Historians do not give an unambiguous assessment of the rule of King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm 3, who ruled this country since 1797. On the one hand, this 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, he greatly valued the honor of his family. At a certain point, he proved himself as a conservative, but at the same time carried out a series of reforms. More about this in a brief biography of William Friedrich 3.
Genus Hohenzollern
Friedrich Wilhelm 3 was born in 1770 in Potsdam. The upbringing and education he received was traditionally severe, with a pronounced military bias. So it was accepted in the family of the Prussian kings, so his father, the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm 2 of Hohenzollern, was brought up. And also one of his namesake - Frederick the Great, to whom he was a grand-nephew. The mother of Friedrich Wilhelm was Queen Frederick Louise, who was the daughter of the Landgrave of the State 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 as follows. The wife of Frederick William 3 was the daughter of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitzky Charles II and his wife Carolina Louise. Their wedding took place in 1793. From this marriage seven children were born - four sons and three daughters.
The two sons subsequently happened to become kings of Prussia - these are Frederick William IV and William I. The second of them was also the German emperor. And the daughter of the Prussian king Frederick William 3, Princess Louise Charlotte of Prussia, became the wife of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I (at that time the Grand Duke), adopting the Orthodox name of Alexander Fedorovna.
Thus, their son Alexander II was the grandson of Frederick, who visited Russia in 1809. Widowed, Friedrich Wilhelm in 1824 married the representative of the Czech noble family Auguste von Harrach. This marriage was morganatic (due to the unequal position with King Augustus, she could not become a queen) and childless.
Traces of parenting
In childhood, Frederick 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 the numerous intrigues that were conducted at court, as well as several scandals of a sexual nature. This was one of the reasons for further strong constriction in the behavior of Friedrich Wilhelm. As well as his desire to restore the good name of the Hohenzollern clan.
Critics say that sometimes the piety of King Friedrich Wilhelm 3 "went wild." So, once the statue of his wife seemed to him too frank, and the king forbade the sculptor who created her to put his work on public display.
Another original feature in the behavior of Frederick was that in his speech he did not allow the use of personal pronouns. Even referring to himself, he used a third party. 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 fulfilling the duty of a public servant to his country, putting him much higher than personal devotion to the monarch.
The beginning of the reign
In 1792, hostilities began against France, in subsequent companies directed against this country, the king was directly involved.
According to the researchers, being a sincere believer, a good person in personal terms, as 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 Prussian neutrality, Friedrich hoped to receive Hanover from France, as well as other lands located in the north. However, they managed to get the promise from Napoleon only after the Prussian king was forced to abandon such parts of his country as Ansbach, Bayreuth, Klev, Nevstal.
Entry into the war
After Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Russian and Austrian forces in the battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Frederick was no longer able to refuse to resist the French side.
However, joining a military company at this stage was extremely unsuccessful for Prussia. Her army near Jena and Auerstedt was defeated in 1806. Then Friedrich Wilhelm had to lose half of his land, after which he in 1807 was forced to sign the Tilsit Peace.
Further reign
In the period from 1807 to 1812, the King of Prussia carried out a number of transformations in various fields - administrative, social, agrarian, military reforms. Their initiators and guides were such famous figures from Frederick's entourage, as:
- Baron von Stein, Minister;
- Scharinghorst, general;
- Gneisenau, Field Marshal;
- Gardenberg, Count.
Before Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the borders of the Russian Empire, he forced Prussia and Austria to sign treaties with France, under which both of these countries were required to deploy their troops to help the French army.
However, this caused a resistance among patriotic officers. Thanks to his representatives, as well as with the assistance of the already mentioned Stein and Gneisenau, other Prussian leaders in the army, a Russian-German legion was formed, which fought against the Napoleonic army. By November 1812, there were about eight thousand soldiers.
Congress of Vienna
In March 1813, Frederick William 3 appealed to the people, thereby sanctioning a war of liberation against the French invaders. Already in 1814, as part of the allied contingent of the anti-Napoleonic coalition, the Prussian army entered Paris with triumph. In 1815, Frederick was one of the participants in the Vienna Congress.
This international congress was held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815 with the participation of representatives from all European countries, with the exception of Turkey. During its holding, there was a restoration of all previous dynasties, revision and fixing of borders, the signing of a number of treaties, the adoption of declarations and resolutions. All this was then reduced to the General Act and several annexes to it.
The system of relations developed by the Vienna Congress 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 areas such as Rhine Prussia, Westphalia, Poznan, part of Saxony.
Last years
During the hostilities, the Prussian king promised the people to adopt a constitution and introduce representative rule. However, subsequently, 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, having reached old age and outliving all the monarchs who were his contemporaries, with whom he shared the 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 Frederick William 3" in Kaliningrad. We will tell you more about it.
Fort number 5
This is a military fortification structure, erected 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).
In the shaft itself, trenches were dug and firing points were organized for machine guns, mortars, flamethrowers, artillery pieces. The ditch is about 25 meters wide and about 5 meters deep. The fort and the adjacent territory were connected by a drawbridge, which is now destroyed. Previously, the fort was surrounded by trees and shrubs for camouflage. It housed the barracks of the infantry company, combat engineer group and artillery team.
In April 1945, Fort No. 5 was captured by Soviet troops. The German garrison in it surrendered, and the structure itself was badly damaged. Since 1979, a historical museum dedicated to the Great Patriotic War has been organized here. It was opened to visitors in 2010 and has the status of cultural heritage of federal significance.