Christopher I, Burgrave and Count of Dohna-Schlodien (2 April 1665 – 11 October 1733) was a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n general and diplomat.

Life

Dohna was born at the Coppet Castle in

Coppet Coppet is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Coppet is first mentioned in 1294 as ''Copetum''. In 1347 it was mentioned as ''Copet''. Geography Coppet has an area (), of . Of this area, ...

near

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, one of the sons of Frederick of Dohna (1621–1688), Governor of the

Principality of Orange The Principality of Orange (french: la Principauté d'Orange; oc, Principat d'Aurenja) was, from 1163 to 1713, a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France, on the east bank of the river Rhone, north of the city of Avignon, an ...

, by his marriage to Sperentia du Puy Montbrun. He and his brother

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

were educated privately by

Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle (; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. A Huguenot, Bayle fled to the Dutch Republic in 1681 because of religious persecution in France. He is best known for his '' Histori ...

. Dohna joined the Prussian Army in 1670 and was promoted Captain in 1680. He fought in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

in 1686 in the Great Turkish War and became a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

of the ''Grands Mousquetaires'' on 20 October 1686. In 1692 he fought in the Nine Years' War against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, rising to command a regiment of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

and being promoted

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in 1698. The same year, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1704, he came into conflict with

Johann Kasimir Kolbe von Wartenberg Johann Kasimir Kolbe, ''Graf'' von Wartenberg (6 February 1643, in Wetterau – 4 July 1712, in Frankfurt am Main) was the first ever Minister-President (effectively Prime Minister) of the kingdom of Prussia, and the head of the " Cabinet of Th ...

and lost much of his influence at the Prussian Royal Court, but returned after Kolbe's dismissal. In 1711 Dohna was the Prussian envoy at the election of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and was promoted

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

of Infantry by

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (german: Friedrich I.; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function h ...

in 1713. Dohna became the ''Amtshauptmann'' of Prussian Holland and took part in the Siege of Stralsund in 1715. He retired on 10 February 1716 and returned to his estates in East Prussia. Dohna married a cousin, Frede (Frederica) Marie von Dohna (28 December 1660 - 22 November 1729) on 18 November 1690. Their sons William Alexander (1695–1749) and Christopher II were also Prussian generals. Their daughter Ursula Anna von Dohna-Schlodien-Carwinden (31 December 1700 - 17 March 1761) married Frederick William II, the son of

Frederick Louis, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck Frederick Louis, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (german: Friedrich Ludwig Herzog von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck; 6 April 1653 – 7 March 1728) was a Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck and field marshal of the Pruss ...

. Dohna was the first to add ''Schlodien'' to his name and died at his family estate of Schlodien.

Notes

References

*Christoph von Dohna: ''Mémoires originaux sur le regne et la cour de Frédéric I., roi de Prusse'', Berlin: Nicolai 1833; German: ''Die Denkwürdigkeiten des Burggrafen und Grafen zu Dohna''. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1974, *

Kurt von Priesdorff Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

(Hg.): '' Soldatisches Führertum''. Hanseatische Verl.-Anst., Hamburg 937 Band 1, p. 59 f.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher 01 Dohna-Schlodien 1665 births 1733 deaths Counts of Germany Generals of Infantry (Prussia) 17th-century German people 18th-century German people Prussian nobility