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Frederick I (german: Friedrich I.; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the House of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) Prince-elector, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia (1701–1713). From 1707 he was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel (german: Fürstentum Neuenburg).
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The Hohenzollern state was then known as Brandenburg-Prussia. The family's main possessions were the Margraviate of Brandenburg within the Holy Roman Empire and the Duchy of Prussia outside of the Empire, ruled as a personal union. Although he was the Margrave and Prince-elector of Brandenburg and the Duke of Prussia, Frederick desired the more prestigious title of king. However, according to Germanic law at that time, no kingdoms could exist within the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of the Kingdom of Bohemia which belonged to the Holy Roman Emperor.
Frederick persuaded Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Leopold I to allow Prussia to be elevated to a kingdom by the Crown Treaty of 16 November 1700. This agreement was ostensibly given in exchange for an alliance against King Louis XIV in the War of the Spanish Succession and the provision of 8,000 Prussian troops to Leopold's service. Frederick argued that Prussia had never been part of the Holy Roman Empire, and he ruled over it with full sovereignty. Therefore, he said, there was no legal or political barrier to letting him rule it as a kingdom. Frederick was aided in the negotiations by Charles Ancillon.
Frederick crowned himself on 18 January 1701 in Königsberg. Although he did so with the Emperor's consent, and also with formal acknowledgement from Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, who held the title of King of Poland, the Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-Lithuanian Diet (Sejm) raised objections, and viewed the coronation as illegal.Friedrich, Karin (2012). ''Brandenburg-Prussia, 1466–1806: The Rise of a Composite State''. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
p. 66.
/ref> In fact, according to the terms of the Treaty of Bromberg, Treaty of Wehlau and Bromberg, the House of Hohenzollern's sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia was not absolute but contingent on the continuation of the male line (in the absence of which the duchy would revert to the Polish crown). Therefore, out of deference to the region's historic ties to the Polish crown, Frederick made the symbolic concession of calling himself "King in Prussia" instead of "King of Prussia". His royalty was, in any case, limited to Prussia and did not reduce the rights of the Emperor in the portions of his domains that were still part of the Holy Roman Empire. In other words, while he was a king in Prussia, he was still only an elector under the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperor in Brandenburg. Legally, the Hohenzollern state was still a personal union between Brandenburg and Prussia. However, by the time Frederick crowned himself as king, the emperor's authority over Brandenburg (and the rest of the empire) was only nominal, and in practice it soon came to be treated as part of the Prussian kingdom rather than as a separate entity. His grandson, Frederick the Great, was the first Prussian king formally to style himself "King of Prussia" (from 1772 onwards).
Frederick was a patron of the arts and learning. The Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin was founded by Frederick in 1696, as was the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences in 1700, though the latter was closed down by his son as an economic measure; it was reopened in 1740 by his grandson, Frederick II. Frederick also appointed Jacob Paul von Gundling as Professor of History and Law at the Berlin Knights Academy in 1705, and as historian at the Higher Herald's Office in 1706.
Frederick died in Berlin in 1713 and is entombed in the Berliner Dom.
His grandson, Frederick II of Prussia, Frederick the Great, referred to Frederick I as "the mercenary king", due to the fact that he greatly profited from the hiring of his Prussian troops to defend other territories, such as in northern Italy against the French. "All in all," he wrote of his grandfather, "he was great in small matters, and small in great matters."
Frederick was married three times:
* first to Elizabeth Henrietta of Hesse-Kassel (1661-1683), with whom he had one child,
** Princess Louise Dorothea of Prussia, Louise Dorothea, born 1680, who died without issue at age 25.
* then to Sophia Charlotte of Hanover (1668-1705), with whom he had
** Frederick August (1685–1686)
** Frederick William I of Prussia, Frederick William I, born in 1688, who succeeded him.
* In 1708, he married Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who survived him but had no children by him.
He also had an official mistress, Catharina von Wartenberg, between 1696 and 1711. However, he was never known to make use of her services, being deeply in love with his second wife.
Biography
Family
Born in Königsberg, Frederick was the third son of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg by his father's first marriage to Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau, eldest daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. His maternal cousin was King William III of England. Upon the death of his father on 29 April 1688, Frederick became Elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Duchy of Prussia, Duke of Prussia. Right after ascending the throne Frederick founded a new city southerly adjacent to Dorotheenstadt and named it after himself, the Friedrichstadt (Berlin), Friedrichstadt.Stenzel (1841), Band 3, Buch VI, 2. Hauptstück, p. 406/ref>
Military career
Frederick was noted for his opposition to France, in contrast to his father who had sought an alliance with Louis XIV. Frederick took Brandenburg into the League of Augsburg against France and in 1689 led military forces into the field as part of the allied coalition. That year an army under his command Siege of Bonn (1689), besieged and captured Bonn. Despite this opposition to France (a characteristic that was even more prominent in his son and heir) he was fond of French culture, and styled his court in imitation of that of Louis XIV.Reign as King
The Hohenzollern state was then known as Brandenburg-Prussia. The family's main possessions were the Margraviate of Brandenburg within the Holy Roman Empire and the Duchy of Prussia outside of the Empire, ruled as a personal union. Although he was the Margrave and Prince-elector of Brandenburg and the Duke of Prussia, Frederick desired the more prestigious title of king. However, according to Germanic law at that time, no kingdoms could exist within the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of the Kingdom of Bohemia which belonged to the Holy Roman Emperor.
Frederick persuaded Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Leopold I to allow Prussia to be elevated to a kingdom by the Crown Treaty of 16 November 1700. This agreement was ostensibly given in exchange for an alliance against King Louis XIV in the War of the Spanish Succession and the provision of 8,000 Prussian troops to Leopold's service. Frederick argued that Prussia had never been part of the Holy Roman Empire, and he ruled over it with full sovereignty. Therefore, he said, there was no legal or political barrier to letting him rule it as a kingdom. Frederick was aided in the negotiations by Charles Ancillon.
Frederick crowned himself on 18 January 1701 in Königsberg. Although he did so with the Emperor's consent, and also with formal acknowledgement from Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, who held the title of King of Poland, the Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-Lithuanian Diet (Sejm) raised objections, and viewed the coronation as illegal.Friedrich, Karin (2012). ''Brandenburg-Prussia, 1466–1806: The Rise of a Composite State''. New York: Palgrave Macmillanp. 66.
/ref> In fact, according to the terms of the Treaty of Bromberg, Treaty of Wehlau and Bromberg, the House of Hohenzollern's sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia was not absolute but contingent on the continuation of the male line (in the absence of which the duchy would revert to the Polish crown). Therefore, out of deference to the region's historic ties to the Polish crown, Frederick made the symbolic concession of calling himself "King in Prussia" instead of "King of Prussia". His royalty was, in any case, limited to Prussia and did not reduce the rights of the Emperor in the portions of his domains that were still part of the Holy Roman Empire. In other words, while he was a king in Prussia, he was still only an elector under the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperor in Brandenburg. Legally, the Hohenzollern state was still a personal union between Brandenburg and Prussia. However, by the time Frederick crowned himself as king, the emperor's authority over Brandenburg (and the rest of the empire) was only nominal, and in practice it soon came to be treated as part of the Prussian kingdom rather than as a separate entity. His grandson, Frederick the Great, was the first Prussian king formally to style himself "King of Prussia" (from 1772 onwards).
Frederick was a patron of the arts and learning. The Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin was founded by Frederick in 1696, as was the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences in 1700, though the latter was closed down by his son as an economic measure; it was reopened in 1740 by his grandson, Frederick II. Frederick also appointed Jacob Paul von Gundling as Professor of History and Law at the Berlin Knights Academy in 1705, and as historian at the Higher Herald's Office in 1706.
Frederick died in Berlin in 1713 and is entombed in the Berliner Dom.
His grandson, Frederick II of Prussia, Frederick the Great, referred to Frederick I as "the mercenary king", due to the fact that he greatly profited from the hiring of his Prussian troops to defend other territories, such as in northern Italy against the French. "All in all," he wrote of his grandfather, "he was great in small matters, and small in great matters."
Marriages and children
Frederick was married three times:
* first to Elizabeth Henrietta of Hesse-Kassel (1661-1683), with whom he had one child,
** Princess Louise Dorothea of Prussia, Louise Dorothea, born 1680, who died without issue at age 25.
* then to Sophia Charlotte of Hanover (1668-1705), with whom he had
** Frederick August (1685–1686)
** Frederick William I of Prussia, Frederick William I, born in 1688, who succeeded him.
* In 1708, he married Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who survived him but had no children by him.
He also had an official mistress, Catharina von Wartenberg, between 1696 and 1711. However, he was never known to make use of her services, being deeply in love with his second wife.
Ancestry
Notes
Further reading
* Dwyer, Philip G., ed. ''The Rise of Prussia, 1700–1830'' (2000). * Frey, Linda, and Marsha Frey. ''Frederick I: The Man and His Times'' (1984).External links
* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 01 of Prussia Frederick I of Prussia, Kings of Prussia 1657 births 1713 deaths 17th-century Dukes of Prussia 18th-century Kings of Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia Dukes of Prussia Electoral Princes of Brandenburg Prince-electors of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern Princes of Neuchâtel German landowners German Calvinist and Reformed Christians People from the Duchy of Prussia Nobility from Königsberg Garter Knights appointed by William III Burials at Berlin Cathedral 17th-century German military personnel 18th-century German military personnel Brandenburgian nobility German people of Dutch descent German people of Portuguese descent German army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Military personnel from Königsberg