Friedrich Von Pourtalès
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Jakob Ludwig ''Friedrich'' Wilhelm Joachim de Pourtalès (24 October 1853 – 3 May 1928) was a German aristocrat and diplomat who served as the Ambassador to the Russian Empire in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
from 1907 to 1914.


Early life

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...
de Pourtalès was born on 24 October 1853. He was a son of Wilhelm von Pourtalès (1815–1889) and Charlotte Luise Auguste Gräfin von Maltzan zu Wartenberg und Penzlin (1827–1861).''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'', vol. 123, 2000, p. 404. His maternal grandfather, Count Mortimer von Maltzan, the Foreign Minister of Prussia from 1841 to 1842. His father spent a number of years in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
creating a collection of
Renaissance sculpture Renaissance sculpture is understood as a process of recovery of the sculpture of classical antiquity. Sculptors found in the artistic remains and in the discoveries of sites of that bygone era the perfect inspiration for their works. They were als ...
, which included works by
Jacopo Sansovino Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance arc ...
and
Andrea Riccio Andrea Riccio (1532) was an Italian sculptor and occasional architect, whose real name was Andrea Briosco, but is usually known by his sobriquet meaning "curly"; he is also known as Il Riccio and Andrea Crispus ("curly" in Latin). He is mainly k ...
, and paintings by old Italian masters. His siblings included Louise de Pourtalès (who died aged 29 in 1879), Johanna Albertine Antoinette de Pourtalès (wife of Bernard von Jagow-Calberwisch) and Rosa Margarete Guillemette Mathilde Auguste von Pourtalès (wife of Moritz von Hohenthal). Among his extended family were uncles Count Guillaume von Pourtalès and Count Albert von Pourtalès (a member of the
Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords () in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Representatives (), it formed the Prussian bicameral legislature ...
who was appointed the Prussian Minister to France by
William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...
and was succeeded by future
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...
in 1861). His family, who were originally French, were Protestant bankers. The Pourtalès title was created in 1750 by the
King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
Frederick II. He was also a cousin of
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry ...
, the
Chancellor of the German Empire The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. Th ...
and
Minister President of Prussia The Minister-President (), or Prime Minister, of Prussia was the head of government of the Prussian state. The office existed from 1848, when it was formed by Frederick William IV of Prussia, King Frederick William IV during the German revolutio ...
from 1907 to 1917. Another cousin was Count James Pourtalès, who previously owned the family estate and went bankrupt in the
Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...
.


Career

Pourtalès was Prussian Minister to the
Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...
in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
(under
Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria Luitpold Karl Joseph Wilhelm Ludwig, Prince Regent of Bavaria (12 March 1821 – 12 December 1912), was the ''de facto'' ruler of Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria from 1886 to 1912, as regent for his nephews, Ludwig II of Bavaria, King Ludwig II and O ...
) until 1907, and conducted diplomacy in the style of the grand ''
seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...
'', holding posts in Austria-Hungary, the Netherlands and France. When Pourtalès arrived in St. Petersburg, he came with seventeen vanloads of furniture. Pourtalès succeeded Count Monts as the German Ambassador to the Russian Empire in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
from 1907 (when Russia went into a coalition with
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
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 ...
, known as the
Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was built upon th ...
, and formed as a counterweight to the Triple Alliance of
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, and
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
) until the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in 1914. While Ambassador,
Wilhelm von Mirbach Wilhelm Maria Theodor Ernst Richard Graf von Mirbach-Harff (2 July 1871 – 6 July 1918) was a German diplomat. He was assassinated while ambassador to Russia. Biography Born on 2 July 1871, in Bad Ischl, to a Catholic Rhenan aristocratic fami ...
served as the embassy clerk. Pourtalès was deeply involved in the 1914
July Crisis The July Crisis was a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the Great power, major powers of Europe in mid-1914, Causes of World War I, which led to the outbreak of World War I. It began on 28 June 1914 when the Serbs ...
, which was a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914 that ultimately led to the Great War and started with the assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fran ...
, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Pourtalès handed Russia's Foreign Minister
Sergey Sazonov Sergei Dmitryevich Sazonov GCB (Russian: Сергей Дмитриевич Сазонов; 10 August 1860 in Ryazan Governorate 11 December 1927) was a Russian statesman and diplomat who served as Foreign Minister from November 1910 to July 191 ...
Germany's declaration of war. In his obituary, the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote that Pourtalès "supported the official German explanation of the cause of the World War. He asserted the innocence of his country and expressed belief that the
Czar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
had been forced into war against his will by the Russian war party. He believed that the surest guarantee of peace would have been an alliance of Germany, Russia and France, which he said the
Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...
and the Czar tried to accomplish. He was one of those who accepted the theory that England had been feverishly pushing a policy of encirclement of the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
."


Personal life

He was married to Gisela Elisabeth Kordelia Maria Charlotte Maximiliane Rahel Josepha Gräfin von Kanitz (1873–1957), the daughter of
Georg von Kanitz Georg Karl Elias Graf von Kanitz (6 September 1842 – 3 January 1922) was a member of the German Reichstag and Military attaché, military ''attaché'' to the Embassy of the German Empire in Tehran during World War I. Early life Georg was born 6 S ...
and Hélène Boniface Pauline Luise
Gräfin (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...
von Hatzfeldt zu Trachenberg. Her maternal grandparents were Pauline
de Castellane De Castellane is a Champagne producer based in the Épernay region of Champagne. The house, founded in 1895, produces both vintage and non-vintage '' cuvee'' as well as a ''blanc de blancs'' Chardonnay Champagne. The house is currently under the ...
and Count Maximilian von Hatzfeldt, who spent ten years from 1849 to 1859 as the German Minister to France and who signed the Treaty of Paris in 1856 which ended the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
. After her grandfather's death, her grandmother remarried to
Louis de Talleyrand-Périgord Napoléon-Louis de Talleyrand-Périgord, duc de Valençay, 3rd duc de Talleyrand-Périgord (12 March 1811 – 21 March 1898) was a French aristocrat, soldier and politician. Early life He was born at Paris on 12 March 1811, the son of the general ...
, duc de Valençay, 3rd duc de Talleyrand-Périgord. Her aunt Margarete was the wife of the Ambassador Anton Saurma von der Jeltsch. Count von Pourtalès died on 3 May 1928 at
Bad Nauheim Bad Nauheim () is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. As of 2020, Bad Nauheim has a population of 32,493. The town is approximately north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a w ...
, Germany.


Residences

In 1824, his grandfather Count Karl von Pourtalès (who married Marie Louise Elisabeth
de Castellane De Castellane is a Champagne producer based in the Épernay region of Champagne. The house, founded in 1895, produces both vintage and non-vintage '' cuvee'' as well as a ''blanc de blancs'' Chardonnay Champagne. The house is currently under the ...
), a Royal Counselor, purchased the estate of Schloss Glumbowitz which included a classicist palace. Friedrich later owned the palace which he filled with "numerous works of art" that were gifted to him by his father. Pourtalès also owned a country estate, Villa Mettlen, in the municipality of
Muri bei Bern Muri bei Bern is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Muri is first mentioned in 1180 as ''Mure'' while Gümligen appears in 1239 as ''Gumelingen'' or ''Gumlingin'' Archa ...
in
Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pourtalès, Friedrich von 1853 births 1928 deaths Pourtalès family Diplomats of the German Empire German people of World War I Ambassadors of Germany Ambassadors to the Russian Empire People of the July Crisis