Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
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Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (b. Weferlingen, 10 May 1711 - d. Bayreuth, 26 February 1763), was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.
He was the eldest son of Georg Frederick Karl, nominal Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach, by his wife Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck.
[edit] Life
Born a minor member of the House of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Frederick's fate changed in 1726, when his father inherited the Principality of Bayreuth after a long dispute with the Kingdom of Prussia, who questioned his rights of succession over Bayreuth. The sixteen-year-old Frederick became the Hereditary Margrave of Bayreuth. In 1735, on his father's death, Frederick became the new Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.
He was an enlightened monarch. In Bayreuth, Frederick is mentioned as "the Beloved," because he was rather popular with the public. In his residence of Bayreuth, he promoted the sciences and arts, and he owned numerous buildings. Frederick enjoyed a good education and studied eight years at the calvinistic Genovese University. However, Frederick was totally unprepared for his tasks as a sovereign, because his father and his ministers had completely excluded him from all the government affairs.
His wife, Wilhelmine, with her strong personality, tried to influence the weak and unstable Frederick in favour of Prussia, her homeland, but she was not able to overcome the influence of his ministers. However, his wife finally succeeded in gaining influence, and a young secretary, Philipp Elrodt was appointed to handle financial matters. (This position soon became more of "prime minister.")
In this role, Philipp unwound the snarl of government corruption and cronyism, uncovered irregularities in the Margraviate finances, closed old debts, and opened new sources of income. As a result of this financial reform, Frederick was able to increase Wilhelmine's allowance, and she purchased a summer residence called the Eremitage.
The cultured margrave showed his appreciation of art and science by the establishing the Margraviate's Regional University in Bayreuth in 1742, which was moved one year later, in 1743, to Erlangen. In addition, in 1756 he created the Bayreuth Academy of Arts (German: Bayreuther Kunstakademie) and from 1744 to 1748 allowed it to establish the Margravial Opera House (German: Markgräfliches Opernhaus) as a richly fitted out baroque theater in Bayreuth.
Moreover, during his reign numerous other representative buildings and enclosures were built: the transformation and extension of the Eremitage Museum with the building of the New Eremitage Museum Castle with the Temple of the Sun (1749-1753), the building of the new Margravial Castle with court garden (1754), after the old castle had burned out. The new castle became ready after the death of his first wife; in her honour, the castle was renamed after her.
Frederick was appointed Generalfeldmarschall of the Franconian Circle, but kept his country out of the warlike discussions between Austria and Prussia, even during the Seven Years' War.
His name was added to the University of Erlange, which he founded: "Frederick": the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) (English: University of Erlangen-Nuremberg).
[edit] Marriages and Issue
In Berlin on 20 November 1731, Frederick married Wilhelmine of Prussia. He had been betrothed to Wilhelmine's younger sister, Sophie, but the King Frederick Wilhelm I decided to marry his oldest surviving daughter, Wilhelmine, to him at the last moment . The relatively insignificant groom was not asked if he was pleased with his new bride; he only accepted the order of his father and the King.
From the beginning, the marriage went well. The young couple liked rach other, and Wilhelmine ignored his lisp. Although Wilhelmine was not beautiful, she had a cheerful and pleasant personality. She described Frederick as good-hearted and charitable, but also a little frivolous. The union produced only one child, a daughter:
- Elisabeth Friederike Sophie (b. Bayreuth, 30 August 1732 - d. Bayreuth, 6 April 1780). Described by Giacomo Casanova as the most beautiful girl in Germany, she was married on 26 September 1748 to Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg. After producing a short-living daughter, they were separated in 1756, but never divorced.
In Brunswick on 20 September 1759, 11 months after the death of his first wife, Frederick married Sophie Caroline Marie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Their marriage was childless. Without any male issue, on his death he was succeeded by his uncle, Frederick Christian.
[edit] In Fiction
- Frederick is a main character in the 1909 historical novel A Gentle Knight of Old Brandenburg by Charles Major (its central character is his wife Wilhelmine - see [1]).
| Preceded by Georg Frederick Karl |
Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth 1735 – 1763 |
Succeeded by Frederick Christian |
