Christian Albert, Burgrave and Count of Dohna (also known as Christoph Albert, 10 December 162115 December 1621, according to Scharing in Küstrin – 14 December 1677 in

Gartz Gartz is a town in the Uckermark district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the West bank of the Oder River, on the border with Poland, about 20 km south of Szczecin, Poland. It is located within the historic region of Western Pomeran ...

) was a German nobleman from the House of Dohna.

Early life

He was the son of Count Christoph von Dohna and his wife, Countess Ursula of

Solms-Braunfels Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hesse in Germany. Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Principality of th ...

(24 November 1594 in

Braunfels Braunfels () is a town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Geography Location The climatic spa of Braunfels lies at a height of some 100 m above the Lahn valley. It is 9 km southwest ...

– 18 August 1657 in

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

). His brothers

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

and Christopher Delphicus also served as army officers. His first cousin Louise Henriette was Electress consort of Brandenburg.

Life

He joined the Dutch army, initially serving as

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. He was educated by Prince Frederick Henry and in 1684, he was promoted to

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 of ...

. On 6 October 1656, he became a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the army of Brandenburg. He also served as

privy councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

and

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Küstrin. On 16 March 1657, he became

stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...

and Captain at

Gröningen Gröningen () is a town in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It lies approx. 40 km south-west of Magdeburg, and 10 km east of Halberstadt. It has 3.621 inhabitants (December 2015). Gröningen is part of the ''Verbandsgemein ...

. In 1659, he participated in a campaign in Pomerania. He expanded the fortresses of Berlin and Küstrin and on 2 March 1666, he was promoted to

General of the Infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

. In 1671, he became head of a newly formed regiment in Küstrin that was named after him (""). In 1672, he was appointed

Feldzeugmeister ''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century ...

. From 1675 to 1677, he fought another campaign in Pomerania, where he died in 1677. He served as a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the army of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

Marriage and issue

On 6 April 1644, Christian Albert married Countess Sophie Theodore of Brederode-Vianen (16 March 1620 in

Vianen Vianen () is a city and a former municipality in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located south of the Lek River. Before 2002 it was part of the province of South Holland. Vianen is made up of a historic town centre tha ...

– 23 September 1678 in

). Together, they had six sons, who were also army officers, and four daughters: * Frederick Henry (1645-1668), fell before

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

* Wolfard (1647 – 8 September 1686),

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Brandenburg army; died in a duel in Magdeburg * William Albert (d. 1673), Colonel in the Dutch army; fell before

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

* Christopher (1651 – 27 October 1672 in

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

), in the Brandenburg army * Charles Emil (10 September 1658 – 3 July 1686),

in the Brandenburg army; fell before

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

* Dietrich Theodor (5 December 1659 – 17 July 1686),

in the Brandenburg army; fell before

* Louise (1646 – 8 November 1687), married in 1670 to Louis of Solms-Hohensolms (1646 – 24 August 1707) * Amalia (2 February 1654 – 11 March 1700), married in 1666 to

Simon Henry, Count of Lippe Simon Henry, Count of Lippe (13 March 1649 in Sternberg – 2 May 1697 in Detmold) was a ruling Count of Lippe-Detmold. Life Simon Henry was the eldest son of Herman Adolph, Count of Lippe and his first wife Countess Ernestine of Ysenbur ...

(1639-1697) * Ursula Anna (12 August 1654 – 25 May 1678) * Frederike Marie (28 December 1660 – 22 November 1729), married in 1690 to

Christopher I, Burgrave and Count of Dohna-Schlodien Christopher I, Burgrave and Count of Dohna-Schlodien (2 April 1665 – 11 October 1733) was a Prussian general and diplomat. Life Dohna was born at the Coppet Castle in Coppet near Geneva, one of the sons of Frederick of Dohna (1621–16 ...

(1665-1733), a son of her uncle

Footnotes

References

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 ...

(ed.): ''Soldatisches Führertum'', Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt, Hamburg, 1937, vol. 1, p. 14 *

External links

*
Genealogy of Dohna
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Albert of Dohna Prussian generals Counts of Germany 1621 births 1677 deaths 17th-century German military personnel