Leopold III Frederick Franz, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau (10 August 1740 – 9 August 1817), known as "Prince Franz" or "Father Franz", was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Principality of Anhalt, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ' ...

. From 1751 until 1807 he was reigning prince of the

Principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

Anhalt-Dessau Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into th ...

and from 1807 the first

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

of the

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

of Anhalt-Dessau. A strong supporter of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

, Leopold undertook numerous reforms in his principality and made Anhalt-Dessau one of the most modern and prosperous of the small German states. An

Anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. In some cases, Anglophilia refers to an individual's appreciation of English history and traditional English cultural ico ...

, Leopold also extended and altered the old gardens of Oranienbaum that were laid out in Dutch style to create the first and largest of the

English park English Park is a football (soccer), football stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the home stadium of Canterbury United, which competes in the ASB Premiership, as well as Western AFC which currently compete in the Mainland Premier League. ...

s of his time, renamed the

Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm The Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, (German: ''Dessau-Wörlitzer Gartenreich'') is a cultural landscape and World Heritage Site in Germany, located between the city of Dessau and the town of Wörlitz in Central Germany. One of the first and large ...

Early life

Leopold was born at

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

as the eldest son of the later Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, by his wife Gisela Agnes, daughter of

Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen (29 November 1694 – 19 November 1728) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. Today, he is best remembered for employing Johann Sebastian Bach as his Kapellmeister ...

. After having lost both parents in 1751 (his mother on 20 April and his father on 16 December), the eleven-year-old Leopold inherited Anhalt-Dessau under the regency of his uncle, Prince Dietrich. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, Leopold joined the Prussian Army. After the

Battle of Kolín The Battle of Kolín (Kolin) on 18 June 1757 saw 54,000 Austrians under Count von Daun defeat 34,000 Prussians under Frederick the Great during the Third Silesian War (Seven Years' War). Prussian attempts to turn the Austrian right flank turn ...

(18 June 1757), he was impressed so negatively by the spectacle of warfare that he resigned from the army and declared the neutrality of Anhalt-Dessau.

Rule

In 1758 he was declared of age and assumed the government of his lands. An

and strong supporter of the

, Leopold took special interest in the education of the population of his principality in science and nature. His numerous reforms in the areas of education, health care, social services, roads, agriculture, forestry, and industry made Anhalt-Dessau one of the most modern and prosperous of the small German states. The most conspicuous of his improvements included planting fruit trees along dykes and the construction of beautiful buildings. However his reforms included public works programs repairing dykes destroyed by flooding, providing social housing, education, sanitation, the first public parks, burial grounds irrespective of social rank, as well as liberal policies towards the Jewish community, including allowing for the founding of a Jewish school and the first Jewish newspaper in Germany. He engaged Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff to build Wörlitz Palace (1769–1773), the first Neoclassical building in Germany. In 1774 Leopold engaged von Erdmannsdorff to construct a small residence with a small English park as a gift to his wife; in her honor, the castle took the name Schloss Luisium. Leopold also extended and altered the old gardens of Oranienbaum that were laid out in Dutch style to create the first and largest of the

s of his time, renamed the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm. In 1782, Leopold was tried by the Fürstenbund for his opposition to Prussian hegemony. In 1806 he was invited to Paris by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, who was impressed by his reputation. Leopold was one of the last princes to join the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

on 18 April 1807. On the other hand, despite his differences with the Prussian crown, he offered the Prussian rebel Major

Ferdinand von Schill Major Ferdinand Baptista von Schill (6 January 1776 – 31 May 1809) was a Prussian Army officer who revolted unsuccessfully against France's domination of Prussia in May 1809. Schill's rebellion ended at the Battle of Stralsund, a battle which ...

an honorable reception in Dessau on May 2, 1809. Leopold was elevated to the rank of duke in 1807. As the head of the senior Anhalt branch, he could not earlier by etiquette receive his kinsmen, the Princes of

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. T ...

and

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subd ...

, who were raised to that rank before him. He received the title by paying a considerable sum of money to the Emperor shortly before the dissolution of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

in 1806, just as the prince of Anhalt-Bernburg had done before him. In 1812, Leopold became regent of the duchy of Anhalt-Köthen during the minority of Duke Louis Augustus Karl Frederick Emil. Leopold died after a fall from his horse at Schloss Luisium, near Dessau, in 1817. He was succeeded by his eldest grandson Leopold IV, because his son, the Hereditary Prince Frederick, had predeceased him.

Marriage and issue

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

on 25 July 1767 Leopold married his cousin Louise Henriette Wilhelmine (b. Różanki,

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, 24 September 1750 – d. Dessau, 21 December 1811), daughter of Frederick Henry, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, by his wife Leopoldine Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, a sister of his father. They had two children: #A daughter (b. and d. Dessau, 11 February 1768). # Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (b. Dessau, 27 December 1769 – d. Dessau, 27 May 1814). He also had ten illegitimate children: :de:Leopold III. Friedrich Franz (Anhalt-Dessau) *With Johanna Eleonore Hoffmeyer (b. 12 November 1739 – d. 3 May 1816), by marriage von Neitschütz since 1765: #Wilhelmine Eleonore Fredericka f Waldersee(b. Dessau, 14 June 1762 – d. Dessau, 23 September 1762). #Count Franz John George of Waldersee (b. Dessau, 5 September 1763 – d. Dessau, 30 May 1823), married in Dessau on 20 May 1787 to Countess Louise of Anhalt (morganatic granddaughter of the Hereditary Prince William Gustav, eldest son and heir of Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau). They had six children, three sons (Franz Henry, Eduard and Frederick Gustav) and three daughters (Louise, Amalie Agnes and Marie). Their descendants through the eldest son Franz Henry are still alive. A descendant of Franz Heinrich and Bertha von Hünerbein was General Alfred von Waldersee. #Louise Eleonore Fredericka of Waldersee (b. Dessau, 30 August 1765 – d. 1804). *With Leopoldine Luise Schoch, daughter of his Master Gardener, who was ennobled with the surname "von Beringer": #Wilhelmine Sidonie von Beringer (b. Wörlitz, 5 January 1789 – d. Halle, 20 April 1860), married in Wörlitz on 20 June 1815 to Wilhelm von Goerne. #Louise Adelheid von Beringer (b. Dessau, 16 October 1790 – d. Halle, 5 June 1870), married in Wörlitz on 19 August 1812 to Friedrich Ludwig Wilhelm Georg von Glafey. #Franz Adolf von Beringer (b. Wörlitz, 2 June 1792 – d. 28 February 1834), married to Auguste Wilhelmine Roeser (b. 2 June 1793 – d. 25 August 1855). They had one son Wilhelm, and one granddaughter, Magda, with the line apparently becoming extinct. *With Johanna Magdalena Luise Jäger (b. 1763 – d. ?): #Franziska Jäger (b. 1789 – d. ?). #Leopoldine Jäger (b. 1791 – d. 1847). #Amalie Jäger (b. 1793 – d. 1841). *With Fredricka Wilhelmine Schulz (b. 1772 – d. 1843), by marriage Favreau: #Louis Ferdinand Schulz (b. 1800 – d. 1893).

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold 03 of Anhalt-Dessau, Duke 1740 births 1817 deaths People from Dessau-Roßlau Princes of Anhalt-Dessau Prussian Army personnel German military personnel of the Seven Years' War Royal reburials Deaths by horse-riding accident in Germany 18th-century German military personnel 19th-century regents