Frederick Michael,

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld ( Ribeauvillé,

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, 27 February 1724 – 15 August 1767 in

Schwetzingen Schwetzingen (; ) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim. Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized centre between ...

) was a member of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

dynasty. He was the son of Christian III of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and

Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (singer) (born 1981), Japanese glitch pop musician * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (1933–2017), American football player * Jamie Caroline (born 1999), British racing driv ...

and a member of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, a branch of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

. He was the father of the Bavarian King Maximilian I Joseph. Furthermore, he engaged

Nicolas de Pigage Nicolas de Pigage (3 August 1723 – 30 July 1796) was a French builder. Pigage was born in Lunéville. His father was a stonemason. In 1743 he began his studies at the École Militaire, changing to the Académie Royale d'Architecture aft ...

to reconstruct his summer palace in Oggersheim.

Seven Years' War

Frederick Michael was Palatine Fieldmarshal, Governor of Mannheim and finally in 1758 as Fieldmarshal of the Holy Roman Empire commander-in-chief of the Reichsarmee in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

against

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

. After the

Battle of Rossbach The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the Seven Years' War) near the village of Rossbach (Roßbach), in the Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at, ...

, he managed to build up the whipped imperial army again, for which he received the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. In the fall of 1758 he invaded Saxony, took the fortress SonnensteinKarl Wilhelm Böttiger: ''Geschichte des Kurstaates und Königreiches Sachsen'', Band 2, F. Perthes, 1831, p. 336 and besieged Leipzig. The following year, Leipzig, Torgau, Wittenberg and Dresden were conquered. He secured Marshal Daun in the Battle of Maxen and fought victorious in the

Battle of Strehla The Battle of Strehla (20 August 1760) was a military engagement fought during the Seven Years' War between the Kingdom of Prussia and Austria. The Austrian army attacked an outnumbered Prussian corps but was repulsed. The battle was fought near t ...

. 1761, he resigned from his post and handed over the imperial troops to Field Marshal Johann von Serbelloni. After the peace of Hubertusburg Friedrich Michael received the General Command in Bohemia and later became president of the secret military conference.

Family

He married Maria Franziska of Sulzbach, a granddaughter of Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine, and had five children: * Karl II August Christian (17461795) * Klemens August Joseph Friedrich (17491750) * Maria Amalie Auguste (17521828), Married Frederick Augustus I, King of Saxony * Maria Anna (17531824), Married Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria. * Maximilian I (17561825),

King of Bavaria The King of Bavaria () was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a t ...

He also had an illegitimate son by his mistress, Louise Cheveau : * Karl Friedrich Stephan (17671834), Baron of Schönfeld (1813), Count of Otting and Fünfstetten (1817). His daughter Luise married

August von Senarclens de Grancy August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

Ancestors

References

Bibliography

* Wilhelm Edler von Janko: '' Friedrich Michael (1.Art.)''. In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

(ADB). Band 7, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 627. * Constantin von Wurzbach: '' Zweybrück-Birkenfeld, Friedrich Michael Pfalzgraf am Rhein''. In: ''

Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'' (English, ''Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire'') (abbreviated ''Wurzbach'' from the author's surname) is a 60-volume work, edited and published by Constantin von Wurzbach, cont ...

''. Band 60. Verlag L. C. Zamarski, Wien 1891, p. 335 f. * Richard Du Moulin Eckart: ''Pfalzgraf Friedrich Michael von Zweibrücken'', Cotta, 1892 * Karl Theodor von Heigel: '' Friedrich Michael (2.Art.)''. In:

(ADB). Band 49, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1904, p. 134–139. * Artur Brabant: ''Das Heilige römische Reich teutscher Nation im Kampf mit Friedrich dem grossen'', Paetel, 1911, p. 41 ff. * Lebenslust und Frömmigkeit, Kurfürst Carl Theodor zwischen Barock und Aufklärung, Handbuch, 1999 y Ausstellungskatalog {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick Michael Of Zweibrucken, Count Palatine 1724 births 1767 deaths People from Ribeauvillé House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken House of Wittelsbach Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire People of the Silesian Wars Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Burials at St. Michael's Church, Munich Sons of counts Heirs presumptive 18th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire