Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp (22 December 1597 – 10 August 1659) was a Duke of

Holstein-Gottorp Holstein-Gottorp () is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, a side ...

Early life and youth

Born on 22 December 1597, he was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Augusta of Denmark. His mother was the daughter of King

Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark-Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1559 until his death in 1588. A member of the House of Oldenburg, Fre ...

. He had ambitious plans concerning the development of sea trade. With this purpose he established

Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; ; ; ; ) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km (7 miles) south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Duk ...

in 1621, in sympathy with city of

Glückstadt Glückstadt (; ) is a town in the Steinburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Lower Elbe at the confluence of the small Rhin river, about northwest of Altona. Glückstadt is part of the Hamburg ...

established in 1617 by

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

. Furthermore, he attempted to find a commercial way to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

that would not pass around Africa. For this reason, he sent on 6 November 1633 the expedition from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

under the management of a commercial agent of Otto Brüggemann and a ducal adviser, Philipp Crusius, and with

Adam Olearius Adam Olearius (born Adam Ölschläger or Oehlschlaeger; 24 September 1599 or August 16, 1603 – 22 February 1671) was a German scholar, mathematician, geographer and librarian. He became secretary to the ambassador sent by Frederick III, Duke ...

as secretary. On 14 August 1634, the delegation arrived at Moscow. Although it was not successful in concluding a commercial agreement with Tsar

Michael I of Russia Michael I (; ) was Tsar of all Russia from 1613 after being elected by the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 until his death in 1645. He was elected by the Zemsky Sobor and was the first tsar of the House of Romanov, which succeeded the Rurikids, House o ...

, nevertheless, immediately after the return of the delegation to Gottorp on 6 April 1635, Frederick began the preparation of the following expedition. In 1636, he sent his delegation to Persia, and in 1639,

Safi of Persia Sam Mirza () (161112 May 1642), known by his dynastic name of Shah Safi (), was the sixth shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1629 to 1642. Abbas the Great was succeeded by his grandson, Safi. A reclusive and passive character, Safi was unable to ...

sent a return delegation with presents for the Duke. The difficult task of leading the country through the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

confronted Frederick. He tried a policy of neutrality, which meant in practice the refusal of the union with

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 ...

and inclinations toward

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In 1654, he hosted the recently abdicated

Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina (; 18 December O.S. 8 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from ...

. She wrote to her successor to recommend two of his daughters as potential brides. Thus, he married his daughter Hedvig Eleonora to King

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's ...

. Since the Swedish attempt at being the ''Great Power'' ultimately failed, Frederick's pro-Swedish policy led to the weakening of the house of Holstein-Gottorp. Frederick as the patron of art and culture was more successful. Thus, he founded on 3 September 1642 together with Prince Louis I of Anhalt-Köthen the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''Societas Fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it ...

. Furthermore, he contributed to the creation of the Globe of Gottorf. The painter Jürgen Ovens worked more than 30 years for him and his successor Christian Albrecht of Holstein-Gottorp.

Death

Frederick died on 10 August 1659 in the fortress of Tönning, while the fortress was besieged in the course of the Second Karl Gustav War between Denmark and Sweden.

Family and children

He was married in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

on 21 February 1630 to Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony, daughter of Elector John George I of Saxony and Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia. They had sixteen children in just over eighteen years, ten of whom lived to adulthood: # Sofie Auguste (5 December 1630 – 12 December 1680), married on 16 September 1649 to

John VI, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst John VI of Anhalt-Zerbst (Zerbst, 24 March 1621 – Zerbst, 4 July 1667), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. He was the only son of Rudolph, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, by his second wife M ...

. Mother of John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg, grandmother of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, and great-grandmother of

Catherine II of Russia Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

. # Magdalene Sibylle (24 November 1631 – 22 September 1719), married on 28 November 1654 to Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Mother of Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark. # Johann Adolf (29 September 1632 – 19 November 1633), died in early childhood. # Marie Elisabeth (6 June 1634 – 17 June 1665), married on 24 November 1650 to Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. # Friedrich (17 July 1635 – 12 August 1654), died unmarried. # Hedwig Eleonore (23 October 1636 – 24 November 1715), married on 24 October 1654 to King

. # Adolf August (1 September 1637 – 20 November 1637), died in infancy. # Johann Georg (8 August 1638 – 25 November 1655), died unmarried. # Anna Dorothea (13 February 1640 – 13 May 1713), died unmarried. # Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (3 February 1641 – 6 January 1695), married on 24 October 1667 to

Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark Princess Frederica Amalia of Denmark and Norway (11 April 1649 – 30 October 1704) was the second daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp from 1667 to 1695 as the ...

. # Gustav Ulrich (16 March 1642 – 23 October 1642), died in infancy. # Christine Sabine (11 July 1643 – 20 March 1644), died in infancy. # August Friedrich (6 May 1646 – 2 October 1705), Prince-Regent of Eutin and Prince-Bishop of Lübeck; married on 21 June 1676 to Christine of Saxe-Weissenfels (daughter of

Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels (13 August 1614 in Dresden – 4 June 1680 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle), was a Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt of the House of Wettin and administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. He was the fourth (but s ...

, and his first wife

Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1 July 1627 – 11 December 1669) was a German noblewoman, a member of the House of Mecklenburg and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Weissenfels. She was the fourth child and second daughter of Adolf Frederick I, ...

); no issue. # Adolf (24 August 1647 – 27 December 1647), died in infancy. # Elisabeth Sofie (24 August 1647 – 16 November 1647), twin of Adolf, died in infancy. #

Auguste Marie Auguste Marie, born Auguste Armand Victor Marie on February 16, 1865, was a French psychiatrist. He is known for founding the "family colony" at Dun-sur-Auron, a village where former asylum inmates were housed by foster families who were paid to t ...

(6 February 1649 – 25 April 1728), married on 15 May 1670 to Frederick VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach.

Ancestors

Embassies

The Voyages and Travells of the Ambassadors Sent by Frederick Duke of Holstein, to the Great Duke of Muscovy, and the King of Persia: Begun in the Year M.DC.XXXIII, and Finish'd in M.DC.XXXIX : Containing a Compleat History of Muscovy, Tartary, Persia, and Other Adjacent Countries : with Several Publick Transactions Reaching Near the Present Times : in VII Books
(1669)

References