Friedrich Wilhelm zu Wied

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Coat of arms of the Princely House of Wied above the main entrance gate to Neuwied Castle

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Konstantin Prinz zu Wied (born June 2, 1931 in Stuttgart ; † August 28, 2000 in Salmon Arm , British Columbia , Canada ) was a German entrepreneur and patron . He was also President of the " International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation ", a global umbrella organization of hunting associations. Following the family tradition, Friedrich Wilhelm called himself 7th Prince of Wied .

Life

Childhood and youth

His father Hermann Wilhelm Friedrich, Hereditary Prince zu Wied (1899–1941) ran the Royal Württemberg Stud in Weil . In 1945 he succeeded his grandfather Wilhelm Friedrich Hermann Otto Karl 6. Prince zu Wied (1872-1945) as head of the House of Wied-Neuwied in accordance with the traditional guidelines of the German Nobility Law Committee . Since then he was known under the name Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Konstantin 7. Fürst zu Wied , although since the abolition of the privileges of the nobility in 1919 only the title "Prince" or "Princess", but not the first-born title "Prince", which was previously granted in Primogenitur , Is part of the civil surname.

In the years during and after the Second World War , Friedrich Wilhelm grew up with his younger brother Metfried and his sister Osterlind in the "Kupferhaus" in Dierdorf . He attended the Rector's School there, switched to the Evangelical Pedagogy in Bad Godesberg in autumn 1947 and then stayed at the Gordonstoun School in Scotland for two years from autumn 1948 . His high school did Friedrich Wilhelm in 1951 on the Evangelical Pädagogium Bad Godesberg. After traineeships at the banks "Brinkmann, Wirtz & Co." (renamed in 1969 to " MM Warburg & Co. ") in Hamburg and " SG Warburg & Co. " in London , followed an apprenticeship in the Princely-Fürstenberg administration in Donaueschingen . Initially trained in forest science in Hannoversch-Münden , Friedrich Wilhelm then studied business administration in Cologne .

Industrial activities

With this broad education he took over the property of the Wied-Neuwied house in 1955 from his grandmother Pauline and from his uncle Dietrich, who was Friedrich-Wilhelm’s general manager until he was of age . In contrast to his ancestors, Friedrich Wilhelm managed the family property directly himself. With the “Fürstlich Wiedische Rentkammer, Vermögens- und Verwaltungs-GmbH & Co. KG” as the central asset holding company, he did not only devote himself to inherited property, land and securities , but also invested in the industrial sector through the “AG für Steinindustrie” and “Arnold Georg AG”.

Friedrich Wilhelm already became the main shareholder in 1949 in the "AG für Steinindustrie" founded in 1921. Under his leadership, it expanded from a simple gravel conveyor in Engerser Feld near Neuwied to a broad-based medium-sized company for building materials and bulk goods . In addition to the head office in Neuwied, 6 plants were built at various locations in Neuwied and in the Eifel, as well as own loading and port facilities in Andernach .

On the "Arnold Georg AG" ( WKN : 586550, ISIN : DE0005865505, ticker symbol : ARN) listed on the open market of the Düsseldorf and Frankfurt stock exchanges , Friedrich Wilhelm acquired the majority of the capital with around 72% of the shares .

He let the manufacturer of iron structures of all kinds, founded in 1877 and with headquarters in Neuwied, expand into other industrial areas (including galvanizing, steel lattice masts, substations for energy supply, radio and antenna towers, industrial halls and high-bay warehouses, as series products prefabricated garages and all-purpose halls). These activities were spread over a total of six sub-operations . The most important subsidiary of Arnold Georg AG was the "AGO compressed air GmbH" in Berlin , which dealt with the rental and sale of construction machinery and compressors. The only foreign subsidiary was "Nagron Steel BV" ( Rheden , Netherlands ), acquired by Arnold Georg in 1991, which manufactured tubular and steel lattice masts.

As part of a strategic corporate restructuring, the six sub-operations were spun off into subsidiaries in 1993/94 and Arnold Georg AG was converted into a holding company, which was to perform service functions for the affiliated companies in the future. In addition, the new holding company should manage its own real estate , land and financial assets.

Activities in the Canadian forest industry

In 1959 Friedrich Wilhelm sold the book " Travels in the Interior of North America in the years 1832 to 1834 " of his ancestor Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied relevant archival materials plus related works of art and printing plates Karl Bodmer to the art dealer M. Knoedler & Company from New York City . She exhibited these at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha ( Nebraska ). The following year, the Omaha-based Northern Gas Company bought the collection for the Inner North Foundation and gave it to the Joslyn Art Museum, initially as a loan and in 1986 as a gift. With the proceeds of this sale, Friedrich Wilhelm expanded the family-owned forestry business by gradually acquiring 25,000 hectares of forest in British Columbia ( Canada ). To manage it, Friedrich Wilhelm founded the "Beaumont Timber Company Ltd." in Salmo (British Columbia) in 1974 .

The Beaumont Timber Company has a long-term focus on owning and managing its own forest. These are spread over several individual plots of different sizes, which extend from the north of the city of Revelstoke to the south around the city of Rossland on the border with the USA . The logging takes place with our own personnel and equipment and is based on the current market situation. The company's main customers are sawmills in the region. This growing company has now become one of the largest private forest owners in British Columbia.

Activities in the real estate sector

Main building of Neuwied Castle. Residence of Friedrich Wilhelm Prince zu Wied and his family
Right wing of Neuwied Castle. Headquarters of the Princely Wiedisches Archive
Villa "Waldheim" (also called "Palace of the Princesses"). Since 1986 seat of the "Museum for the Archeology of the Ice Age"

Friedrich Wilhelm's real estate assets included commercial properties in Neuwied (including the residential, office and shopping district “Schloss-Karree” he developed and the associated “Schlosspassage” shopping center), as well as the inherited forestry (approx. 5,500 ha ) and the Agriculture (approx. 2,000 ha ). While the forest property was managed by Friedrich Wilhelm himself, the agricultural land as well as a campsite owned by Wiedi were leased. In addition, Friedrich Wilhelm owned the Westerwald lake district in the Westerwald , a pond economy founded by his ancestors in the 17th century, but which had been leased to fish farmers for generations .

Friedrich Wilhelm property owned a number of inherited palaces and castles, including the family home was one of Castle Neuwied , the hunting lodge Sayneck , the castle Altenwied , the castle Altwied , the castle Braunsberg , the Burg Runkel and Isenburg . Monrepos Castle was originally part of this heritage . Since its maintenance costs were too high and no prospective buyer could be found, Friedrich Wilhelm, with state approval, had it resigned on April 30, 1969 by the Niederbieber volunteer fire brigade using 100 liters of gasoline and 300 liters of crude oil . In 1973, Friedrich Wilhelm also leased the castle grounds belonging to Neuwied Castle to the city of Neuwied for 30 years. This undertook to maintain the existing park architecture and to coordinate measures for park design with the Prince of Wied.

On the occasion of Friedrich Wilhelm's surprising death as a result of a stroke on August 28, 2000, the city of Neuwied flagged its mourning half-mast for six days . With great sympathy from the population, Friedrich Wilhelm was buried in the family cemetery near Monrepos Castle on September 6, 2000 after a funeral service in the Neuwied Marktkirche .

family

Friedrich Wilhelm Prince zu Wied was born on June 2, 1931 in Stuttgart as the first child of Hermann Wilhelm Friedrich Hereditary Prince zu Wied (1899-1941) and his wife Marie Antonia Countess zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1909-2003). After the death of his grandfather Wilhelm Friedrich Hermann Otto Karl 6th Prince of Wied in 1945, Friedrich Wilhelm became head of the house of Wied-Neuwied, which was noble until 1918, at the age of 14 . First mentioned in a document at the end of the 11th century, it is one of the oldest aristocratic families in Germany. Friedrich Wilhelm's father, Hermann Hereditary Prince zu Wied, died of a lung disease in 1941 during the Second World War in what was then occupied Poland .

On September 9, 1958, Friedrich Wilhelm married Princess Guda zu Waldeck-Pyrmont (born August 22, 1939) in Bad Arolsen , the youngest daughter of Josias zu Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Altburg Marie Mathilde Duchess of Oldenburg, daughter of Friedrich August II. Grand Duke from Oldenburg . From this marriage, which was divorced again in 1962:

  • Johann Friedrich Alexander Hermann Josias Wilhelm Prince zu Wied (born September 29, 1960), unmarried, has no children
  • Friedrich August Maximilian Wilhelm Carl Prinz zu Wied (* October 27, 1961; † March 12, 2015), married to Princess Isabelle von Isenburg (* 1973), have children.

In 1967 Friedrich Wilhelm married Princess Sophie Charlotte zu Stolberg-Stolberg (born October 4, 1943), the youngest child of Wolff-Heinrich Prinz zu Stolberg-Stolberg and Irma Erfert. From this marriage come:

  • Christina Elisabeth Sophie Wilhelmine Friederike (* June 9, 1970), married to Wolf-Eckart Freiherr von Gemmingen-Hornberg (* 1959), have children.
  • Wolff-Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Ello (born February 12, 1979)

Offices and engagement (selection)

Neuwied Palace Theater
Monument to Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied, the painter Karl Bodmer and the Indian chief Mató-Tópe in front of the castle theater in Neuwied

At Friedrich-Wilhelm's side, his wife Sophie Charlotte also worked on many social and charitable bodies.

Honors

  • Honorary citizen of the city of Dierdorf
  • Gold Medal of Honor of the Rhineland-Nassu Farmers and Vintners Association (1982)
  • Golden Pin of Merit of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Hunting Association (1982)
  • Honor plate of the city of Neuwied (1988)

literature

  • Genealogical Handbook of the Nobility, Princely Houses, 2011, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg an der Lahn 2011, pp. 423-428.
  • Handelsblatt No. 170, September 3, 1992, p. 23: Friedrich Wilhelm Fürst zu Wied , published in the series of articles “Adel als Unternehmer”, No. 15;
  • Krüger, Hans-Jürgen: The Princely House of Wied, Counts of Isenburg, Lords of Runkel and Neuerburg , Börde-Verlag, Werl 2005, pp. 105-108, ISBN 3-9809107-4-1 .
  • Stelz, Fritz: Connected to tradition and open to the new. For the 50th birthday of Friedrich Wilhelm Fürst zu Wied In: Home year book of the district of Neuwied. - 1982, Verlag & Druck Raiffeisdruckerei, Neuwied 2001, pp. 20–21.
  • Willscheid, Bernd: Open to new ideas, but connected to tradition: on the death of Friedrich Wilhelm Fürst zu Wied In: Heimatjahrbuch des Landkreis Neuwied - 2001, Verlag & Druck Raiffeisdruckerei, Neuwied 2001, pp. 23-25.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hans-Jürgen Krüger: The Princely House of Wied, Counts of Isenburg, Lords of Runkel and Neuerburg. Börde-Verlag, Werl 2005, pp. 105-108.
  2. Willscheid, Bernd: Open to new ideas, but connected to tradition: on the death of Friedrich Wilhelm Fürst zu Wied In: Heimatjahrbuch des Landkreis Neuwied - 2001, pp. 23-25.
  3. Handelsblatt No. 170 of September 3, 1992, p. 23.
  4. Handelsblatt No. 118 of June 23, 1992, p. 16.
  5. Handelsblatt No. 116 of June 20, 1995, p. 21.
  6. Handelsblatt No. 170 of September 3, 1992, p. 23
  7. “Beaumont Timber Celebrates 40 Years!” On www.pfla.bc
  8. The logging and sawmilling Journal, December 2005 / January 2006 ( Memento of 13 September 2015, Internet Archive )
  9. Bernd Willscheid: "Monrepos Castle." In: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Landkreis Neuwied 1991 , p. 97.
  10. After this lease had expired, a new lease agreement was concluded in 2003 for a further 10 years until 2012. An option contained therein enabled the city of Neuwied to extend it for a further 10 years.
  11. "The Neuwied Castle Park and Flood Protection" on the website "Deichstadtweg.de"
  12. Bernd Willscheid: Open to new ideas, but connected to tradition: on the death of Friedrich Wilhelm Prince zu Wied. In: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Landkreis Neuwied 2001 , p. 25.
  13. ^ Rheinzeitung : "Neuwied prince to grave carried" p. 3 and "deep mourning for the Neuwied prince" p. 17, both articles published on September 7, 2000.
  14. "Willscheid, Bernd: Open to new ideas, but connected to tradition: on the death of Friedrich Wilhelm Fürst zu Wied" In: Heimatjahrbuch des Landkreis Neuwied - 2001, pp. 23-25.