Life
Alexius Frederick Christian was born on 12 June 1767 at Ballenstedt. He was the only son of Frederick Albert, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, by his wife Louise Albertine, daughter of Frederick Carl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön.
From early childhood, he and his sister Pauline received an excellent education. After the death of his father in 1796, Alexius Frederick Christian inherited Anhalt-Bernburg.
The territories of Anhalt-Bernburg were augmented one year later with the formal division of Anhalt-Zerbst in 1797; Alexius Frederick Christian received the towns of Coswig and Mühlingen, which represented 1/3 of the defunct principality. In 1812, with the extinction of the Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym branch of the House of Ascania, he inherited Hoym and some Prussian enclaves.
Alexius improved education with the building and enlargement of many churches and schools. He demonstrated a special interest in expanding the road network, especially in the newly-acquired areas of his principality. The mining and metallurgical industry also benefited from his attention. Alexius Frederick Christian initiated several major construction projects, such as the Saalebrücke in Bernburg (Saale), which was later destroyed. In 1810 he founded the Alexisbad in Selketal and later, in the Prussian area of Gernrode, he created the Beringer Bad.
In matters of religion, he was tolerant and enlightened; in 1820 he finally declared the Reformist and Lutheran faiths to be the official co-religions of his state. In 1826 he joined the German Zollverein and in 1829 created a civil fund for orphans, widows, and servants.
The Emperor Francis II elevated him to the rank of Duke in 1807. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, Alexius Frederick Christian, with his kinsmans the Dukes of Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen, joined the Confederation of the Rhine. Some of his troops fought for Napoleon in Tyrol, Spain, Russia, Gdansk, and Kulm. On 13 December 1813 he resigned from the Confederation of the Rhine and sent his troops with his allies in 1814 and 1815 to Belgium and France. On 8 June 1815 he joined the German Confederation.
Duke Alexius Frederick Christian died at Ballenstedt on 24 March 1834.
Read more about this topic: Alexius Frederick Christian, Duke Of Anhalt-Bernburg
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“A little credulity helps one on through life very smoothly.”
—Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865)
“The life of a good man is a continual warfare with his passions.”
—Samuel Richardson (1689–1761)
“They who are continually shocked by slavery have some right to be shocked by the violent death of the slaveholder, but no others. Such will be more shocked by his life than by his death.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)