Karl Ludwig Friedrich von Hinckeldey

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bust at Hinckeldey's tomb in the cemetery of the Nikolaigemeinde Berlin

Karl Ludwig Friedrich von Hinckeldey (born September 1, 1805 at Sinnershausen Palace near Wasungen , Sachsen-Meiningen ; † March 10, 1856 in Charlottenburg ; shot in a duel ) was General Police Director in Berlin under Friedrich Wilhelm IV . He was instrumental in shaping the course of action against democrats in the era of reaction .

origin

The Hinckeldey family received imperial nobility in 1754 through their grandfather Heinrich Hieronimus Hinckeldey (1720–1805). His parents were Karl von Hinckeldey (1760–1835) and his wife Christine von Cochenhausen (1775–1807), a daughter of the Hessian Major General Johann Friedrich von Cochenhausen (1728–1793) and Dorothea von Oberg . His father was Löwensteinisch-Wertheimscher Hofrat as well as syndic of the knight canton Middle Rhine .

Life's work

Hinckeldey occurred in 1826 in the Prussian civil service and was initially Regierungsassessor in Cologne and Legnica , and later there Regierungsrat . He was transferred to Arnsberg and after serving as a senior government councilor in Merseburg , he became police chief of Berlin in 1848.

Hinckeldey was conspicuously sponsored by Friedrich Wilhelm IV and finally appointed General Director of the Police in Prussia. On behalf of the king he observed the Kreuzzeitung , which soon led to personal opposition. As the chief of police, he had to face the democratic forces. On the other hand, he made great contributions to the city and to many non-profit institutions and organizations.

He became General Police Director and in 1853, as a Secret Higher Government Councilor, head of the Police Department in the Ministry of the Interior . There he gained the full confidence of the king and was able to gain recognition among the citizens. The nobility, on the other hand, did not get along with him, as Hinckeldey maintained strict impartiality. In 1848, Hinckeldey ordered the numbering of policemen in Berlin. The numbers were worn on the cylinders that were part of the uniform.

Intrigue of the nobility

The position of Hinckeldey to the nobility came to a head, so that in the circles of the courtly military it was agreed to challenge Hinckeldey to a duel in which the police director had to find certain death.

Karl August Varnhagen von Ense reports that the gentlemen von Rochow, von Prillwitz and another officer undertook to insult Hinckeldey to force him to make a demand. The occasion for this was a celebratory event at which the officers of the guard declared the presence of police officers unacceptable and asked Hinckeldey for an "entry ticket". A sharp exchange ensued between Hinckeldey and Hans von Rochow , who was an officer and member of the manor house . According to other sources, he came into conflict with one of the members when he closed a noble gambling club .

It is reported that Hinckeldey made the demand in the sure expectation that the king would forbid the duel from taking place. In view of the code of honor at that time, there was hardly any alternative. Had he accepted the insults without contradiction or limited himself to a verbal protest, his position in public would have become untenable.

Allegedly, on the morning of the duel, Hinckeldey was on the lookout for an adjutant to Friedrich Wilhelm, who should forbid the duel. However, the king remained inactive. On April 2, 1856, he wrote to his minister Ferdinand Otto von Westphalen : “The reproach that hits me is always greater; for I had known for several days that the aim was to kill Hinckeldey, or at least I had the excuse to believe it. Here, however, a very tactful and delicate procedure was required in order not to irrevocably establish the already widespread suspicion that 'Hinckeldey could not smell powder'. That, I frankly admit, made me timid. Well, God arranged it that way. The matter cannot be made good, but - the victory of his enemies is to be diminished. "

Memorial stone for Karl Ludwig Friedrich von Hinckeldey (Hinkeldey) near the place where the duel took place (new location since 1956)

So things took the predictable course: von Rochow shot Hinckeldey. The doctor Ludwig von Hassel was a witness. "Rochow remained unharmed, Hinckeldey, on the other hand, made a semi-circular movement and then sank into the arms of Hassel and Münchhausen, who let him slide gently to the ground." Rochow was sentenced to four years imprisonment, which did not affect his honor and reputation. After a year he was pardoned.

Hinckeldey was buried with full honors. In addition to Prince Wilhelm, the funeral procession was joined by a hundred thousand citizens of Berlin who had quickly forgotten their hatred of the dreaded police director. His grave is in the cemetery of the St. Nikolai and St. Marien parish on Prenzlauer Allee. It has been dedicated to the city of Berlin as an honorary grave since 1994 .

A stone cross had been at the site of the duel 300 meters north of the Königsdamm forester's house (for example: Heckerdamm / Kurt-Schumacher-Damm) since 1856; it has been on the eastern edge of the Jungfernheide public park since 1956 . The Hinckeldey Bridge , which was initially built for the Tegeler Weg over the Hohenzollern Canal, was adopted as the name for the motorway bridge on the Kurt-Schumacher-Damm in Berlin-Charlottenburg-Nord . The Hinkeldey garden colony southeast of the Saatwinkler Damm junction of the A 111 was named after him - due to the location of the duel area.

Literary echo

Theodor Fontane mentions the memorial cross in his novella Irrungen, Wirrungen , where he lets the male protagonist Botho von Rienäcker pass this place on a horse ride, which he takes as an opportunity to reflect on the duties of the nobility in his thoughts. Fontane portrays Hinckeldey as a class-conscious, but also arrogant nobleman, who briefly disdains the objections of his bourgeois subordinate to the duel.

family

Hinckeldey married in Hildburghausen in 1835 Karoline von Grundherr (1813–1898), a daughter of the Bavarian forester Christoph von Grundherr and Anna von Grundherr . The couple had three sons and four daughters, including:

  • Friedrich (1853–1924), Prussian lieutenant general
  • Ida Louise Marianne Amalie (* November 8, 1836; † January 25, 1867) ∞ Friedrich Georg Christian von Werthern (* December 1, 1833; † October 21, 1879)

literature

Web links

Commons : Karl Ludwig Friedrich von Hinckeldey  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Police identification in Berlin and Brandenburg Humanist Union
  2. ^ Fedor von Zobeltitz: Chronicle of the society under the last empire . 2 vol., Hamburg 1933. Quotation: vol. I, p. 208.
  3. ↑ Westermanns Plan von Berlin, Publisher: Georg Westermann / Berlin W 40 / Braunschweig  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.alt-berlin.info  
  4. ↑ Supplement to the Berlin address book 1893. Julius Straube Publishing House  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.alt-berlin.info  
  5. ↑ Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the baronial houses for the year 1868. Eighteenth year p.991f
  6. ↑ grave site
personal data
SURNAME Hinckeldey, Karl Ludwig Friedrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hinckeldey, Karl von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Police chief in Berlin
DATE OF BIRTH September 1, 1805
PLACE OF BIRTH Sinnershausen Castle near Wasungen , Saxony-Meiningen
DATE OF DEATH March 10, 1856
Place of death Charlottenburg , Berlin