Friedrich Wilhelm II. (Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck)

Friedrich Wilhelm von Holstein-Beck, 1721

Friedrich Wilhelm II of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (born June 18, 1687 in Potsdam , † November 11, 1749 in Königsberg ), Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck , Prussian Field Marshal General and Governor of Berlin .

Life

origin

He was the eldest son of Friedrich Ludwig (Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck) (1653-1728) and his wife Luise Charlotte of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1658-1740).

Military career

Friedrich Wilhelm initially studied in Halle (Saale) and joined the Prussian Army in 1704 as a lieutenant colonel . As a colonel he was able to distinguish himself in the siege of Stralsund in 1715 and in 1721 received his father's regiment, Infantry Regiment No. 11 . For his services he gave King Friedrich Wilhelm I in 1717, the Palais Friedrichshof and in 1719 the Holstein Castle . In 1725 he enfeoffed him with the Riesenberg estate, which he sold.

In 1741, after the battle of Mollwitz , there was a falling out with King Friedrich II. The general had come as reinforcements, but was too late for the actual battle. Unaware of the situation, he let several Austrian units pass by. Nevertheless, he was appointed field marshal general in the same year and transferred to Königsberg. In 1747 he became governor of Berlin, an office that he could no longer assume due to illness.

After his death he was transferred to Berlin and buried in the crypt of the garrison church in 1750 . He was succeeded as duke by his son Friedrich, who died in 1757. His brother Karl Ludwig inherited the title.

In 1744 he also sold the parent company Haus Beck (Löhne-Ulenburg) . Originally he bought the estate from Friedrich Wilhelm von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (1682–1719). He converted to Catholicism, became an imperial field marshal and fell near Francavilla in Sicily.

family

He was married twice, the first time to the widowed Princess Czartoryski († 1715), née Eleonora von Loß , daughter of the Polish Grand Treasurer Wladislaus von Loß . The marriage remained childless. After the death of his first wife, on December 3, 1721, he married Countess Ursula Anna von Dohna-Schlobitten (* December 31, 1700 - March 17, 1761), daughter of Christoph I. zu Dohna-Schlodien . The couple had two children:

• Friedrich (1723–1757), Prussian colonel, killed in the battle of Prague
• Sophie Charlotte (born December 31, 1722 - † August 7, 1763)

⚭ June 5, 1738 Alexander Emil to Dohna- Wartenburg Schlodien (1704-1745), a Prussian major general in the Battle of Soor fell

⚭ January 1, 1750 at Prökelwitz Castle Prince Georg Ludwig of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf (1719–1763)

literature

• Anton Balthasar König : Biographical lexicon of all heroes and military figures: T. GL. P. 169. ( digitized version )
• Richard von Meerheimb :  Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1878, p. 23 f.

predecessor	Office	successor
Friedrich Ludwig	Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck 1728–1749	Friedrich Wilhelm III.