Charles II (Braunschweig)
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Karl Friedrich August Wilhelm , as regent Karl II. (Born October 30, 1804 in Braunschweig ; † August 18, 1873 in Geneva ), Duke of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, was the first Duke of Braunschweig from 1815 to 1830 and, as Charles IV, Duke of Oels .
Takeover of government
Karl was the eldest son of Friedrich Wilhelm , Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg , the "Black Duke", and Maria von Baden (1782–1808), daughter of Karl Ludwig von Baden (1755–1801).
After his father's death at the battle of Quatre-Bras , he succeeded him at the age of ten. Because of his youth, he was initially under the tutelage and regency of the English King George IV of Great Britain-Hanover, who appointed the Hanoverian diplomat Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander von Linsingen as an educator.
On June 16, 1815, Karl became Duke of Braunschweig and Prince of Oels; but in January 1826 he passed control of the principality of Oels to his brother Wilhelm .
On October 30, 1823, Charles II took over the business of government in Braunschweig.
Government and overthrow
Duke Karl took office himself in 1823, but ruled arbitrarily and pressured his minister Justus von Schmidt-Phiseldeck so much that he fled to the Kingdom of Hanover in 1826 and found employment there as a privy councilor. Probably out of bitterness about this incident and the treatment by his former guardian Georg IV. And Count Ernst Friedrich Herbert zu Munster , he started a violent dispute with Hanover, which reached the Bundestag in Frankfurt. It was not until 1830 that this dispute was resolved through a revocation by Charles.
In order not to lose influence in the state parliament , Charles II tried to circumvent its convocation. However, since the state parliament was responsible for the tax approval, it ordered the state to adopt a rigid austerity course. The state-run mining operations in particular suffered from this. For peasants who wanted to buy themselves out of serfdom, Charles II set high redemption payments. The duke also turned the civil servants and the military against him. He left vacant administrative positions vacant and reduced pay. When crop failures increased in 1830, the Duke did not take any measures to alleviate them. Instead, he took a summer trip to Paris, where he witnessed the fall of Charles X. The duke fled the French capital and returned to Braunschweig in August 1830. On September 1, 1830, he received a delegation from the city council in Braunschweig Castle, who presented him with a petition and recommended that the state parliament be convened. However, Charles II did not think of concessions. Instead, he increased the military presence, deployed cannons in important places in the city and planned another trip to England.
The ducal government only promised tax breaks. The population, however, hardly stopped it. On the evening of September 6, 1830, demonstrators gathered in front of the court theater . When the Duke left the Shakespearean performance early, the demonstrators threw stones at his carriage. Charles II withdrew into the castle and gave the order to gather all the troops and seal off all entrances to the castle. A short time later around 500 people gathered in front of the main gate of the castle and shouted loudly for bread and work. Since the crowd did not withdraw, the Duke had cavalry deployed and the area cleared. Thereupon the crowd raged in the city; destroyed street lamps and threw in the panes of the house that belonged to one of the Duke's mistresses. To curb the unrest, Charles II approved the establishment of a vigilante group in Braunschweig (but without firearms). On September 7, 1830, the Duke and his officers discussed the precise use of artillery. He also pushed ahead with the preparations for his departure with the treasury. Meanwhile, the magistrate forbade public gatherings of six or more people in the city.
On the evening of September 7th, 1,300 soldiers secured the Duke's residence. Nevertheless, a crowd attacked the gate and tried to open gates and windows with axes and hatchets. In this situation, General Herzberg advised the ruler. He urgently advised Charles II against giving an order to shoot and instead encouraged him to use the carriages that were waiting. His temporary departure would calm down the town. Then Charles II, disguised as an adjutant, left the castle unnoticed through a back entrance. The residence could not be held militarily. The crowd entered, destroyed the facility and even set the castle on fire. Extinguishing attempts failed. After Karl's escape, the Brunswick estates called his brother to Brunswick. Initially, Wilhelm was only given provisional responsibility as Governor General and only officially succeeded as Duke the following year - also because Karl was never able to return from his British exile. This was the first time a revolution had ousted a German ruler from the throne.
Charles's disempowerment was confirmed in July 1832. Since then, Duke Wilhelm has been considered a voting member of the German Confederation .
Life in exile
Karl continued to be politically active, advised by his cabinet director Bitter and the State Councilor Georg Klindworth . However, his ongoing efforts to return to the Brunswick throne found no effective political support in Germany and European capitals. Karl, who continued to enjoy the reputation of being an eccentric, spent the rest of his life in Spain, England, France and Switzerland.
Although Karl remained unmarried, an illegitimate daughter named Elisabeth Wilhelmine (* 1826) arose from his relationship with the English Lady Charlotte Colville . He initially had her well taken care of after his loss of power and in exile, but broke with her when she converted to Catholicism against his will in 1847.
Karl died unmarried in Geneva in 1873 . He bequeathed his considerable fortune of around 18.5 million francs , based on the value at the time, to this city subject to certain conditions. The value of his diamond collection alone was around 2.5 million francs, according to an estimate in the year the Duke died. He also left holdings in German and American railway companies as well as around 5,000 uniforms for the reconquest of his duchy, which had been stored in 142 boxes since the 1830s.
Even today, Charles's monumental tomb, the so-called Brunswick Monument , is a reminder of this legacy from which the construction of the new Grand Théâtre was financed from 1875–1879 . His daughter unsuccessfully claimed part of this inheritance.
chess
Karl also gained fame as an amateur chess player who also played considerable games against the strongest masters of his time. In 1858 he and Count Isoard lost a famous game against the American chess genius Paul Morphy during a Paris opera performance . He also recorded a draw against Daniel Harrwitz (1857) and a narrow defeat after a winning position against Ignaz von Kolisch (1859). According to historical Elo calculations, each of them , like Morphy, was at times the strongest player in the world.
Pedigree
See also
literature
- Ernst zu Münster : Refutation of the defamatory accusations that ... the ruling Duke of Braunschweig allowed himself against your exalted guardian and the men entrusted with the administration of your country and your upbringing during your minority. Schulze, London 1827.
- Heinrich Rudolph Brinkmann : Publicistic examination of the complaints of the Duke Karl von Braunschweig regarding the custodial administration of His Majesty of Great Britain and Hanover. 1829.
- L. von Cramm: To the high German Federal Assembly. Justifying declaration of the Ducal Brunswick estates, regarding their difference with the most noble Duke Carl von Brunswick-Lüneburg, because of the renewed landscape order published on April 28th, 1820. Andrä, Frankfurt / Main 1829.
- Ernst Ludwig Große: Open letter from a Braunschweig citizen guard to his highness the formerly ruling Duke Karl von Braunschweig on behalf of the Brunswick people and the citizen guard. Hanau 1830.
- HFR Herrmann: Assessment of the public indictment against Duke Karl von Braunschweig: 'The Braunschweig uprising on September 6th and 7th, 1830, its cause and its next consequences'. Diplomatic Institute, Frankfurt am Main 1832.
- Chaltas: Le Duc Charles de Brunswick avant et depuis la Révolution de Brunswick on septembre 1830. Paris 1832.
- Le duc de Brunswick. Sa vie et ses moeurs. Extraits de notes et correspondances intimes, mémoires et papiers de famille, documents officiels, anecdotes etc., etc. Sartorius, Paris 1875.
- Paul Zimmermann : Karl II., Duke of Braunschweig and Lüneburg . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 15, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, pp. 281-285.
- (Anonymous): Duke Karl and the story of the uprising and castle fire in Braunschweig in 1830. Represented by sources . 2nd edition, Vogel, Braunschweig 1880 (further edition. Günther, Braunschweig 1907)
- Fritz Hartmann: The Diamond Duke and his court theater. An episode from the history of the stage in Brunswick. In: magazine for theater, literature and music. Official journal of the German Stage Association. Stage and World Publishing House, Hamburg 1908.
- Otto Böse: The dethroning of Duke Karl II of Braunschweig. Westermann, Braunschweig 1935 (Braunschweig TeH., Dissertation of February 10, 1934).
- Otto Böse: Karl II., Duke of Braunschweig and Lüneburg. A contribution to Metternich research. Gersbach & Sohn, Braunschweig 1956.
- Tibor Dénes: Marx, Engels et le duc de Brunswick. In: Journal de Genéve. Geneva from December 23-25, 1961 No. 300.
- Tibor Dénes: Apprenticeship and wandering years of a young Swiss (1845–1848). Jakob Lukas Schabelitz, Duke Karl II of Braunschweig and the Deutsche Londoner Zeitung. In: Swiss History Journal. Revue Suisse d'histoire. Revista storia svizzera. Volume 16. Basel 1966 Issue 1, pp. 34–79.
- Joachim Kühn: Gentz, Metternich and Duke Karl II after his expulsion. In: Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch. Wolfenbüttel 1967 ISSN 0068-0745 , pp. 78-101.
- Walter Deeters : Karl II., Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 11, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1977, ISBN 3-428-00192-3 , p. 226 ( digitized version ).
- Gerhard Schildt: Karl II., Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg. In: Horst-Rüdiger Jarck , Günter Scheel (ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon - 19th and 20th centuries . Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7752-5838-8 , p. 92 f .
- Wolfgang Frühauf: City Director Wilhelm Bode and Finance Director von Thielau. Two upright Brunswickers and the diamond duke. In: Braunschweigischer Kalender. Meyer, Braunschweig 1990 ISSN 0343-0316 , pp. 65-66.
- Fritz Reinboth: Contemporary reports on the attempted invasion of Duke Carl II of Braunschweig near Ellrich on November 30, 1830. In: Contributions to the history of the city and district of Nordhausen. Volume 28. Neukirchner, Nordhausen 2003, pp. 109-119.
- Jacques Barrelet: Braunschweig, Karl II. Von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland ., 2004.
Fiction
- Karl Braun: The Diamond Duke. A German prince mirror. A. Hofmann & Co., Berlin 1881.
- Wilhelm Scholz : Under the fanal. Historical story from the time of the Diamond Duke Karl II of Braunschweig. Scholz, Braunschweig 1910.
- Georg Schwarz : The Diamond Duke. Story of a pretender. Frundsberg-Verlag, Berlin 1935.
Individual evidence
- ^ Karl Heinrich Kaufhold : Economy and society before industrialization . In: Horst - Rüdiger Jarck, Gerhard Schildt (ed.): The Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. A region looking back over the millennia . Braunschweig 2000. pp. 713-750, here p. 721; Gerd van den Heuvel : Restoration and Vormärz (1815-1848). The Duchy of Brunswick . In: Brüdermann (Hrsg.), Geschichte Niedersachsens , fourth volume: from the beginning of the 19th century to the end of the First World War , Göttingen 2016, pp. 136–156, here pp. 143–144.
- ↑ Helmut Bock : The Braunschweig Revolution. Popular movement and liberal leader. In: Departure into the civil world. Life pictures from Vormärz and Biedermeier. Dampfboot, Münster 1994, pp. 57–65, here p. 57.
- ↑ Gerd van den Heuvel: Restoration and Vormärz (1815–1848). The Duchy of Brunswick. In: Brüdermann (Hrsg.), Geschichte Niedersachsens , fourth volume: from the beginning of the 19th century to the end of the First World War , Göttingen 2016, pp. 136–156, here p. 145.
- ↑ Helmut Bock: The Braunschweig Revolution. Popular movement and liberal leader . In: Departure into the civil world. Life pictures from Vormärz and Biedermeier. Dampfboot, Münster 1994. pp. 57–65, here p. 57.
- ↑ Helmut Bock: The Braunschweig Revolution. Popular movement and liberal leader. In: Departure into the civil world. Life pictures from Vormärz and Biedermeier. Dampfboot, Münster 1994, pp. 57–65, here p. 58.
- ↑ Helmut Bock: The Braunschweig Revolution. Popular movement and liberal leader. In: Departure into the civil world. Life pictures from Vormärz and Biedermeier . Dampfboot, Münster 1994. pp. 57-65, here p. 58; Gerd van den Heuvel: Restoration and Vormärz (1815-1848). The Duchy of Brunswick . In: Brüdermann (Ed.), Geschichte Niedersachsens, fourth volume: from the beginning of the 19th century to the end of the First World War, Göttingen 2016, pp. 136–156, here p. 146.
- ↑ Thomas Vogtherr : The Welfs. From the Middle Ages to the present . Beck, Munich 2014, p. 88.
- ↑ Memminger Zeitung , No. 259, November 4, 1873
- ↑ Memminger Zeitung, No. 214, September 13, 1873
- ↑ Memminger Zeitung, No. 264, November 9, 1873
- ^ Kerstin Rahn: Civry, Elisabeth Wilhelmine von, geb. Countess of Colmar. In: Horst-Rüdiger Jarck , Günter Scheel (ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon - 19th and 20th centuries . Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7752-5838-8 , p. 122 .
- ↑ Open Chess Diary by Tim Krabbé, entry 217
- ↑ Jeff Sonas: Chessmetrics Player Profile: Daniel Harrwitz. Retrieved August 2, 2016 .
- ↑ Jeff Sonas: Chessmetrics Player Profile: Ignatz Kolisch. Retrieved August 2, 2016 .
- ^ The author was Samuel Kokosky .
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| French occupation |
Duke of Brunswick 1815 - 1830 |
Wilhelm |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Charles II |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duke of Brunswick |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 30, 1804 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Braunschweig |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 18, 1873 |
| Place of death | Geneva |