Frederick Ferdinand of Anhalt-Köthen (25 June 1769, in

Pless Pleß or Pless may refer to: Places *Pleß, a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany * Pszczyna (German: Pleß), a town in southern Poland ** Duchy of Pless, a historic territory in Silesia * Pleß (mountain), a mountai ...

– 23 August 1830, in Köthen) was a German prince, Ascanian ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Pless and, from 1818, of the duchy of

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. T ...

. He was the second son of Frederick Erdmann, Prince of Anhalt-Pless, and his wife, Countess Louise Ferdinande of Stolberg-Wernigerode, daughter of Henry Ernest, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode.

Life

In 1786 he joined the Prussian Army, where he obtained the rank of '' Major General''. From 1792 to 1794, he fought in military campaigns on the

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. After the death of his father and his mentally disabled older brother's renunciation of succession rights (1797), Frederick Ferdinand inherited the non-sovereign Prussian

state country State country (; ; ) was a unit of administrative and territorial division in the Bohemian crown lands of Silesia and Upper Lusatia, existing from 15th to 18th centuries. These estates were exempt from feudal tenure by privilege of the Bohemian ...

of Pless, but in 1803 he returned to the Prussian army. In Lindenau bei Heiligenbeil on 20 August 1803 Frederick Ferdinand married Princess Maria Dorothea Henriette ''Louise'' of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (28 September 1783, Lindenau24 November 1803, Pless), daughter of Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, and by birth a princess of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

as a descendant in the male line of King Christian III. The union lasted only three months until Louise's death. After the Battle of Jena, he commanded his own regiment at Zehdenick near the enemy lines, but was forced to withdraw to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

in order to ensure the disarmament of the

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

. Soon afterwards he retired from the military and made a trip to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

before his return to Pless. During the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition () (December 1812 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation (), a coalition of Austrian Empire, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, History of Spain (1808– ...

in 1813, he was Commander of the Silesian countryside. Prinzessin Henriette Luise v

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on 20 May 1816 Frederick Ferdinand was married for a second time to Countess Julie of Brandenburg (4 January 1793,

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29 January 1848,

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), illegitimate daughter of King

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was also the prince-elector of Brandenburg and (through the Orange-Nassau inheritance of his grandfather) sovereign princ ...

by his second Countess Sophie von Dönhoff, who was his ''left hand''

morganatic 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 spous ...

wife. This marriage too was childless. When the young Duke Louis Augustus died without direct heirs in 1818, Frederick Ferdinand, as his closest male relative, succeeded him in the sovereign duchy. Shortly after, he ceded Pless to his brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

. During a trip to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1825, Frederick Ferdinand and his wife converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. His attempts to convert Köthen to the Catholic faith encountered stiff resistance. The duke chose as confessor the Belgian Jesuit Peter Jan Beckx. In Grimschleben near Nienburg he brought in the classicist architect Gottfried Bandhauer to realize some remodeling of his palace. By 1828 he founded a colony in southern

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called " Askania-Nova" (New Ascania), located in the steppes of Tauri, in the northern peninsula of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. Under his government, Bandhauer also built (between 1823 and 1828) the ''Ferdinandsbau'' in Schloss Köthen, the monastery and hospital of the Brothers of Mercy () in 1829, and the Catholic Church of St. Mary (''Kirche St. Maria'') in 1830, in the crypt of which Frederick Ferdinand was buried shortly thereafter. On his death without

issue Issue or issues may refer to: Publishing * ''Issue'' (company), a mobile publishing company * ''Issue'' (magazine), a monthly Korean comics anthology magazine * Issue (postal service), a stamp or a series of stamps released to the public * '' ...

in 1830, Frederick Ferdinand was succeeded by his brother

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anhalt-Kothen, Frederick Ferdinand, Duke of 1769 births 1830 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism German Roman Catholics Freserick Ferdinand People from Pszczyna Prussian Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Frederick Ferdinand Lieutenant generals of Prussia Dukes of Anhalt-Köthen Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary