Karl I. (Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel)

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Karl I of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel as a young duke
Portrait of Duke Charles I by Johann Conrad Eichler , before 1748, originally hung in Blankenburg Castle
Duke Charles I around 1760

Karl I of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (contemporary Carl ; * August 1, 1713 in Braunschweig ; † March 26, 1780 there ) was one of the dukes of Braunschweig and Lüneburg and from 1735 Prince of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel .

Life

Karl was born on August 1st, 1713 in Braunschweig and baptized on the same day. He got his name from two of his godparents, Emperor Charles VI. and King Charles XII. of Sweden . At the time of his birth his family formed the ducal branch line Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern . His parents were Duke Ferdinand Albrecht II (1680–1735) and Antoinette Amalie von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1696–1762), daughter of Duke Ludwig Rudolf von Braunschweig (1671–1735).

Ferdinand Albrecht was personally closely connected to Friedrich Wilhelm I , King in Prussia. Expression of this friendship was the marriage of the Prussian Crown Prince Friedrich to Karl's sister Elisabeth Christine (1715–1797) in June 1733 . Only a few weeks later, on July 2, 1733, Karl married Friedrich's sister Philippine Charlotte of Prussia (1716–1801). At the beginning of the 18th century there was also a close relationship between Braunschweig and the imperial family. Charles therefore embarked on a military career in imperial service. He was in 1733, he owner of Kürassier -Regiments "Duke of Brunswick" (formerly "Cuirassiers Offeln" or "Uffeln" .) On April 4, 1735, he was appointed Imperial Sergeant General during the War of the Polish Succession .

On September 13, 1735, his father died unexpectedly, who had only become duke in the orphaned principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel in March 1735 . Although Karl remained in the imperial service, he received the regiment of his deceased father, the imperial "Infantry Regiment Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel".

In terms of domestic politics, Karl devoted himself to extensive reforms in his duchy, guided by the principles of the Enlightenment and mercantilism and supported by his chief minister Heinrich Bernhard Schrader von Schliestedt . In 1741 Johann Philipp Graumann was appointed as commissioner in Braunschweig and made it his task to improve income and trade. Graumann coined the so-called Karl d'or . Karl founded the Friedrich-Carls-Hütte in 1736 , the Spiegelglashütte on the Green Plan in 1744 , the Collegium Carolinum in Braunschweig in 1745 and the Fürstenberg porcelain factory in 1747 . In 1747 or 1749 he had the Schöningen saltworks completely renovated. He also established a fire insurance company , from which the Braunschweig Public Insurance Company later emerged. In 1753 he moved the residence from Wolfenbüttel to Braunschweig, which developed into a spiritual center. So was Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in 1770 librarian at the Herzog August Library .

In terms of foreign policy, Karl gradually loosened the close ties to the imperial family after his father had already turned to his neighbor Prussia through a marriage policy. In 1750 he gave up the ownership of his imperial regiment, another sign of the estrangement from Vienna. In the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel fought on the side of Prussia against the Empress, the Empire and France . After the war, which also brought the duchy to the brink of catastrophe, Karl continued the reforms, but also the Prussian-friendly policy.

Despite, or perhaps because of, his zeal for reform, Karl did not understand how to keep the finances of the principality in order and was persuaded to hand over the affairs of state to his eldest son Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand in 1773 . Karl died in Braunschweig on March 26, 1780. Charles I found his final resting place in the crypt of the Brunswick Cathedral .

Services

During his reign, Charles I.

He also promoted the establishment of other manufactories such as Stobwasser in Braunschweig .

In 1753 he moved his residence from Wolfenbütteler Schloss to Braunschweig in the Braunschweig Palace .

family

The marriage with Philippine Charlotte had 13 children:

Illegitimate:

Honors

According to Carl I, the plant genus Brunsvigia is Heist. from the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae).

literature

Web links

Commons : Karl I. (Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Werner Knopp: In the shadow of the big brother: Braunschweig and Prussia in Frederician times . In: Gerd Biegel (Ed.): Braunschweiger Museum Lectures . No. 1 . Braunschweig 1986.
  2. ↑ See Paul Zimmermann:  Schrader von Schliestedt, Heinrich Bernhard . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 32, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1891, pp. 435-438.
  3. ^ The Prussian coinage in the 18th century , Volume II, pp. 67–68 Coin history part by Friedrich von Schrötter (Baron von)
  4. ↑ cf. en: Christian Theodor von Pincier .
  5. ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names - Extended Edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .
predecessor Office successor
Ferdinand Albrecht II. Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
1735–1780 		Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand
personal data
SURNAME Charles I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Karl I. von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
DATE OF BIRTH August 1, 1713
PLACE OF BIRTH Braunschweig
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1780
Place of death Braunschweig