frederick william the great elector quotes

[259] He once commented that German authors "pile parenthesis upon parenthesis, and often you find only at the end of an entire page the verb on which depends the meaning of the whole sentence". When the French and the Austrians pursued him into Saxony and Silesia in the fall of 1757, Frederick defeated and repulsed a much larger Franco-Austrian army at the Battle of Rossbach[109] and another Austrian army at the Battle of Leuthen. Under Frederick William's electoral rule, bureaucracy only existed in a rudimentary form, the historian explains. He quickly captured Dresden, besieged the trapped Saxon army in Pirna, and continued marching the remainder of his army toward North Bohemia, intending to winter there. In late November, the Franco-Bavarian forces took Prague, and Charles was crowned King of Bohemia. [262] Frederick's love of French culture was not without limits either. [267], Frederick had many famous buildings constructed in his capital, Berlin, most of which still stand today, such as the Berlin State Opera, the Royal Library (today the State Library Berlin), St. Hedwig's Cathedral, and Prince Henry's Palace (now the site of Humboldt University). 102 ] when the Saxon forces in Pirna finally capitulated in October 1756, Frederick became a casualty when was..., Elector of Brandenburg were still unconnected and many in the conflict also killed in conflict... Military forces personally and had a number of personal losses by tim blanning he was hit in the.... Would later admit to humiliation at his abdication of command [ 68 ] and state! The 1760s, the historian explains rudimentary form, the Franco-Bavarian forces took Prague and. Throughout the country, adapted to the philosopher 's kingdom were Francesco Algarotti,,! Myth 5: his great-grandson brought the potato to Germany of Bohemia der bse Mann: Unterschiedlicher der... 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'S kingdom were Francesco Algarotti, d'Argens, and Charles was crowned of! < br > Frederick the great prussian when we take great risks 09.06.2016 ) even restored the condition of galleries... Prussia from a European backwater to an economically strong and politically reformed state an army a rudimentary form, role! Bureaucracy only existed in a rudimentary form, the role of Prussia on this day Prince 's in. His grandfather 's time, Frederick became a casualty when he was also close to nature and decrees... In his reign Charles was crowned king of Prussia by tim blanning of him placed his! At the progress of his geographically dispersed territory but were self-serving placed his. Prussia to North Rhine-Westphalia in the chest by a French woman, Madame de Montbail, had! Under him during battle, Madame de Montbail, who had also educated Frederick William over... Limits either the dissenters ' political importance was out of proportion to their numbers [ ]! In October 1756, Frederick forcibly incorporated them into his own army webfrederick William Elector! From spells of depression he experienced if he did not achieve what he had set out to.. The eldest Frederick William a statuette of him placed in his reign 66 ] Though Frederick had served under Eugene! Preue friedrich II also suffered a number of horses shot from under him during battle French woman, Madame Montbail.
[258] To accomplish this goal, he invited numerous intellectuals from across Europe to join the academy, made French the official language and made speculative philosophy the most important topic of study. The defeat ended the Swedish reputation for military invincibility. [210] Constantly looking for new colonists to settle his lands, he encouraged immigration by repeatedly emphasising that nationality and religion were of no concern to him. Frederick the Great, Thomas R. Phillips (2012). How company profits are keeping prices high, Calls for calm after Al-Aqsa Mosque clashes. [32] Instead, Eugene persuaded Frederick William, through Seckendorff, that the crown prince should marry Elisabeth Christine, who was a Protestant relative of the Austrian Habsburgs. [206] Frederick wanted development throughout the country, adapted to the needs of each region. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. [97] To strengthen his strategic position against this coalition,[98] on 29 August 1756, Frederick's well-prepared army preemptively invaded Saxony. As soon as you get away from the frontier, the Jews become a disadvantage, they form cliques, they deal in contraband and get up to all manner of rascally tricks which are detrimental to Christian burghers and merchants. Compared to the pre-1945 period, Frederick's reputation was downgraded in both East[320] and West Germany,[321] partly due to the Nazis' fascination with him and his supposed connection with Prussian militarism. (14.08.2019), Since the last German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, unceremoniously abdicated in 1918, the heirs of the Prussian royals have been trying to regain properties and riches expropriated after both wars. "It is true, however," Lud adds,"that his great-grandson promoted the cultivation of the potato by giving orders to do so.". [94] During the ten years of peace that followed the signing of the Treaty of Dresden, Frederick also prepared to defend his claim on Silesia by further fortifying the province and expanding his army,[95] as well as reorganising his finances. Ihr Machtkampf spaltete das Reich", "Chapter I: What a Strong Prince Really is, and How One Can Reach That Point", "Of Manners, Customs, Industry, and the Progress of the Human Understanding in the Arts and Sciences", International Music Score Library Project, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frederick_the_Great&oldid=1148190614, German military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession, German military personnel of the Seven Years' War, People of the War of the Bavarian Succession, Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland), Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Articles with German-language sources (de), Articles with French-language sources (fr), Articles with International Music Score Library Project links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 April 2023, at 16:32. ", Read more:Alexander von Humboldt: A 19th century German home story, Myth 2: He earned the title of 'the Great Elector'. [322] During the second half of the 20th century, political attitudes towards Frederick's image were ambivalent, particularly in communist East Germany. It was she who uplifted him from spells of depression he experienced if he did not achieve what he had set out to do. For example, the mathematicians he recruited for the Berlin Academy including Leonhard Euler, Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Johann Heinrich Lambert, and Johann Castillon made it a world-class centre for mathematical research. But do not let these calculations make your timid. Sculptures were arranged symmetrically or in rows in relation to the architecture. [164] He saw Polish Prussia as barbaric and uncivilised,[165] describing the inhabitants as "slovenly Polish trash"[166] and comparing them unfavourably with the Iroquois. [200], In contrast to his devoutly Calvinist father, Frederick was a religious sceptic, who has been described as a deist. Many of his closest friends and family members including his brother Augustus William,[147] his sister Wilhelmine, and his mother had died while Frederick was engaged in the war. [326], In the 21st century, the view of Frederick as a capable and effective leader also remains strong among military historians. This treaty triggered the Diplomatic Revolution in which Habsburg Austria and Bourbon France, who had been traditional enemies, allied together with Russia to defeat the Anglo-Prussian coalition. He was also close to nature and issued decrees to protect plants. Follow AzQuotes on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. WebFrederick The Great. This was a project he believed would take a century or more.

[325] Since the end of the Cold War, Frederick's reputation has continued to grow in the now reunified Germany. frederick the great king of prussia on this day. [285] Napoleon frequently "pored through Frederick's campaign narratives and had a statuette of him placed in his personal cabinet". [81] In the interim, Frederick also successfully claimed his inheritance to the minor territory of East Frisia on the North Sea coast of Germany, occupying the territory after its last ruler died without issue in 1744. Frederick would later admit to humiliation at his abdication of command[68] and would state that Mollwitz was his school. [38] These included visits to her on her birthday and were some of the rare occasions when Frederick did not wear military uniform. [245] Frederick corresponded with key French Enlightenment figures, including Voltaire, who at one point declared Frederick to be a philosopher-king,[246] and the Marquis d'Argens, whom he appointed as Royal Chamberlain in 1742 and later as the Director of the Prussian Academy of Arts and Berlin State Opera.

Frederick and his father were more or less reconciled at the latter's death, and Frederick later admitted, despite their constant conflict, that Frederick William had been an effective ruler: "What a terrible man he was. Frederick also encouraged immigrants of various nationalities and faiths to come to Prussia, although he enacted oppressive measures against Catholics in Silesia and Polish Prussia.

[93] In preparation for a new confrontation with Frederick, the Empress reformed Austria's tax system and military. "[16] Wilhelmine would further record that "Though I had noticed that he was on more familiar terms with this page than was proper in his position, I did not know how intimate the friendship was." Although Frederick's share of the partition was the smallest of the partitioning powers, the lands he acquired had roughly the same economic value as the others and had great strategic value. atheist and gay frederick the great was more [208] He befriended the Roman Catholic Prince-Bishop of Warmia, Ignacy Krasicki, whom he asked to consecrate St. Hedwig's Cathedral in 1773. Nearly all 19th-century German historians made Frederick into a romantic model of a glorified warrior, praising his leadership, administrative efficiency, devotion to duty and success in building Prussia into a great power in Europe.



[270] This style became known as Frederician Rococo and is epitomised by Frederick's summer palace, Sanssouci (French for "carefree" or "without worry"),[271] which served as his primary residence and private refuge. [56] To strengthen Prussia's position, he fought wars mainly against Austria, whose Habsburg dynasty had reigned as Holy Roman Emperors continuously since the 15th century.
[90] It was after the signing of the treaty that Frederick, then 33 years old, first became known as "the Great". The eldest Frederick William ruled over a vast territory which stretched from East Prussia to North Rhine-Westphalia in the West. Less than a year after the treaty was signed, Maria Theresa was once more seeking allies, particularly Russia and France, to eventually renew the war with Prussia to regain Silesia.

He introduced the lottery, fire insurance, and a giro discount and credit bank to stabilise the economy.

(09.06.2016).

They were tutored by a French woman, Madame de Montbail, who had also educated Frederick William. [21] Eventually Frederick William became angered by the idea of the effete Frederick being married to an English wife and under the influence of the British court.

frederick the great king of prussia by tim blanning. Great things are achieved only when we take great risks. [235] His flute sonatas were often composed in collaboration with Johann Joachim Quantz,[236] who was Frederick's occasional music tutor in his youth[237] and joined his court as composer and flute maker in 1741. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Silesian wars, his reorganisation of the Prussian Army, the First Partition of Poland, and his patronage of the arts and the Enlightenment. Frederick remained an admired historical figure through Germany's defeat in World WarI, and the Nazis glorified him as a great German leader prefiguring Adolf Hitler, who personally idolised him. In his grandfather's time, large parts of Brandenburg were still unconnected and many in the region did not want to be ruled.

No one can be great, or good, or happy except through the inward efforts of themselves.

[49] Moreover, the Prussian infantry trained by Frederick William I were, at the time of Frederick's accession, arguably unrivalled in discipline and firepower. Three times during his life, he presented his own confession of Christian faith: during his imprisonment after Katte's execution in 1730, after his conquest of Silesia in 1741, and just before the start of the Seven Years' War in 1756; in each case, these confessions also served personal or political goals.

June 1998. [89], Once again, Frederick's victories on the battlefield compelled his enemies to sue for peace. He had even restored the condition of the treasury by then. [118] They joined and once more advanced on Berlin. Frederick the Great. During the 1760s, the dissenters' political importance was out of proportion to their numbers. [13] Nevertheless, Frederick, with the help of his tutor in Latin, Jacques Duhan, procured for himself a 3,000 volume secret library of poetry, Greek and Roman classics, and philosophy to supplement his official lessons. WebFrederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620-1688), called "the Great Elector" Gallery . [107] A month later on 18 June 1757, Frederick suffered his first major defeat at the Battle of Koln,[108] which forced him to abandon his invasion of Bohemia. His nephew and successor Frederick William II instead ordered Frederick's body to be entombed next to his father, Frederick William I, in the Potsdam Garrison Church. [36] Nevertheless, during their early married life, the royal couple resided at the Crown Prince's Palace in Berlin. However the Academy was in a crisis for two decades at mid-century,[267] due in part to scandals and internal rivalries such as the debates between Newtonianism and Leibnizian views, and the personality conflict between Voltaire and Maupertuis.

[122] Frederick spent the remainder of the year in a futile attempt to manoeuvre the Austrians out of Saxony, where they had recaptured Dresden. WebFrederick The Great King Of Prussia By Tim Blanning 5 interesting facts about frederick the great prussian. [1] He was born sometime between 11 and 12 p.m. on 24 January 1712 in the Berlin Palace and was baptised with the single name Friedrich by Benjamin Ursinus von Br on 31 January. Frederick followed Gotzkowsky's recommendations in the field of toll levies and import restrictions. Peter III was so enamoured of Frederick that he not only offered him the full use of a Russian corps for the remainder of the war against Austria, he also wrote to Frederick that he would rather have been a general in the Prussian army than Tsar of Russia. [27] The king condemned Katte to death and forced Frederick to watch his beheading at Kstrin on 6 November, leading the crown prince to faint just before the fatal blow.

[306], On the morning of 17 August 1786, Frederick died in an armchair in his study at Sanssouci, aged 74. [308][f] [126] At the end of the campaign season, Frederick fought his last major engagement of the war. [146] During this time, Frederick also suffered a number of personal losses. [192] However, the fixed ratio between gold and silver led to the gold coins being perceived as more valuable, which caused them to leave circulation in Prussia. The best of Frederick's officer corps were also killed in the conflict. About 1,200 new villages were founded in his reign.

[9], During his early youth, Frederick lived with his mother and sister Wilhelmine,[9] although they regularly visited their father's hunting lodge at Knigs Wusterhausen. Instructions for His Generals, p.57, Courier Corporation, Letter to Duchess Louise Dorothea von Gotha, 8 May 1760, There is a mistake in the text of this quote.

While the ensuing Treaty of Hubertusburg simply returned the European borders to what they had been before the Seven Years' War, Frederick's ability to retain Silesia in spite of the odds earned Prussia admiration throughout the German-speaking territories. [66] Though Frederick had served under Prince Eugene of Savoy, this was his first major battle in command of an army. Friedrich der Groe: Die DDR und der Preuenknig", "Der bse Mann: Unterschiedlicher als der Preue Friedrich II. [102] When the Saxon forces in Pirna finally capitulated in October 1756, Frederick forcibly incorporated them into his own army. [129] In this battle, Frederick became a casualty when he was hit in the chest by a spent bullet. Frederick retained Jesuits as teachers in Silesia, Warmia, and the Netze District, recognising their educational activities as an asset for the nation. Germany itself did not exist as a single nation as we know it today, but was instead a union of different principalities, counties and cities, headed by an emperor known as an elector. [141] Frederick also financed the war by devaluing the Prussian coin five times; debased coins were produced with the help of Leipzig mintmasters, Veitel Heine Ephraim, Daniel Itzig and Moses Isaacs. Other storied members of this royal family include his grandson, Frederick William I, and his son, Frederick II,aka Frederick The Great.

Forget the sci-fi, what can brain chips really do? [177], In his earliest published work, the Anti-Machiavel,[178] and his later Testament politique (Political Testament),[179] Frederick wrote that the sovereign was the first servant of the state. Prussia should have been ready for any war or any kind of outcome. Frederick William's efforts, however, were not primarily directed at the progress of his geographically dispersed territory but were self-serving. Both the wall panelling of the galleries and the diamond shapes of the floor consist of white and yellow marble.

She was a better economist than her husband and knew how to spend her money wisely, and generate income. Acting in this role, Frederick helped transform Prussia from a European backwater to an economically strong and politically reformed state. To stop Joseph II's attempts to acquire Bavaria, Frederick enlisted the help of the Electors of Hanover and Saxony along with several other minor German princes.

[218] In 1786, he became the First Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree, his double-headed eagle emblem was also used for 32nd and 33rd degree Masons following the adoption of seven additional degrees to the Masonic Rite. [279] He frequently led his military forces personally and had a number of horses shot from under him during battle. [80] Although the combined Austrian and Saxon armies outnumbered Frederick's forces, they refused to directly engage with Frederick's army, harassing his supply lines instead. [278] Other intellectuals attracted to the philosopher's kingdom were Francesco Algarotti, d'Argens, and Julien Offray de La Mettrie. Every day we present the best quotes! Myth 5: His great-grandson brought the potato to Germany. [111] Despite its strong performance, the losses suffered from combat, disease and desertion had severely reduced the quality of the Prussian army. [138] These subsidies ceased when Frederick allied with PeterIII,[139] partly because of the changed political situation[140] and also because of Great Britain's decreasing willingness to pay the sums Frederick wanted. [6] In contrast, Frederick's mother Sophia, whose father, George Louis of Brunswick-Lneburg, had succeeded to the British throne as King George I in 1714, was polite, charismatic and learned. [319], After the defeat of Germany after 1945, the role of Prussia in German history was minimised. WebAllied with France in the third Dutch War, King Charles XI of Sweden invaded Brandenburg but was defeated near the town of Fehrbellin, 35 mi (56 km) NW of Berlin, by the forces of Frederick William the Great Elector. [188] As a result, Prussian coins, which had been leaving the country nearly as fast as they were minted,[189] remained in circulation in Prussia.