Frederick Ernest of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (15 December 1703 – 23 June 1762 in Drage) was a member of the Brandenburg-Kulmbach branch of the House of Hohenzollern. His most significant position was governor of the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein-Glückstadt.

Background

He was the son of Margrave Christian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and his wife

Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein (24 October 1667 – 23 August 1737) was Countess of :de:Wolfstein (Adelsgeschlecht), Wolfstein by birth and Margravine of List of consorts of Brandenburg, Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach by marriage. Early life a ...

. His sister, Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was married with King Christian VI of Denmark. At the time, Denmark was in

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

with the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein-Glückstadt, the royal share in the Duchy of Holstein. Christian VI appointed his brother-in-law Frederick Ernest as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the duchies.

Life

Frederick Ernest was made a Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

by his royal brother-in-law. In 1731, he received Gottorf Castle as his seat, the former seat of the Dukes of Schleswig and Holstein at Gottorp. However, he preferred to build his own residence at the site of the manor at Drage, which the king had given to him on the occasion of his wedding with Christine Sophie, the daughter of Duke Ernest Ferdinand of Brunswick-Bevern. The old manor house was demolished and

Friedrichsruh Castle Friedrichsruh () is a district in the municipality of Aumühle, Herzogtum Lauenburg district, Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany. Friedrichsruh manor is known as a residence of the princely House of Bismarck, mainly of Chancellor Otto von Bi ...

was constructed between 1744 and 1751, after a design of the Danish court architect Nicolai Eigtved. Frederick Ernest and his wife lived far beyond their means, and when he died childless in 1762, he left a heavily indebted estate. Frederick Ernest and his wife were buried in the St. Michael's Church in Hohenaspe. He was succeeded as governor of Schleswig and Holstein-Glückstadt by

Friedrich Ludwig von Dehn Friedrich may refer to: Names * Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' * Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other * Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...

. The ''Margrave Room'' in

Glücksburg Castle Glücksburg Castle (German: Schloss Glücksburg, Danish: ''Lyksborg Slot'') is one of the most significant Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. The castle was the headquarters of the ducal lines of the house of Glücksburg and temporarily served ...

is named after Frederick Ernest. He resided there for a while.

References

* Rudolf Irmisch: ''Schloß Drage und sein Besitzer, Markgraf Friedrich Ernst von Brandenburg-Kulmbach'', in: ''Steinburger Jahrbuch 1973'', Itzehoe, 1972, pp. 6–17 * Bernd Langmaack: ''Friedrich Ernst Markgraf zu Brandenburg-Culmbach. Eine glanzvolle Persönlichkeit, mit Königen verschwägert'', in: ''Steinburger Jahrbuch 2000'', Itzehoe 1999, pp. 61–72 House of Hohenzollern 1703 births 1762 deaths {{Germany-noble-stub