Wilhelm zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein

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Wilhelm Ludwig Georg zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (lithograph, Berlin approx. 1820)

Wilhelm Ludwig Georg Graf zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (since 1804 prince) (born October 9, 1770 at Wittgenstein Castle , † April 11, 1851 in Berlin ) was a Prussian statesman and confidante of Friedrich Wilhelm III. He made a major contribution to the end of the Prussian reforms and was one of the driving forces behind the Restoration era in Prussia .

Ascent

Wilhelm was the second son of nine children of Count Johann Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (1740–1796) and his first wife Friederike Louise Charlotte, née Countess von Pückler-Limpurg (1746–1772). In this respect, he was not eligible for a reign in the county of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein.

He studied law in Marburg from May 1786 . In 1791 he was appointed to the Electoral Palatinate- Bavarian Privy Council . During this time he set up a regiment for the emigrated princes of the French royal family and was therefore also a colonel in royal French service. He is said to have been briefly imprisoned during the Mainz Princely Congress of 1792 because of his connection to emigration.

For the Prussian court he went to Kassel to take out a loan of 1 million thalers. In addition, he was also financially active on his own behalf. A banking business was operated in his name in Kassel.

Between 1797 and 1805 Wittgenstein was chief steward of the Prussian queen or queen mother Friederike von Hessen-Darmstadt . In 1804, like his brother Friedrich Carl (1766–1837), he was raised to the rank of imperial prince . He was also envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary in Kassel. Even after the change of the throne he had the confidence of the new King Friedrich Wilhelm III. In addition to Hessen-Kassel , Wittgenstein was also envoy to Hessen-Darmstadt and Orange-Nassau from 1805 .

After the defeat of Prussia in 1806 , Wittgenstein took on a diplomatic mission to England in order to take out a loan and to probe whether Great Britain was ready for military intervention in northern Germany. The trip was unsuccessful. Wittgenstein was arrested by the French in Hamburg on charges of planning an attack on Napoléon . After his arrest, Wittgenstein tried to exonerate himself from the French government by publicly criticizing Freiherr von Stein . This reinforced Stein's aversion to Wittgenstein.

Police minister

After the Prussian court returned to Berlin or Potsdam, Wittgenstein became Lord Chamberlain in 1810. During this time he was instrumental in the reappointment of Karl August von Hardenberg . In 1811 Wittgenstein pleaded for a stronger reference to France.

From 1812 he was the head of the Prussian police as a secret councilor. Already at that time he was largely responsible for the persecution of the national and liberal movement in Prussia. He had the Tugendbund broken and was involved in the arrest of Justus von Gruner . During the wars of liberation , Wittgenstein temporarily lost political influence.

Nevertheless, he became Minister of Police in 1814 and, in this capacity, since 1817 a member of the Prussian State Council . Wittgenstein was in close contact with Metternich and influenced the king in his interest. In addition to the Crown Prince, later Friedrich Wilhelm IV. , He was one of the leaders of the old-class or bureaucratic-oriented reaction party, which stood in opposition to Hardenberg's reform policy and was gaining more and more influence.

As the reaction began, Wittgenstein intensified the persecution of the political opposition. While Hardenberg saw the prohibition of fraternities in Prussia of 1817 after the Wartburg Festival as a temporary tactical concession to the reactionary forces, Wittgenstein looked for new evidence with the help of a comprehensive system of informers. In addition, every liberal attitude was opposed in Berlin. Wittgenstein made a major contribution to the reactionary reorganization of the German Confederation .

At times he tried to overthrow Hardenberg because of his constitutional plans. Even if he didn't succeed, he shared responsibility for strengthening the influence of the anti-reformist wing in the Prussian government. After the murder of August von Kotzebue , Wittgenstein was one of the main driving forces behind the persecution of demagogues . The Carlsbad Decrees were not least because Wittgenstein in Prussia sharper than implemented by the German Federal in most other states.

Minister of the Royal House

In 1819 Wittgenstein resigned as Minister of Police and became Minister of the Royal House . If not as immediately as before, he continued the policy of reaction. As a member of the ministerial commission responsible for political investigations, he advocated tough measures that resulted, for example, in military operations such as the Berlin tailor revolution in 1830. As a member of the financial and constitutional reforms, he was one of those who more and more often brought Hardenberg's reform ideas to failure.

As in 1817 and 1819, Metternich and Wittgenstein worked closely together after the Hambach Festival of 1832. For both of them this was a welcome occasion to step up police measures against the opposition again. Wittgenstein commented cynically: “The things are not great enough for me yet, and I would have wished that p. [the said] Wirth and Consorten formally decreed the deposition of the King of Bavaria, a protocol of which would have been recorded and signed by all those present. "

After the death of Friedrich Wilhelm III. he stepped into the background politically, but remained minister of the royal house until 1851. Wittgenstein was unmarried and died without offspring.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Laasphe, baptisms 1739–1807, p. 35. Inspection on January 3, 2017
  2. ↑ Family table of the mediatized house Sayn and Wittgenstein 1907. Plate 11, Unchanged reprint of the 1907 edition, Heimatverlag and Antiquariat Angelika Wied. Bad Laasphe 2009, No. 9/100.
  3. ^ University of Marburg, Marburg matriculation 1527–1830 (Edition) 1778–1795, page 411: Die 5 Maii: No. 44: Guiliemus, SRJ Comes in Sayn, Witgenstein, et Hohenstein [1] last accessed: October 26, 2018, 09.40 H
  4. ^ Hans-Ulrich Wehler : German history of society . Volume 2: From the reform era to the industrial and political German double revolution 1815–1845 / 49 . Beck, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-406-32262-X . P. 336.
  5. ↑ Wehler, Vol. 2, p. 341.
  6. ↑ Thomas Nipperdey : German History 1800–1866. Citizen world and strong state . CH Beck, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-406-44038-X . P. 275, Wehler, Vol. 2, p. 332.
  7. ↑ cit. According to Wolfram Siemann : From confederation to nation state. Germany 1807–1871 . Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-406-30819-8 . P. 349 f.

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personal data
SURNAME Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, Wilhelm zu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, Wilhelm Graf zu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian Minister
DATE OF BIRTH October 9, 1770
PLACE OF BIRTH Laasphe
DATE OF DEATH April 11, 1851
Place of death Berlin