Friedrich Wilhelm Count of Brandenburg

Friedrich Wilhelm Count of Brandenburg

Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Brandenburg (born January 24, 1792 in Berlin ; † November 6, 1850 there ) was a Prussian Prime Minister and son of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II.

Life

origin

Friedrich Wilhelm was the son of King Friedrich Wilhelm II from his morganatic marriage with Countess Sophie von Dönhoff . With his sister, Julie von Brandenburg , who later became Duchess of Anhalt-Köthen , he was raised to the rank of count under the name of Brandenburg on July 6, 1795 .

Coat of arms of the Count of Brandenburg 1795

Career

Domanze Castle around 1860, Alexander Duncker collection

On April 18, 1806, Brandenburg joined the Regiment of the Gardes du Corps of the Prussian Army as a standard squire and took part in the 1807 campaign . As Rittmeister , he was a member of General Yorck's staff in the campaign against Russia in 1812 . In 1839 Friedrich Wilhelm was commanding general of the VI. Army Corps and 1848 General of the Cavalry. One residence was the Domanze Castle in the Lower Silesian district of Schweidnitz, acquired in 1832 .

In 1850 he was a member of the Volkshaus of the Erfurt Union Parliament . After the resignation of the Pfuel Ministry , he was appointed head of the new Ministry, which was known as the Brandenburg- Manteuffel Cabinet . This personnel decision made clear the beginning of the reaction era , with which Prussia completely opposed the Frankfurt National Assembly . Against their resistance, the Prussian National Assembly , with Friedrich Wilhelm's support, was first relocated from Berlin to Brandenburg and finally completely eliminated. On December 5, 1848, a constitution was enacted without the consent of parliament (" imposed constitution "). On February 16, 1850, Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Brandenburg was made an honorary citizen of Berlin .

In October 1850 he was sent to Warsaw to sound out Russia's position in the conflict with Austria . At first he supported Prussia's policy of union against Austria , but then relied on a compromise between the two powers. Above all, Friedrich Wilhelm did not want a war against Austria and therefore voted on November 1st and 2nd, 1850 against the mobilization of Prussia brought in by Radowitz .

The next day, November 3rd, he suddenly fell seriously ill and died on November 6th, 1850. On November 8th, he was buried in the vault of the Berlin Cathedral .

family

Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Brandenburg married Mathilde Aurora von Massenbach on May 24, 1818 in Potsdam (* October 24, 1795, † March 5, 1885). The two had eight children:

• Friedrich (1819–1892), Prussian general
• Wilhelm (1819–1892), Prussian general
• Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav (born August 24, 1820 in Berlin; † March 9, 1909), Prussian envoy in Brussels and Lisbon, real Privy Councilor
• Wilhelmine Charlotte Friederike Julie Alexandrine (born November 18, 1821 in Berlin; † August 8, 1902), honorary donor in Heiligengrabe
• Luise Julie (born May 31, 1823 - † August 24, 1884), honorary canoness in Heiligengrabe
• Friederike Wilhelmine Elisabeth Mathilde (born April 4, 1825 in Berlin; † February 26, 1900) ⚭ May 24, 1847 Erdmann Alexander Georg von Pückler (* April 22, 1820 - November 11, 1864), Prussian major
• Friederike Wilhelmine Georgine Elisabeth (July 2, 1828 - September 13, 1893)
• Alexandra Friederike Wilhelmine Marianne (born May 3, 1834 - December 5, 1885), lady-in-waiting to Empress Augusta

Orders and decorations

• Pour le Mérite on August 12, 1812
• Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class in 1813
• Russian Order of Saint George IV Class in 1813
• Russian Order of Saint Anne II Class with diamonds in 1813
• Order of the Red Eagle II class with oak leaves on September 28, 1826
• Prussian Service Award Cross on April 18, 1831
• Star for the Order of the Red Eagle II class with oak leaves on September 24, 1832
• Order of the Red Eagle 1st class with oak leaves on January 18, 1836
• Grand Cross of the House Order of the White Falcon on November 2, 1840
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown on October 24, 1846
• Order of the Black Eagle on October 18, 1849

monument

On May 17, 1862, the monument to Count Brandenburg was unveiled on Leipziger Platz . Designed by the Berlin sculptor Hugo Hagen , it was made in the foundry of Hermann Gladenbeck using the bronze casting process. The statue shows the count bareheaded in cuirassier uniform. The memorial did not survive the Second World War.

literature

• Richard von Meerheimb :  Brandenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm, Count of . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 238 f.
• Anton Ritthaler :  Brandenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, ISBN 3-428-00183-4 , p. 517 ( digitized version ).
• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 5, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1938], DNB 367632802 , pp. 176-179, no. 1487.
• Jochen Lengemann : The German Parliament (Erfurt Union Parliament) from 1850. A manual: Members, officials, life data, parliamentary groups (= publications of the Historical Commission for Thuringia. Large series, Vol. 6). Urban & Fischer, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-437-31128-X , pp. 91-92.

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Brandenburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Works by and about Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Brandenburg  in the German Digital Library
• Entry on Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Brandenburg in Kalliope
• Image and text engraving Domanze from the Alexander Duncker collection (PDF file; 198 kB)