Friedrich Franz I (Mecklenburg)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Friedrich Franz I. painting by Rudolph Suhrlandt , 1817

Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg [-Schwerin] (* December 10, 1756 in Schwerin ; † February 1, 1837 in Ludwigslust ) was the ruling Duke of Mecklenburg from 1785, and since the conclusion of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg in the Mecklenburg region - heavy woman .

Live and act

Hereditary Prince Friedrich Franz with his younger sister Sophie Friederike in Schwerin Castle (1764)
Hereditary Prince Friedrich Franz with his governor Carl Christian von Usedom in Ludwigslust Castle (1766)

Friedrich Franz I was the son of Hereditary Prince Ludwig (1725–1778) and Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxony-Coburg-Saalfeld (1731–1810).

In the first years of his life he received proper domestic care and training. His further training took him to Switzerland , where he studied from 1766 in the company of his court master Carl Christian von Usedom in Lausanne and Geneva . After falling in love with a middle-class lady in Geneva, he had to return to Ludwigslust in September 1771 on the instructions of Duke Friedrich .

In 1774, Friedrich Franz went in search of a suitable candidate for marriage. His favorite was Princess Louise of Hesse Darmstadt , who, however, opted for Carl August von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1757-1828). After the bitter disappointment, which he could hardly overcome, he met Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg . Both married on June 1, 1775 in Gotha at Schloss Friedenstein .

When his uncle, Duke Friedrich, died on April 24, 1785 after a childless marriage, he took over the government as Duke Friedrich Franz I. At the beginning of his term of office he released the last villages of the duchy that had been pledged to Prussia after the Reich execution under Karl Leopold since 1731.

On May 5, 1788, Friedrich Franz I signed a subsidy agreement with the Netherlands. The contract included the dispatch of three battalions, which together had a strength of 1,000 men. The income generated flowed into the ducal subsidy fund. The surplus was used to make the Elde navigable , buy a house for a hospital and buy two goods. The lucrative contract was extended several times and did not end until 1795.

Friedrich Franz I eliminated also re disagreements with Rostock by the Second Rostock Inheritance Agreement of 1788. He wrote special rights of the city until 1918 firm and united in 1789 the Ducal Frederick University , which since 1760 as a splinter group of the University of Rostock in Bützow insisted, again with this . He increased his rule through the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss , through which the city ​​foundation villages , possessions of the Lübeck Heiligen-Geist-Hospital , came under his rule, and with the Treaty of Malmö in 1803 he bought back the old Mecklenburg possessions of Wismar , Poel and Neukloster from Sweden as a pledge .

Since 1790 there have been clashes between day laborers and craftsmen. In February 1795, the strongest unrest up to then developed in Rostock. There the journeyman tanners had asked their masters for more money and less work. In the course of the confrontation there were physical violence and arrests, which escalated the unrest. Fearing revolutionary aspirations, the duke ordered the use of the military. On February 16, 1795, he entered Rostock personally with parts of the Leib Grenadier Regiment . Three alleged ringleaders were arrested and sentenced on March 2 to several months in prison in Dömitz .

In the Napoleonic Wars he initially kept his country neutral, but when troops of the fourth coalition were tolerated after the battle of Jena and Auerstedt in 1806 , French troops occupied the country in December 1806. Friedrich Franz then went to Altona with his family under Danish protection . In July 1807, on the occasion of a diplomatic meeting with Napoleon , the Russian Tsar Alexander I was able to secure the reinstatement of the Duke - provided that he joined the Confederation of the Rhine . Thereupon he joined the Rhine Confederation on March 22, 1808 as the penultimate German prince.

Friedrich Franz I was the first German prince to campaign for equality for Jews . On February 23, 1813, he passed the sovereign constitution to determine an appropriate constitution for Jewish fellow believers in the ducal lands . The law gave the Mecklenburg Jews both private and citizenship rights. The Mecklenburg knighthood , which was not included in the legislation, was outraged and forced the law to be repealed in September 1817. A first attempt at equality for the Jews had failed because of the resistance of the estates .

After the Duke received an invitation to fight Napoleon from Tsar Alexander I , he became the first German prince to break free from the Confederation of the Rhine on March 14, 1813. A few days later, on March 26th, he called on the Mecklenburg population to procure weapons and equipment. In addition, he issued a general pardon for all those subject to conscription who had previously evaded conscription. In the months that followed, the Mecklenburg troops and volunteer organizations took part in the fight against the French. Friedrich Franz I had to flee his country once more when the area around Rostock became a theater of war in August 1813. The danger from the French was soon over and he was able to return on September 8th. On November 12, 1813, the last French soldier had left Mecklenburg soil. The brigade commanded by Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ludwig then moved to the Lower Rhine , where the army commanded by the Swedish Crown Prince had also gone. After the Peace of Paris , the Mecklenburg troops returned. In March 1815, however, news of Napoleon's return spread. Thereupon Friedrich Franz I sent the Mecklenburg-Schwerin Brigade to the Rhine and France in June , where they took part in the siege of Montmédy and Longwy . The troops did not return to Mecklenburg until December.

Meanwhile the Congress of Vienna had met. On May 27, 1815, the Congress conferred upon Friedrich Franz I the Grand Ducal dignity, which he accepted on June 17. In addition, the Grand Duke and the Hereditary Grand Duke from then on carried the title "Royal Highness". However, his application for the reinstatement of a German emperor was ignored. The expansion of his own territory he wanted was also not taken into account.

After years of armed conflict, he continued to work for his country. So he had the administration of justice reorganized, the school system unified and the church system improved.

In 1820 he arranged for the abolition of serfdom , which, according to the sovereign point of view, belonged to the "evils to be completely destroyed".

Friedrich Franz I died on the morning of February 1, 1837 of old age and the consequences of a lung disease. He was succeeded by his grandson Paul Friedrich . In the presence of the ruling Grand Duke Paul Friedrich and the Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II. Friedrich Franz I was buried on February 18, 1837 in the Doberan Minster .

progeny

Legitimate offspring

Friedrich Franz I and Princess Luise von Sachsen-Gotha had eight children, the first two children (a princess in 1776 and a prince in 1777) were born dead.

Illegitimate descendants

Friedrich Franz I had at least 15 illegitimate descendants. He always fulfilled his fatherly duties. All children received an annual annuity and the sons received vocational training that enabled a lucrative life. In addition, he maintained lively personal and letter contact throughout his life.

Out of wedlock offspring with Anna Martha Kentzler:

  • Friedrich Franz Adolf Kentzler (1789–1824)
∞ Friederika Franziska von Pressentin (1795–1847)

with Margarethe Elisabeth Bojanowsky (1756–1811):

  • Friedrich Johann Ernst Mecklenburg, since February 15, 1813 Friedrich Mecklenburg von Kleeburg (1790–1864)
∞ (1819, Kleutsch, Silesia) Aurora Emilie Charlotte Freiin von Strachwitz and Gebbersdorf (1796–1873)

with Luise Friederike Saal:

  • Louise Friederica Charlotte von Kleinow (1785–1839)
∞ (May 12, 1815, Ludwigslust) Friedrich Louis du Trossel
  • Friederike Louise Charlotte von Kleinow (1794–1849)
∞ (December 13, 1816, Ludwigslust) Friedrich Bernhard Hanasch von Wenckstern (1786–1867)

with Louise Tegern:

  • Friederika Franziska Stein (1790–?)

with Maria Deters:

  • Johann Friedrich Mecklenburg (1796-1826)

with Maria Waack:

  • Franz Ernst Ludwig Johann Mecklenburg (1802-1882)

with Madame Frey:

  • Friedrich Franz Mecklenburg (1808-1878)

with Agnes Döring:

  • Louise Mecklenburg (1810-1818)

with Louise Müller:

  • Ludwig Christian Helmuth Mecklenburg (born November 2, 1811 in Ludwigslust ; † January 31, 1875 there)
∞ Wilhelmine Gehrke (born September 27, 1816 in Dannenberg (Elbe) ; † May 25, 1881 in Hitzacker (Elbe) )
  • Friedericke Ulrike Christine Mecklenburg (1813–?)

Awards

(Source: Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Calendar 1837 )

---

Complementary

Sarcophagus of the Grand Duke

The sarcophagus in Bad Doberan's cathedral

The manor Heinrich Franz von Barner found the large granite block from which the sarcophagus was made in 1830 on a field mark near Groß-Trebbow . The landlord gave his unusual find to the Grand Duke. Friedrich Franz I then commissioned the court building officer Georg Adolf Demmler to design a sarcophagus. After a while Demmler submitted several drafts to the Grand Duke. After he had decided on a design, he had the granite block processed in the Schwerin grinding mill . The extensive work, which Demmler personally supervised, lasted from 1831 to October 1843 and cost 10,000 thalers . The now completed three-part sarcophagus was installed in December 1843 in the central nave of Doberan Cathedral. On December 16, the bones of the Grand Duke, which until then had been laid to rest in the vault, were reburied.

The 2.48 meter long, 1.43 meter wide and 1.69 meter high sarcophagus has stood at the western end of the north aisle since 1976 .

Heiligendamm seaside resort

Memorial stone in Heiligendamm

On the advice of his personal physician Samuel Gottlieb Vogel, Friedrich Franz I had a seaside resort built near Heiligendamm in 1793 . In 1794, the Duke opened the first season as the first bathing guest. Due to the unfavorable financial situation, the further expansion of the seaside resort should take place from year to year. Heiligendamm was the first seaside resort in Germany based on the model of seaside resorts in southern England.

The seaside resort remained under princely administration for eighty years. Today a memorial stone in the village commemorates the founder of the Baltic Sea resort. The large boulder comes from the Feldmark near Elmenhorst and was erected on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the seaside resort. The memorial stone was given a dedication: "Friedrich Franz I founded Germany's first seaside resort here in 1793/1843".

literature

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Franz I. (Mecklenburg)  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernst Boll: History of Mecklenburg with special consideration of the cultural history. Volume 2. Self-published, Neubrandenburg 1856, p. 317.
  2. ^ Matthias Manke: Friedrich Franz I. The last and the first. In: Bernd Kasten, Matthias Manke, René Wiese: The Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2015. p. 16.
  3. ^ Ernst Steinmann, Hans Witte: Georg Martin Mathieu. A German Rococo painter. 1737-1783. Klinkhardt & Biermann, Leipzig 1911, p. 37.
  4. ↑ a b Matthias Manke: Friedrich Franz I. The last and the first. In: Bernd Kasten, Matthias Manke, René Wiese: The Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2015. p. 17.
  5. ^ Klaus-Ulrich Keubke, Hubertus Köbke: Mecklenburg-Schweriner troops in the Netherlands 1788–1795. Writings for studio and history painting, Schwerin 2003, ISBN 3-00-010984-6 , p. 6 f.
  6. ^ Klaus-Ulrich Keubke, Hubertus Köbke: Mecklenburg-Schweriner troops in the Netherlands 1788–1795. Writings for studio and history painting, Schwerin 2003, p. 86 f.
  7. ^ Klaus-Ulrich Keubke, Hubertus Köbke: Mecklenburg-Schweriner troops in the Netherlands 1788–1795. Writings for studio and history painting, Schwerin 2003, p. 82 f.
  8. ↑ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie , Vol. 7 (1878) Friedrich Franz I.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lexikus.de  
  9. ↑ HFW Raabe (ed.): Collection of laws for the Mecklenburg-Schwerin countries. Volume 4. Hinstorff, Rostock 1852, pp. 188 ff., No. 3241.
  10. ^ Leopold Donath: History of the Jews in Mecklenburg: from the oldest times (1266) to the most recent times (1874). Verlag Oskar Leiner, Leipzig 1874, p. 191 f.
  11. ↑ a b Werner Behm: The Mecklenburgers in the Wars of Liberation 1813 to 1815. Richard Hermes Verlag, Hamburg 1913, p. 21.
  12. ↑ Klaus-Ullrich Keubke, Uwe Polenz: The Mecklenburgers in the Napoleonic Wars 1806-1815. Writings on the history of Mecklenburg, Schwerin 2011, ISBN 978-3-00-034517-3 , p. 43.
  13. ↑ Klaus-Ullrich Keubke, Uwe Polenz: The Mecklenburgers in the Napoleonic Wars 1806-1815. Writings on the history of Mecklenburg, Schwerin 2011, p. 46.
  14. ^ Christian Ludwig zu Mecklenburg : Mecklenburg-Schwerin: Portraits and Photographs from the Grand Ducal House. (Ed.) Alexander Solodkoff, CW Verlagsgruppe, Schwerin 2003, ISBN 978-3-933781-28-4 , p. 11.
  15. ^ Johann Ludwig Klüber: Final Act of the Vienna Congress, of June 9, 1815, and Federal Act or Basic Contract of the German Confederation, of June 8, 1815. Palm and Enke, Erlangen 1818, p. 12 ( digitized version ).
  16. ↑ Werner Behm: The Mecklenburgers in the Wars of Liberation 1813 to 1815. Richard Hermes Verlag, Hamburg 1913, p. 286.
  17. ↑ Werner Behm: The Mecklenburgers in the Wars of Liberation 1813 to 1815. Richard Hermes Verlag, Hamburg 1913, p. 286 f.
  18. ^ Hugo Böhlau: Mecklenburg Landrecht. The particular private law of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin with the exclusion of feudal law. Hermann Böhlau, Weimar 1872, p. 61 f.
  19. ^ Grand-Ducal Schwerin State Calendar 1838 . New annals of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1837. Published by the Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1838, p. 243 .
  20. ^ Grand-Ducal Schwerin State Calendar 1838 . New annals of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1837. Published by the Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1838, p. 246 .
  21. ^ Corinna Schulz: Of bastards and natural children: The illegitimate offspring of the Mecklenburg dukes 1600-1830 . Böhlau Verlag, Weimar 2015, ISBN 978-3-412-22425-7 , p. 15.
  22. ^ Corinna Schulz: Of bastards and natural children: The illegitimate offspring of the Mecklenburg dukes 1600-1830 . Böhlau Verlag, Weimar 2015, pp. 87–98.
  23. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Corinna Schulz: Of bastards and natural children: The illegitimate offspring of the Mecklenburg dukes 1600-1830 . Böhlau Verlag, Weimar 2015, pp. 276–280.
  24. ↑ Mecklenburg von Kleeburg
  25. ^ Grand Ducal Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Calendar 1837. Published by the Hofbuchdruckerei publishing house, Schwerin 1837, p. 117 ( digitized version ).
  26. ↑ Klaus-Ullrich Keubke: Soldiers from Mecklenburg, Life Pictures from 1701–1871. Writings of the studio for portrait and history painting, Schwerin 2004, ISBN 3-00-014908-2 , p. 82.
  27. ↑ Died on the forester's farm in Wabel .
  28. ↑ Source: Non-public family tree of the Zeuchner / Burmeister family
  29. ↑ Mecklenburg-Schwerin State Calendar 1837. Bärensprungsche Hofbuchdruckerei, p. 3.
  30. ^ Wilhelm Kühne: The church in Bad Doberan. A guide through its historical and religious monuments. Hinstorff, Rostock 1938, p. 20.
  31. ↑ a b New Annals of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin for the year 1843. In: Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalender 1844. Bärensprungsche Hofbuchdruckerei , p. 286.
  32. ^ A b Hans Thielcke: The buildings of the Doberan-Heiligendamm seaside resort around 1800 and their builder Severin. Self-published by the author, Doberan 1917, p. 5 f.
  33. ^ Adolf Ahrens: Picture atlas for Mecklenburg local history: for local history lessons. The homeland settlements. Bärensprungsche Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1911, p. 7 and pictures 127–134.
predecessor Office successor
Friedrich Herzog zu, then Grand Duke of Mecklenburg [-Schwerin]
1785–1837 		Paul Friedrich
personal data
SURNAME Friedrich Franz I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mecklenburg, Friedrich Franz I. von (wrong name form)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Grand Duke of Mecklenburg (1785–1837)
DATE OF BIRTH December 10, 1756
PLACE OF BIRTH Schwerin , Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , Holy Roman Empire
DATE OF DEATH February 1, 1837
Place of death Ludwigslust , Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin