendorf also worked as a translator. During his time in Berlin, Zinzendorf's translation of Christian Garve's work on morality and politics into French was published in 1789 .

literature

• Theodor Distel :  Zinzendorf, Friedrich August Graf von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 45, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1900, p. 339 f.

Web links

• Heinrich Kaak: Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, Friedrich August Graf von . In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): Saxon Biography .

predecessor	Office	successor
Johann Heinrich von Titzschkau (until 1765)	Saxon envoy to Sweden 1768–1776
Heinrich Gottlieb von Stutterheim	Saxon envoy to Prussia 1777–1799	Carl Heinrich von Görtz (from 1801)