Frederick of Anhalt-Dessau (27 December 1769 – 27 May 1814), was a German prince of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

and heir to the principality (and from 1807 the duchy) of

Anhalt-Dessau Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into th ...

. He was born in

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

, the only surviving child of Leopold III, Prince and later Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, by his wife

Louise Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

, daughter of

Frederick Henry, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt Frederick Henry, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt (21 August 1709, in Schwedt – 12 December 1788, in Schwedt) was the last owner of the Prussian secundogeniture of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Early life His was the son of Margrave Philip Willi ...

. His only sibling, a sister born on 11 February 1768, was either stillborn or died shortly after her birth.

Life

In 1786 he joined to the

Prussian army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

, where he later obtained the rank of ''

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

''. In 1805 he contracted to build Kühnauer Park. Frederick died in

, three years before his father, thus never inherited Anhalt-Dessau. His place as Leopold III's heir was taken by his older son Leopold Frederick, who succeeded his grandfather in 1817 with the name Leopold IV.

Marriage and issue

Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe'', w ...

on 12 June 1792 Frederick married

Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg , title = Hereditary Princess of Anhalt-Dessau , image = Johann Friedrich August Tischbein - Christiane Amalie Erbprinzessin von Anhalt-Dessau.jpg , caption = , reign = , coronation = , predecessor = , successor = , ...

(b. Homburg, 29 June 1774 – d. Dessau, 3 February 1846), daughter of

Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg Frederick V Louis William Christian, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (30 January 1748, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe – 20 January 1820, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe) was from 1751 to his death landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. He was born under Europe's Ancie ...

. They had seven children: # Amalie Auguste (b. Dessau, 18 August 1793 – d.

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide va ...

, 12 June 1854), married on 15 April 1816 to

Frederick Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name) Frederick is a masculine given name meaning "peaceful ruler". It is the English form of the German name Friedrich. Its meaning is derived from the Germanic word elements ''frid'', or peace ...

. # Leopold IV Frederick, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau and since 1863 Duke of all Anhalt (b. Dessau, 1 October 1794 – d. Dessau, 22 May 1871). # George Bernhard (b. Dessau, 21 February 1796 – d. Dresden, 16 October 1865). #Paul Christian (b. Dessau, 22 March 1797 – d. Dessau, 4 May 1797). # Louise Fredericka (b. Dessau, 1 March 1798 - d. Homburg, 11 June 1858), a

deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...

from birth; married on 12 February 1818 to her uncle

Gustav, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg , title = , image = Porträt Gustav Adolph Prinz zu Hessen-Homburg.jpg , caption = , reign = December 15th 1846–September 8th 1848 , coronation = , predecessor = Philip , successor = ...

(brother of her mother). # Frederick Augustus (b. Dessau, 23 September 1799 – d. Dessau, 4 December 1864). #William Waldemar (b. Dessau, 29 May 1807 – d.

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 8 October 1864), married

morganatically Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

on 9 July 1840 to Emilie Klausnitzer (b. Dessau, 30 January 1812 – d. Vienna, 28 March 1888), created ''Freifrau von Stolzenberg'' in 1842.

Connection with Mozart

The text of the German song "Des kleinen Friedrichs Geburtstag", K. 529, by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, was originally written in 1778 by the poet Johann Eberhard Friedrich Schall to commemorate the ninth birthday of the Hereditary Prince Frederick. It is unknown how Mozart came across this text or why he chose to set it in Prague in 1787. All that is known is that it was entered into his own catalog of musical compositions as a completed work on 6 November 1787.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick of Anhalt-Dessau, Hereditary Prince 1769 births 1814 deaths People from Dessau-Roßlau Princes of Anhalt-Dessau House of Ascania Heirs apparent who never acceded