Friedrich of Saxe-Altenburg (1599–1625)

Friedrich of Saxe-Altenburg

Friedrich von Sachsen-Altenburg (born February 12, 1599 in Torgau ; † October 24, 1625 in Seelze , fallen), from the house of the Ernestine Wettins, was Duke of Sachsen-Altenburg and Duke of Jülich-Kleve-Berg . To distinguish him from the Prince of Saxony-Weimar of the same name, Friedrich is also called the Younger .

Life

Friedrich was the third son of Duke Friedrich Wilhelm I of Saxe-Weimar (1562–1602) from his second marriage to Anna Maria (1575–1643), daughter of Duke Philipp Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg .

After the death of his father, Friedrich inherited the Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg together with his brothers Johann Philipp , Johann Wilhelm and Friedrich Wilhelm . The princes were guarded by the Elector of Saxony and their uncle Johann ; after his death in 1605 the former alone.

After the Jülich-Klevischen succession dispute , the brothers were enfeoffed with Jülich, Kleve and Berg, but were only nominal dukes and carried the coat of arms. In 1612 the brothers went to Leipzig University for further training . Together with his brother Johann Philipp, he took part in the Prince's Day of Naumburg in 1614, where the hereditary brotherhood between Brandenburg, Hesse and Saxony took place.

In 1618 the eldest brother Johann Philipp came of age and ruled independently. In exchange for the assurance of a personal asset , the brothers initially left the government to the elder for a limited period of time, and in a later contract in 1624, finally, permanent government. Friedrich went into the service of the Saxon Elector and fought in the Thirty Years' War in Lusatia and Bohemia. In 1622 he received his own corps of troops, which, however, dispersed due to a lack of pay. Friedrich then entered the service of Christian von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel as a cavalry colonel . In the battle of Stadtlohn , he and Wilhelm von Sachsen-Weimar were taken prisoner by Tilly , who delivered the princes to the emperor. Friedrich was imprisoned, but released again in 1624 after the intervention of the Elector of Saxony.

In 1625 Friedrich joined the Danish service as a cavalry colonel. With his regiment he formed the Danish outpost in Seelze, where he was attacked by Tilly and died already wounded by a shot in the head. During this skirmish, Hans Michael Elias von Obentraut also fell . Friedrich's body was first buried in Hanover and later taken to the Brethren Church in Altenburg. He died unmarried and without an heir.

literature

• Johann Samuel Publication: Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste , Leipzig 1849, p. 64 f. ( Digitized version )