Friedrich Heinrich (Orange)

Friedrich Heinrich of Orange (painting by Michiel van Mierevelt , 1632/40)

Friedrich Heinrich von Orange (born January 29, 1584 in Delft , † March 14, 1647 in The Hague ) was governor of the United Netherlands from 1625 until his death .

Life

Friedrich Heinrich with his wife Amalie (painting by Gerrit van Honthorst , 2nd quarter of the 17th century)

Friedrich Heinrich, 1614

He was the youngest son of William I of Orange and father of William II of Orange , both also governors of the Netherlands. His daughter Luise Henriette of Orange married his great-nephew Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg , the Great Elector .

After the death of his older brother Moritz von Orange , Friedrich Heinrich succeeded him in 1625 as governor of the Netherlands. He fought against the Spanish for the independence of the Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War . In 1625 he did not succeed in bringing relief to the besieged city of Breda . Because of his success in conquering fortified cities (especially 1627 Grol , 1629 Herzogenbusch and 1632 Maastricht ) he got the epithet : " Städtebezwinger " ( stedendwinger ). At the diplomatic level, with the help of the Dutch envoy François van Aerssen, he made alliances with Denmark, Sweden and France against Spain. Denmark came largely at the instigation of the Thirty Years War one, Gustavus Adolphus campaigns he supported from 1631 financially. Friedrich Heinrich himself stayed out of the fighting of the Thirty Years' War as far as possible.

Domestically he achieved an abundance of power because he combined the office of captain-general of all troops with the governorship of all provinces. He got very rich. He also married his descendants to European rulers. This monarchical appearance repeatedly provoked resistance in the States General and among the self-confident Amsterdam city rulers Andries Bicker and Cornelis de Graeff , which however never prevailed.

progeny

Friedrich Heinrich married Amalie zu Solms-Braunfels (1602–1675), daughter of Count Johann Albrecht I zu Solms-Braunfels (1563–1623) and his wife Agnes zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. He pursued a very successful marriage policy by forging numerous useful bonds by marrying his legitimate offspring:

• Wilhelm II (* May 27, 1626 - † November 6, 1650)
• Louise Henriette (7 December 1627 - 18 June 1667)

⚭ December 7, 1646 with Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg (1620–1688)

• Henriette Amalia (born October 26, 1628, † December 1628)
• Elisabeth (* / † August 4, 1630)
• Isabella Charlotte (April 28, 1632 - May 17, 1642)
• Albertine Agnes (April 9, 1634 - May 24, 1696)

⚭ May 2, 1652 with Prince Wilhelm Friedrich von Nassau-Dietz (1613–1664)

• Henriette Catharina (February 10, 1637 - November 4, 1708)

⚭ 1659 with Prince Johann Georg II of Anhalt-Dessau (1627–1693)

• Heinrich Ludwig (November 30, 1639 - December 29, 1639)
• Marie Henrietta (September 5, 1642 - March 20, 1688)

⚭ September 23, 1666 with Count Palatine Ludwig Heinrich von Simmern (1640–1674)

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  Wilhelm II of Orange-Nassau

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  Portrait of Gerrit van Honthorst: the Orange-Nassau family

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  Louise Henriette, later Electress of Brandenburg

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Heinrich (Oranien)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• PL Müller :  Friedrich Heinrich, Prince of Orange . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 7, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, pp. 576-579.
• Uwe Schögl (Red.): Orange. 500 years of portraits of a dynasty from the portrait collection of the Austrian National Library, Vienna and the Dutch Royal Collection The Hague. (Exhibition from February 1 to March 19, 2002, Camineum of the Austrian National Library, Vienna). Austrian National Library et al., Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-01-000028-6 , pp. 64–67.
• Find Friedrich Heinrich

predecessor	Office	successor
Moritz	Prince of Orange, Count of Vianden, Lord of Breda 1625–1647	Wilhelm II.
Moritz	Governor of Holland and Zealand 1625–1647	Wilhelm II.
Moritz	Count of Moers 1625–1647	Wilhelm II.