George Frederick Charles, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
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George Frederick Charles (Georg Friedrich Karl), Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (Oberzulzbürg Castle (near Mühlhausen
), 30 June 1688 – Bayreuth, 17 May 1735), was a German prince, member of the House of Hohenzollern
, nominal Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach (1708–35) and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1726–35).
by his wife, Countess Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein
. Besides him, only six of his siblings survived childhood: Albrecht Wolfgang, killed in battle in 1734; Dorothea Charlotte, Countess of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim, who died in 1712 after only seven months of marriage; Sophie Magdalene, Queen of Denmark
; Frederick Ernst; Sophie Caroline, Princess of Ostfriesland; and Frederick Christian
, who later inherited the margraviate of Bayreuth.
. From 1700 to 1704 he travelled to western Europe as part of a traditional educational journey (Grand Tour
), and visited, among other countries, Denmark
, France
and Holland. Later, he studied four years at the University of Utrecht
. After the death of his father in 1708 he returned with his family, who had lived since 1704 in the Schloss Weferlingen
near Magdeburg
, and assumed the nominal title of Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach.
Schloss Weferlingen had been assigned to his family as an appanage by King Frederick I of Prussia, after George Frederick Charles's heavily- indebted father had renounced his succession rights to the Franconian Hohenzollern estates of Bayreuth and Ansbach
in favour of Prussia in the Contract of Schönberg . George Frederick Charles nonetheless tried to recover his rights after the death of his father and sought the abolition of this contract. He was able to secure the support of the Franconian states, who feared being merged into the Franconian Circle
by Prussia. George Frederick Charles could also rely on the decisive assistance of the Archbishop of Mainz and Prince-Bishop of Bamberger Lothar Franz von Schönborn
and his nephew, the Imperial Vice-Chancellor (German: Reichsvizekanzler) Frederick Karl von Schönborn, who supported the abolition of the Contract of Schönberg. His efforts finally succeeded only in 1722 after long and difficult discussions and the payment of a substantial indemnity to Prussia.
When the Margrave Georg Wilhelm died in 1726 without surviving male issue, George Frederick Charles assumed the principality of Bayreuth without further difficulties.
After his accession, George Frederick Charles put great value on the improvement of the ruined finances of his territories and made local government his highest priority. In contrast to many of his contemporary rulers, he had no political or military ambitions. Instead he was very pious and intensely supported August Hermann Francke
in inculcating the importance of religious life for his subjects. He was remarkable for his support of orphanages.
He was uninterested in court life, and in his last years built up Schloss Himmelkron, a former monastery, probably with plans to retire there.
In the memoirs of his daughter-in-law Wilhelmine of Prussia
, George Frederick Charles is described as a thin, bandy-legged, egotistical, wrong-headed, jealous person. The antipathy was mutual. The margrave harassed his daughter-in-law in much the same way that her parents had done. When Wilhelmine gave birth to a daughter, it destroyed George Frederick Karl's hopes to take charge of the his grandchild's upbringing, since he was allowed to supervise the education of his son Frederick's child only if it were a boy, according to the marriage contract signed with Wilhelmine. Frederick supported his wife and the drunk margrave hit him with his stick without injuring him.
on 17 April 1709 George Frederick Charles married Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck
. They had five children:
After seven years of unhappy marriage, George Frederick Charles and Dorothea separated in 1716. Eight years later (1724), their marriage was formally dissolved. Dorothea later emigrated to Sweden, were she died in 1761, twenty-years after her former husband. Neither of them remarried.
Mühlhausen, Upper Palatinate
Mühlhausen is a municipality in the district of Neumarkt in Bavaria in Germany....
), 30 June 1688 – Bayreuth, 17 May 1735), was a German prince, member of the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
, nominal Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach (1708–35) and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1726–35).
Family
He was the eldest of the fourteen children born to Margrave Christian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-KulmbachChristian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach
Christian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach , was a German prince and member of the House of Hohenzollern and nominal Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach.-Family:...
by his wife, Countess Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein
Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein
Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein was a Countess of Wolfstein and Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach by marriage.- Life :...
. Besides him, only six of his siblings survived childhood: Albrecht Wolfgang, killed in battle in 1734; Dorothea Charlotte, Countess of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim, who died in 1712 after only seven months of marriage; Sophie Magdalene, Queen of Denmark
Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was queen-consort of Denmark and Norway as the wife of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway.-Background:...
; Frederick Ernst; Sophie Caroline, Princess of Ostfriesland; and Frederick Christian
Frederick Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Frederick Christian of Brandenburg-Bayreuth , was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.-Family:...
, who later inherited the margraviate of Bayreuth.
Life
During his early years, George Frederick Charles was instructed by his very religious mother, and later received a careful formal education in BielefeldBielefeld
Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
. From 1700 to 1704 he travelled to western Europe as part of a traditional educational journey (Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
), and visited, among other countries, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Holland. Later, he studied four years at the University of Utrecht
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....
. After the death of his father in 1708 he returned with his family, who had lived since 1704 in the Schloss Weferlingen
Weferlingen
Weferlingen is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oebisfelde-Weferlingen....
near Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, and assumed the nominal title of Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach.
Schloss Weferlingen had been assigned to his family as an appanage by King Frederick I of Prussia, after George Frederick Charles's heavily- indebted father had renounced his succession rights to the Franconian Hohenzollern estates of Bayreuth and Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
in favour of Prussia in the Contract of Schönberg . George Frederick Charles nonetheless tried to recover his rights after the death of his father and sought the abolition of this contract. He was able to secure the support of the Franconian states, who feared being merged into the Franconian Circle
Franconian Circle
The Franconian Circle was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy — roughly corresponding with the present-day Bavarian Regierungsbezirke of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia — while western...
by Prussia. George Frederick Charles could also rely on the decisive assistance of the Archbishop of Mainz and Prince-Bishop of Bamberger Lothar Franz von Schönborn
Lothar Franz von Schönborn
Lothar Franz von Schönborn was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1694 until 1729, and the Bishop of Bamberg from 1693 until 1729.Lothar Franz was born in Steinheim am Main in 1655 to Count Philip Erwin of Schönborn...
and his nephew, the Imperial Vice-Chancellor (German: Reichsvizekanzler) Frederick Karl von Schönborn, who supported the abolition of the Contract of Schönberg. His efforts finally succeeded only in 1722 after long and difficult discussions and the payment of a substantial indemnity to Prussia.
When the Margrave Georg Wilhelm died in 1726 without surviving male issue, George Frederick Charles assumed the principality of Bayreuth without further difficulties.
After his accession, George Frederick Charles put great value on the improvement of the ruined finances of his territories and made local government his highest priority. In contrast to many of his contemporary rulers, he had no political or military ambitions. Instead he was very pious and intensely supported August Hermann Francke
August Hermann Francke
August Hermann Francke was a German Lutheran churchman.-Biography:Born at the German city Lübeck, Francke was educated at the gymnasium in Gotha before he studied at the universities of Erfurt and Kiel - where he came under the influence of the pietist Christian Kortholt - and finally Leipzig...
in inculcating the importance of religious life for his subjects. He was remarkable for his support of orphanages.
He was uninterested in court life, and in his last years built up Schloss Himmelkron, a former monastery, probably with plans to retire there.
In the memoirs of his daughter-in-law Wilhelmine of Prussia
Wilhelmine of Bayreuth
Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia was a German noblewoman and composer. She was the eldest daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. In 1731, she married Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth...
, George Frederick Charles is described as a thin, bandy-legged, egotistical, wrong-headed, jealous person. The antipathy was mutual. The margrave harassed his daughter-in-law in much the same way that her parents had done. When Wilhelmine gave birth to a daughter, it destroyed George Frederick Karl's hopes to take charge of the his grandchild's upbringing, since he was allowed to supervise the education of his son Frederick's child only if it were a boy, according to the marriage contract signed with Wilhelmine. Frederick supported his wife and the drunk margrave hit him with his stick without injuring him.
Marriage and issue
In ReinfeldReinfeld
Reinfeld may refer to:*Reinfeld, Schleswig-Holstein, a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany*Reinfeld, Manitoba, a town in Canada*Reinfeld, a small village near Templin, Brandenburg, Germany-See also:*Fredrik Reinfeldt...
on 17 April 1709 George Frederick Charles married Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck
Dorothea von Holstein-Beck
Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck, known also as Dorothea von Holstein-Beck and Dorothea von Ziedewitz, , was a German princess of the House of Oldenburg and by marriage Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach.-Family:She was the eldest of the thirteen children of Frederick Louis,...
. They had five children:
- Sophie Christiane LuiseMargravine Sophie Christine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth- Titles and styles :* 4 January 1710 – 11 April 1731: Her Serene Highness Margravine Sophie Christine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth* 11 April 1731 – 13 June 1739: Her Serene Highness The Hereditary Princess of Thurn and Taxis, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth- Ancestry :- References :...
(b. Weferlingen, 4 January 1710 - d. Brussels, 13 June 1739), married on 11 April 1731 to Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and TaxisAlexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis-Titles and styles:*21 March 1704 – 8 November 1739: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis*8 November 1739 – 17 March 1773: His Serene Highness The Prince of Thurn and Taxis-Honours:...
. - FrederickFrederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-BayreuthFrederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth , was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth....
(b. Weferlingen, 10 May 1711 - d. Bayreuth, 26 February 1763), successor of his father as Margrave of Bayreuth. - Wilhelm Ernst (b. Weferlingen, 26 July 1712 - d. Mantua, 7 November 1733).
- Sophie Charlotte Albertine (b. Weferlingen, 27 July 1713 - d. Ilmenau, 2 March 1747), married on 7 April 1734 to Duke Ernst August I of Saxe-Weimar.
- Sophie Wilhelmine (b. Weferlingen, 8 July 1714 - d. Aurich, 7 September 1749), married on 25 May 1734 to Prince Charles Edzard of East FrisiaCharles Edzard, Prince of East FrisiaCharles Edzard was the last prince of East Frisia. He ruled from 12 June 1734 until his death...
.
After seven years of unhappy marriage, George Frederick Charles and Dorothea separated in 1716. Eight years later (1724), their marriage was formally dissolved. Dorothea later emigrated to Sweden, were she died in 1761, twenty-years after her former husband. Neither of them remarried.