Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg | |
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Homburg | |
Noble family | House of Hesse |
Spouse(s) |
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Issue Detail | |
Father | Frederick I, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg |
Mother | Margaret Elisabeth of Leiningen-Westerburg |
Signature |
Frederick II of Hesse-Homburg (German: Friedrich II. von Hessen-Homburg), also known as the Prince of Homburg (30 March 1633 – 24 January 1708) was Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. He was also a successful and experienced general for the crowns of both Sweden and of Brandenburg, but is best remembered as the eponymous hero of Heinrich von Kleist's play Der Prinz von Homburg.[1]
Life
Childhood and youth
Frederick was born in Homburg (the present
At his mother's wish Frederick was educated by private tutors together with the sons of his cousin, George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, in Marburg. In 1648 he broke his leg and spent some time convalescing in Bad Pfäfers.
When Field-Marshal
At the age of 16 he made the Grand Tour through Italy and France, and was then signed up as a student at the University of Geneva, although he did not follow a real course of academic study: he learned dancing, riding and fencing, and polished his knowledge of the French language.
Military career
Since his elder brothers preceded him in the succession, he decided on a military career and in 1654 became a colonel in the army of the
In 1659 during the storming of Copenhagen during the Northern Wars Frederick was so seriously wounded that his lower right leg had to be amputated. He was promoted to major-general (Generalmajor) and from then on had a wooden leg. Frederick was chosen by Charles X as the Statthalter of Livonia, but after the king's death things changed considerably, and Frederick left Swedish service in 1661.
In the same year he married
In 1672 and 1674 he fought in the
Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
After leaving military service he lived as a
He had the
In 1690 his wife died, having borne him 12 children. At the age of 59 Frederick married for a third time: the widow Sophie Sybille von Leiningen-Westerburg, a connection of his mother's family, who bore him three more children.
Frederick died in 1708 in Homburg, apparently from pneumonia, after a last journey to Leipzig to meet Charles XII, King of Sweden.
Marriages and issue
Frederick II was married three times: in 1661 to Countess
Children by Countess Margarethe Brahe (1603–1669): none
Children by Louise Elisabeth of Courland (1646–1690):
- Charlotte Dorothea Sophia (1672–1738)
- married 1694 Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar(1664–1707)
- Frederick III Jacob (1673–1746), Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
- married 1. 1700 Princess Elisabeth Dorothea of Hesse-Darmstadt(1676–1721)
- married 2. 1728 Princess Christiane Charlotte of Nassau-Ottweiler (1685–1761)
- Karl Christian (1674–1695), fell at the Siege of Namur
- Hedwig Luise (1675–1760)
- married 1718 Count Adam Friedrich von Schlieben (1677–1752)
- Philipp (1676–1706), fell at the Battle of Speyerbach in the War of the Spanish Succession
- Wilhelmine Maria (1678–1770)
- married 1711 Count Anton II of Aldenburg (1681–1738)
- Eleonore Margarete (1679–1763) Deaness in Reformed Monastery of Herford
- Elisabeth Juliana Francisca (1681–1707)
- married 1702 Prince Frederick William Adolf, Prince of Nassau-Siegen (1680–1722)
- Johanna Ernestine (1682–1698)
- Ferdinand (born and died 1683)
- Karl Ferdinand (1684–1688)
- Casimir William (1690–1726)
- married 1722 Countess Christine Charlotte of Solms-Braunfels (1690–1751)
Children by Sophie Sybille of Leiningen-Westerburg (1656-1724):
- Ludwig Georg (1693–1728)
- married 1710 Countess Christine Magdalene of Limpurg-Sontheim (1683–1746)
- Friederike Sophie (1693–1694)
- Leopold (born and died 1695)
Literary references
Frederick is the eponymous hero of the well-known German drama Prinz Friedrich von Homburg (in full,
The drama in its turn has inspired an opera, Der Prinz von Homburg, by Hans Werner Henze (written 1958, performed 1960) and a number of films, including Marco Bellocchio's Il Principe di Homburg, released in 1997.
Notes
- ^ also Prinz Friedrich von Homburg, or in full, Prinz Friedrich von Homburg oder die Schlacht bei Fehrbellin
References
- Ludwig Clemm (1961), "Friedrich II.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 5, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 505–506
- Arthur Wyß (1877), "Friedrich II.", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 7, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 520–522
- Rosendorfer, Herbert, 1991: Der Prinz von Homburg: Biographie. München: Dtv ISBN 3-423-11448-7
- Gräf, Holger T: Der Held von Fehrbellin, in Die Zeit, 3/2008 of 10 Jan. 2008, p. 72
- Gräf, Holger T, 2008: Landgraf Friedrich II., der Prinz von Homburg. Sutton ISBN 978-3-86680-237-7
External links
- Frederick II in the German National Library catalogue
- Account of the Battle of Fehrbellin (preussenweb.de after Frank Bauer, Fehrbellin 1675) (in German)