Johann Friedrich von Anhalt-Zerbst

Johann Friedrich von Anhalt-Zerbst (born July 14, 1695 in Dornburg , † May 11, 1742 in Schaffhausen ) from the House of Ascanians was a Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst from the Dornburg line and an imperial general .

Life

Johann Friedrich was a son of Prince Johann Ludwig I of Anhalt-Zerbst (1656–1704) from his marriage to Christine Eleonore (1666–1669), daughter of Vollrath von Zeutsch. He and his siblings were raised to the rank of imperial prince by Emperor Leopold I in 1698 . Orphaned at an early age, he was placed under the tutelage of his uncle Karl Wilhelm , who sent him to the court of Gotha to be educated . As part of his Grand Tour , he took part in the coronation ceremonies of George I in London.

In 1715 he entered the Gothic military service as a colonel and became president of the secret council of war here. He took part in the Turkish campaign in Hungary at the head of the Gotha troops and switched to imperial services on the recommendation of Prince Eugene . In the war of the empire against France in 1734 Johann Friedrich became sergeant-general . He proved himself in the Italian campaign and became Lieutenant General Field Marshal the following year . After the peace treaty, he gave up his military service and retired to Switzerland, where he lived in Schaffhausen and Lausanne.

Johann Friedrich was married to Cajetana von Sperling , the daughter of a Courland captain, who had converted to the Lutheran faith because of the marriage. The marriage remained childless. Johann Friedrich is buried in the Bartholomäikirche in Zerbst.

literature

• Johann Samuelansch : General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts in alphabetical order , J. f. Gleditsch, 1842, p. 373 ( digitized version )