Wilhelm Ludwig Georg, Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (October 9, 1770 - April 11 , 1851) was a Prussian statesman and confidant of

Friedrich Wilhelm III Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, w ...

who once held the post of Interior minister. With

Karl Albert von Kamptz Freiherr Karl Albert Christoph Heinrich von Kamptz (16 September 1769 in Schwerin - 3 November 1849 in Berlin) was a German jurist and Prussian Ministers of Justice from 1832 to 1842. Life Kamptz's parents were the later Mecklenburg-Strelitz Mi ...

, the Justice minister, he contributed significantly to the end of the

Prussian reforms The Prussian Reform Movement was a series of constitutional, administrative, social and economic reforms early in nineteenth-century Prussia. They are sometimes known as the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms, for Karl Freiherr vom Stein and Karl August ...

and was one of the driving forces of the Restoration era in Prussia.

Early life

Born into an ancient

House of Sayn-Wittgenstein A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

, Wilhelm Ludwig was the second son and youngest child of

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

Johann Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (1740-1796) and his wife, Countess Friederike Karoline Luise von Pückler-Limpurg (1738-1772), daughter of Count Christian Wilhelm Karl von Pückler-Groditz (1705-1786) and Countess Karoline Christiane von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Virneburg (1719-1793).

Life

He studied law at

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

in 1786. After graduation, he became a courtier of

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria Charles Theodore (german: link=no, Karl Theodor; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) reigned as Prince-elector and Count Palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as prince-elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777 to his ...

. Between 1797 and 1806, he was the Oberhofmeister of Prussian Queen

Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Friederike Luise; 16 October 1751 – 25 February 1805) was Queen of Prussia as the second spouse of King Frederick William II. Life Frederica Louisa was the daughter of Louis IX, Landgrave of He ...

. In 1804, he was elevated to the rank of

Imperial Prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors o ...

. With the help of Sophie Marie von Voß, his family friend, Wittgenstein was brought into king Friedrich Wilhelm III's circle. Following Prussian defeat in the

Battle of Jena–Auerstedt The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt (; older spelling: ''Auerstädt'') were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Pruss ...

in 1806, he went to Great Britain for a loan and British military intervention. He didn't succeed in the diplomatic mission and was arrested in Hamburg by the French. After the Prussian court returned to Berlin and Potsdam, Wittgenstein became

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...

in 1810. He helped reappoint

Karl August von Hardenberg Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg (31 May 1750, in Essenrode-Lehre – 26 November 1822, in Genoa) was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his career ...

and advocated closer ties with France. From 1812, he became the head of Prussian police as Privy Councilor of State and began persecution of the liberal and national movement in Prussia. He broke up

Tugendbund Tugendbund, or League of Virtue was a quasi-Masonic secret society founded in June 1808, in order to revive the national spirit of Prussians after their defeat by Napoleon. It was established after the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt, in the spring o ...

and took part in the arrest of Justus von Gruner. During the

German campaign of 1813 The German campaign (german: Befreiungskriege , lit=Wars of Liberation ) was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany ag ...

, he lost influence for a moment. Nevertheless, Wittgenstein became Minister of Police in 1814 and in this capacity also a member of the Prussian Council of State from 1817. He was in close contact with

Klemens von Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

and exerted influence in Metternich's interest. Along with the crown prince, later

Friedrich Wilhelm IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

, he was one of the leaders of the reactionary party in opposition to Prussian reforms led by Hardenberg. After the assassination of

August von Kotzebue August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (; – ) was a German dramatist and writer who also worked as a consul in Russia and Germany. In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl L ...

, he pushed forward the reactionary reorganization of

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

and the 'Persecution of Demagogues' and implemented Carlsbad Decrees strictly. In 1819 he resigned as Minister of Police and became Minister of the Royal House but continued the policy of reaction. Wittgenstein and his reactionary circles in the Prussian court harassed and spied upon

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

and his pupils, such as

Leopold von Henning Leopold August Wilhelm Dorotheus von Henning (originally von Henning auf Schönhoff; 4 October 1791 – 5 October 1866) was a German philosopher associated with the Hegelian Right. Biography Leopold von Henning was born in Gotha in 1791 to Col ...

Friedrich Wilhelm Carové Friedrich Wilhelm Carové (June 20, 1789 – March 18, 1852) was a German philosopher and publicist. Biography He was a lawyer, held some judicial offices, was made doctor of philosophy by the University of Heidelberg, and officiated for a short ...

etc. Wilhelm never married and didn't have any children.

References

{{reflist Interior ministers of Prussia House of Sayn-Wittgenstein People from Siegen-Wittgenstein University of Marburg alumni Prussian diplomats People from the Electorate of Bavaria