Paul Friedrich (15 September 1800 – 7 March 1842) ruled as Grand Duke of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

from 1837 to 1842.

Biography

He was born in

Ludwigslust Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...

the son of

Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , house =House of Mecklenburg , father =Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , mother =Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , birth_date = , birth_place =Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Schwerin , dea ...

and

Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia Elena Pavlovna (; 24 December 1784 S 13 December– 24 September 1803) was born a grand duchess of Russia as the daughter of Paul I, Emperor of all the Russias and later became the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as the wife ...

, and was the only surviving grandchild of Paul I of Russia who was born during the Tsar's lifetime. Paul Friedrich was educated at

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

and

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

. Paul Friedrich became heir-apparent to the throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1819, upon the death of his father, the Hereditary Grand Duke. On 1 February 1837 he succeeded his grandfather, Friedrich Franz I. His reign saw improvements in the infrastructure and judicial system of the Grand Duchy, as well as a change in the government's seat of residence from

. Nonetheless, Paul Friedrich was largely interested only in military matters and spent most of his time drilling his troops. As Paul Friedrich reached his middle age, he adopted a more reclusive lifestyle, preferring only the company of his mistress. Paul Friedrich died in 1842 of a cold caught while rushing to a fire in his capital city.

Marriage and children

Paul Friedrich married Princess Alexandrine of Prussia at Berlin on 25 May 1822. They had two sons and one daughter: * Friedrich Franz II (1823–1883) *Luise (1824–1859) married Hugo, Prince of Windisch-Grätz and had issue (

Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz (11 December 1856 – 9 August 1929) was an Austrian noblewoman and a noted archaeologist. Early life and ancestry Princess Marie Gabriele Ernestine Alexandra was born in Vienna in 1856 as the daughter of Hug ...

) *

Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

(1827–1879) married Princess Alexandrine of Prussia, daughter of Prince Albert of Prussia Paul Friedrich also had issue with his mistress, Countess Catarina Hauke, daughter of Johann Mauritz Hauke and sister of

Princess Julia of Battenberg Julia, Princess of Battenberg (previously Countess Julia Therese Salomea von Hauke; – 19 September 1895) was the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, the third son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse. The daughter of a Polish general o ...

: *Catarina (1830–1834) *Paul Friedrich (1832–1903) married Countess Maria Anna van Nieppell, had issue *Alexander (1833–1833) *Helene Catarina (1835–1915) died unmarried

Ancestors

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul Frederick Of Mecklenburg, Grand Duke 1800 births 1842 deaths People from Ludwigslust Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Protestant monarchs German landowners Burials at Schwerin Cathedral Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary