Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz
Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Pöllnitz (25 February 1692 – 23 June 1775) was a German adventurer and writer from Issum.
Life
His father, Wilhelm Ludwig
elector of Brandenburg, and much of his son's youth was passed at the electoral court in Berlin. He was a man of restless and adventurous disposition, unscrupulous even for the age in which he lived, visited many of the European courts, and served as a soldier in Austria, Italy and Spain
.
Returning to Berlin in 1735, he obtained a position in the household of King
Frederick the Great
, with whom he appears to have been a great favorite; and he died in Berlin on June 23, 1775.
Pöllnitz's Mémoires (
Breslau
, 1736); and Mémoires pour servir a l'histoire des quatres derniers souverains de la maison de Branderibourg, published by F. L. Brunn (Berlin, 1791; Ger. trans., Berlin, 1791).
Perhaps his most popular works are La Saxe galante (Amsterdam, 1734, English translation 1929), an account of the private life of
Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony and king of Poland; and Histoire secrete de la duchesse d'Hanovre, épouse de Georges I (London, 1732). There is an English translation of the Mémoires (London, 1737-1738). See P. von Pöllnitz, Stammtafeln der Familie von Pöllnitz (Berlin, 1894); and J. G. Droysen, Geschichte der preussischen Politik, pt. iv. (Leipzig
, 1870).
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pöllnitz, Karl Ludwig". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links
- Works by Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz at Internet Archive
- The English translation of the Memoirs of Pöllnitz can be found a Project Gutenberg.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
