Historians do not give an unambiguous assessment of the reign of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, who ruled this country since 1797. On the one hand, he was not a very educated person, the main emphasis was on military training. On the other hand, he received a good upbringing, was modest, honest, unpretentious in everyday life, and greatly valued the honor of his family. At a certain point, he showed himself as a conservative, but at the same time he carried out a number of reforms. More about this in the brief biography of Wilhelm Friedrich 3.
Hohenzollern family
Friedrich Wilhelm III was born in 1770 in Potsdam. The upbringing and education he received was traditionally harsh, with a pronounced military bias. This was the custom in the family of the Prussian kings, and his father, the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm 2 Hohenzollern, was also brought up this way. And also another of his namesake - Frederick 2 the Great, to whom hewas a great-nephew. The mother of Friedrich Wilhelm was Queen Friederike Louise, who was the daughter of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig XI.
Looking ahead, we note that the blood of the Hohenzollerns also flowed in the veins of the Russian rulers of the Romanov family. It happened in the following way. The wife of Friedrich Wilhelm 3 was the daughter of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charles II and his wife Caroline Louise. Their wedding took place in 1793. Seven children were born from this marriage - four sons and three daughters.
Two sons later became the kings of Prussia - this is Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Wilhelm I. The second of them was also the German emperor. And the daughter of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm 3, Princess Louise Charlotte of Prussia, became the wife of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I (at that time the Grand Duke), taking the Orthodox name Alexandra Feodorovna.
Thus, their son Alexander II was the grandson of Frederick, who visited Russia in 1809. Widowed, Friedrich Wilhelm in 1824 married a representative of the Czech noble family Augusta von Harrach. This marriage was morganatic (due to the unequal position with the king, Augusta could not become queen) and childless.
Traces of upbringing
As a child, Friedrich was distinguished by restraint, shyness and a melancholy disposition. But this did not prevent him from becoming a pious person, kind and sincere in personal communication. During the reign of his father, the reputation of the family of Prussian monarchs was badly damaged by numerous intrigues,who fought at court, as well as several scandals of a sexual nature. This was one of the reasons for the further strong restraint in the behavior of Friedrich Wilhelm. As well as his desire to restore the good name of the Hohenzollern clan.
Critics note that sometimes the piety of King Friedrich Wilhelm 3 "went through the roof". So, once the statue of his wife seemed too frank to him, and the king forbade the sculptor who created it to put his work on public display.
Another original feature in Friedrich's behavior was that in his speech he did not allow the use of personal pronouns. Even referring to himself, he used the third person. This manner was borrowed from him by the Prussian military. And it was explained as follows. The fact is that the king attached great importance to the fulfillment of the duty of a civil servant to his country, putting him much higher than personal devotion to the monarch.
Start of reign
In 1792, hostilities began against France, in subsequent campaigns against this country, the king was directly involved.
According to the researchers, being a sincere believer, a kind person in personal terms, as a ruler Friedrich Wilhelm 3 was weak and indecisive. Promising full assistance to the Austrians, he did not take any necessary action after Napoleon invaded there in 1805.
This was explained by the fact that in exchange for observing the PrussianNeutrality Frederick hoped to receive Hanover from France, as well as other lands located in the north. However, it was possible to get what was promised from Napoleon only after the Prussian king was forced to give up such parts of his country as Ansbach, Bayreuth, Klev, Neustal.
Entering the war
After Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Russian and Austrian troops in the battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Frederick no longer had the opportunity to refuse to resist the French side.
However, joining the military company at this stage was extremely unsuccessful for Prussia. Her army at Jena and Auerstedt was defeated in 1806. Then Friedrich Wilhelm had to lose half of his lands, after which he was forced to sign the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807.
Further reign
In the period from 1807 to 1812, the King of Prussia carried out a number of transformations in various areas - administrative, social, agrarian, military reforms. Their initiators and guides were such well-known figures from Friedrich's entourage as:
- Baron von Stein, Minister;
- Scharnhorst, General;
- Gneisenau, Field Marshal General;
- Hardenberg, Earl.
Before Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the Russian Empire, he forced Prussia and Austria to sign treaties with France, according to which both countries were obliged to send their troops to help the French army.
However, this caused resistance among the patriotic officers. Thanks to his representatives, as well as with the assistance of the already mentioned Stein and Gneisenau, and other Prussian leaders, a Russian-German legion was formed in the army, which fought against the Napoleonic army. By November 1812, there were about eight thousand fighters in it.
Congress of Vienna
In March 1813, Friedrich Wilhelm 3 appealed to the people, thus sanctioning a war of liberation against the French occupiers. Already in 1814, as part of the allied contingent of the anti-Napoleonic coalition, the Prussian army entered Paris in triumph. In 1815 Friedrich was one of the participants in the Congress of Vienna.
This international congress was held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815 with the participation of representatives from all countries of Europe, with the exception of Turkey. During its implementation, the restoration of all previous dynasties, the revision and fixation of borders, the signing of a number of treaties, the adoption of declarations and resolutions took place. All this was then summarized in the General Act and several appendices to it.
The system of relations developed by the Congress of Vienna between the leading states of Europe existed until the 2nd half of the 19th century. At the end of the congress, on September 26, 1815, an act was signed between Russia, Austria and Prussia in Paris, proclaiming the formation of the Holy Alliance.
According to the results of the Vienna agreements, Friedrich Wilhelm 3 was able to return such areas as Rhenish Prussia, Westphalia, Poznan, partSaxony.
Recent years
During the hostilities, the Prussian king made a promise to the people to adopt a constitution and introduce representative government. However, later, under pressure from Metternich (an Austrian diplomat and statesman), he did not fulfill his obligations. Until 1848, Prussia, in alliance with Austria, became the center of reaction. Friedrich Wilhelm died in 1840, reaching an advanced age and outliving all the monarchs who were his contemporaries, with whom he shared hardships and victories in the wars with Napoleon.
It is noteworthy that in our country there is a building bearing the name of this king. This is Fort No. 5 "King Friedrich Wilhelm 3" in Kaliningrad. Let's talk about it in more detail.
Fort No. 5
This is a fortification military structure built in the city of Koenigsberg, and now Kaliningrad. It served as a cover for the highway leading to Pillau. The time of its construction is the end of the 19th century, and it is a brick and concrete building about two hundred meters long and about 100 meters wide. Along the perimeter it is surrounded by a moat, previously filled with water, as well as an earthen rampart and thick stone walls (up to five meters).
Trenches were dug in the shaft itself and firing points for machine guns, mortars, flamethrowers, and artillery pieces were organized. The ditch is about 25 meters wide and about 5 meters deep. The fort was connected with the adjacent territory by a swing bridge, which is now destroyed. Previously, the fort was surrounded by trees and shrubs fordisguise. The barracks of an infantry company, a sapper group and an artillery team were located here.
In April 1945, Fort No. 5 was captured by Soviet troops. The German garrison in it surrendered, and the building itself was badly damaged. Since 1979, a historical museum dedicated to the Great Patriotic War has been organized here. It was opened to the public in 2010 and has the status of a cultural heritage of federal significance.
