Frederick Ferdinand of Anhalt-Köthen (25 June 1769, Pless – 23 August 1830, Köthen) was a German prince,

Ascanian 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 ''Schlos ...

ruler of the principality of

Anhalt-Pless The Duchy of Anhalt (german: Herzogtum Anhalt) was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the river Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the Hous ...

and, from 1818, of the duchy of Anhalt-Köthen. He was the second son of

Frederick Erdmann, Prince of Anhalt-Pless Frederick Erdmann of Anhalt-Pless (Köthen, 27 October 1731 – Pszczyna, Pless, 12 December 1797) was a German Fürst, prince from the Anhalt-Köthen branch of the House of Ascania, and the first Reigning prince, ruler of the Duchy of Pless#P ...

, 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 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 obtained the rank of ''

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

''. 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 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 Friedrich Karl Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (; 20 August 175724 April 1816) was the ninth and penultimate Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck. Friedrich Karl Ludwig was the son of Prince Karl Anton August of Schleswig ...

, and by birth a princess of

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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 A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, he commanded his own regiment at

Zehdenick Zehdenick is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Havel, southeast of Fürstenberg/Havel, and north of Berlin (centre). Since 31 July 2013, the city has the additional appellation "Havelstadt". ...

near the enemy lines, but was forced to withdraw to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

in order to ensure the disarmament of the

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

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and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

before his return to Pless. During the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

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

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

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 (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inherita ...

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 *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

. During a trip to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1825, Frederick Ferdinand and his wife converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. His attempts to convert Köthen to the Catholic faith encountered stiff resistance. The duke chose as confessor the Belgian Jesuit

Peter Jan Beckx Peter Jan Beckx (also ''Pieter Jan Beckx'', in French ''Pierre Jean Beckx''; 8 February 1795 – 4 March 1887) born in Zichem (Belgium) and died in Rome, was a Belgian Jesuit priest, elected the twenty-second Superior-General of the Soci ...

. 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

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

called "

Askania-Nova Askania-Nova ( uk, Асканія-Нова) is a Ukrainian nature reserve located in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, within the dry Taurida steppe near Oleshky Sands and active member of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. It is also a resea ...

" (New Ascania), located in the steppes of Tauri, in the northern peninsula of

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. Under his government, Bandhauer also built (between 1823 and 1828) the ''Ferdinandsbau'' in Schloss Köthen, the monastery and hospital of the Brothers of Mercy (german: Barmherzigen Brüder) 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