Wilhelm Christoph Diede zum Fürstenstein

Wilhelm Christoph Diede zum Fürstenstein (born January 31, 1732 in Madelungen , † December 1, 1807 in Hanover ) was a Danish diplomat .

Life

family

Wilhelm Christoph Diede zum Fürstenstein came from an old noble family in North Hesse who named themselves after the Fürstenstein Castle near Eschwege on the Werra . He was the son of the Eisenach castle captain Hans Eitel Diede zum Fürstenstein (* February 7, 1697; † September 20, 1748), later burgrave of Friedberg (1745–1748) and Hesse-Kassel secret councilor and chief magistrate of the principality of Hersfeld , and his wife Euphrosine Susanne, daughter of the imperial colonel at Hoheneybach Castle , Christoph Ferdinand Freiherr von Degenfeld (1677–1733).

After the death of his uncle Johann Friedrich Diede zum Fürstenstein, Wilhelm Christoph was the only living male bearer of his family's name and thus also the sole owner of the numerous goods. In order to ensure the continuation of his family, he went, on the advice of his mother and the British royal couple George III. and Queen Charlotte , looking for a bride. Among other things, he traveled to the Counts of Callenberg's family in Muskau and on January 10, 1772 married Countess Ursula Margaretha Constantia Louisa von Callenberg (born August 25, 1752 at Muskau Castle , Upper Lusatia ; † August 29, 1803 in Villa Rezzonico near Bassano del Grappa , Italy ). They had three daughters together:

• Charlotte Diede zum Fürstenstein (born March 3, 1773 in London ; † May 30, 1846 in Seeburg near Kiel ) ⚭ Count Christian Detlev Karl zu Rantzau (1772–1812), curator of the University of Kiel ;
• Henriette Diede zum Fürstenstein (* 1774; † 1789);
• Luise Diede zum Fürstenstein (* 1778; † 1857) ⚭ Georg Löw von und zu Steinfurth (1750–1811); In 1873 the couple set up the Freiherr von Löw Foundation with 17,000 florins to support children and those in need of the community of Langenhain-Ziegenberg ; the foundation is now administered by the Hessian cooperative of the Order of St. John .

The daughters were raised by the later superintendent Karl Christian Daniel Baurschmidt .

Through his friendship with the Weimar Princely House, Wilhelm Christoph pursued the intention of converting Madelungen from a man's fief into an inheritance . Duke Carl August von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach was of the opinion that such a change of fiefdom was not justifiable in view of the smallness of his country, but declared himself ready, if Wilhelm Christoph died first, to give his wife and daughters the fiefdom To leave lifetime. On November 6, 1782, a corresponding insurance decree was deposited at the princely chancellery in Eisenach .

Wilhelm Christoph's body was buried in the Church of St. Trinitatis in Madelungen.

After the death of Wilhelm Christoph, a branch of the French noble family Le Camus was enfeoffed with the castle Fürstenstein by Napoléon's youngest brother, King Jérôme Bonaparte of Westphalia on December 24, 1807, and on April 17, 1812 elevated to the rank of count as a prince stone. The diploma with the confirmation of the enfeoffment and the coat of arms was issued on July 12, 1813 for Pierre Alexandre le Camus , royal Westphalian State Councilor and Minister-State Secretary for Foreign Affairs. The Prussian recognition and confirmation of the count, along with the improvement of the coat of arms, took place on April 30, 1864 by the Prussian government in Berlin .

After the return of Elector Wilhelm I of Hesse , however, he moved in as a settled fiefdom of Fürstenstein; it was domain, and the goat mountain palace fell as entailed estate to daughters of William Christopher and their heirs. The Wellingerrode estate fell to Pierre Simon Meyronnet and after his death in 1812 and the end of the Kingdom of Westphalia, it was returned to the Electorate of Hesse as a state domain in 1813 .

education

Christoph Wilhelm was educated by two court masters, attended the Karolineum in Braunschweig from 1745 to 1747 and studied initially at the University of Göttingen and later at the University of Marburg . After completing his studies, he worked for a short time as an intern at the Imperial Court of Justice in Wetzlar .

Career

In 1752 he was appointed chamberlain by Landgrave Ludwig VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt . Before he began his service, however, he undertook a long journey to various German royal courts, which he completed in Regensburg . After a long stay at the Viennese court , he made a second trip to Venice , Rome , Naples , Florence , Genoa and Milan . From there he traveled to Paris , where he met the French King Louis XV. was presented, and then traveled on to London via Brussels and The Hague . After completing these trips, he took up his service as a chamberlain in April 1755, but he felt underchallenged in this task and looked around for another job.

With his uncle Karl Philipp Diede zum Fürstenstein (1695–1769) in Hanover, he met the Danish ambassador Count von Rantzau, who promised him a chamberlain post in Copenhagen. His resignation from February 27, 1759 was granted and he took up his new post in Copenhagen on April 9, 1760 . King Frederick V of Denmark and Norway personally handed him the chamberlain keys. The military rank of major general and the permission to dine at the royal table were associated with his new position .

On May 6, 1763 he was appointed envoy in Prussia and sent to Berlin to the court of Frederick the Great . Three years later he was posted to London; on a farewell visit to Frederick the Great, he assured him that he was reluctant to let him go and presented him with a dinner service from his porcelain factory. On July 1, 1766, Wilhelm Christoph Diede zum Fürstenstein took up his position as envoy at the English court in London.

In 1772, after the arrest of the de facto regent Johann Friedrich Struensee , a political upheaval broke out in Denmark , which also had an impact on foreign policy. At this point in time, after the marriage, Wilhelm Christoph was on his way back to London with his wife and arrived there on March 4, 1772. The new political situation led to a tense relationship between Denmark and Great Britain , but was settled to the satisfaction of both courts.

During a vacation stay he was recalled to Copenhagen in August 1774 because relations with England had deteriorated again. He was then sent to London as a mediator and appointed privy councilor; shortly before that he had acquired Danish citizenship because no foreigner could be taken into Danish services. Due to the dissatisfaction of Copenhagen with his mediation efforts, he received his departure shortly afterwards.

He chose Ziegenberg Castle near Butzbach , which had been owned by the family since 1557, as his permanent residence and had the medieval castle converted into a castle in the style of early classicism ; He was advised by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe how his palace park should be designed to merge art and nature, so groups of trees, avenues, stone benches, water features and monuments were laid out according to artistic criteria. In addition, he also stayed for longer stays in Madelungen; From here he maintained contacts with the Chancellor Johann Ludwig von Mauchenheim called Bechtolsheim (1739–1806) in Eisenach , with whom he was a guest on various occasions .

His father had acquired the Spetesche fiefdoms in Frielingen , with which Wilhelm Christoph Diede zum Fürstenstein was enfeoffed in 1787.

With effect from April 1, 1793, he was envoy of the Duchy of Holstein to the Perpetual Reichstag in Regensburg .

He was on friendly terms with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller , Johann Gottfried Herder as well as with Christoph Martin Wieland . On October 27th, 1800 he was invited to dinner with his wife, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann Gottfried Herder and Friedrich Schiller in the smallest circle of the Duchess Mother Anna Amalia von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel .

On August 6, 1804 he was appointed Royal Danish Secret Conference Minister.

When he died he was Burgmann at Friedberg Castle , heir, feudal lord and court lord to Madelungen, Fürstenstein, Albungen , Hitzelrode , Niederhone , Niddawitzhausen , Wellingerrode , Frielingen, Immichenhain , Völkershof near Immichenhain, Ziegenberg, Langenhain and Bockstedt.

to travel

From November 3, 1782 to August 30, 1784 he traveled with his wife via Vienna , where he met the Emperor Joseph II , on to Naples and was there several times a guest at the royal court of Ferdinand I of Sicily . During a stay in Rome he was also from Pope Pius VI. receive.

He also traveled to Paris several times and was surprised there by the French Revolution in 1789 .

On October 9, 1790, he took part in the coronation of Emperor Leopold II in Frankfurt am Main .

Awards

• Knight of the Royal Danish Elephant Order ;
• Knight of the Danebro Order ;
• Commander of the Imperial St. Josephorden .

Literature (selection)

• Wilhelm Christoph Diede zum Fürstenstein . In: Journal of the Association for Thuringian History and Archeology , 35th volume. Jena 1940. p. 192 f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Heidelberg History Association. Retrieved September 2, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Frhr. v. Löw`sche Foundation. Order of St. John, accessed on September 2, 2019 . 
3. ^ Heraldry: Photos of coats of arms in an architectural context, documentation and database. Retrieved September 2, 2019 . 
4. ^ Ziegenberg Castle (Langenhain) in Hesse (Germany) on Mobile History. Retrieved September 2, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Heroes, State and Life History. Eighth part, which contains the story from March 1763 to October of the 1765th year . P. 42, 1766 ( google.de [accessed on September 2, 2019]).
6. ↑ GEDBAS: Hermann DEDONIS. Retrieved September 2, 2019 . 

Burgraviate of Friedberg