, house =

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schlos ...

, father = Frederick Albert, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg , mother =

Louise Albertine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön Louise Albertine, Princess of Anhalt-Bernburg (née Princess Louise Albertine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön; 21 July 1748 – 2 March 1769) was a member of the Danish royal family and the consort of Frederick Albert, Prince of Anhalt-Be ...

, birth_date = , birth_place =

Ballenstedt Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Geography It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipal area comprises the vil ...

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making i ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

, death_date = , death_place =

, burial_date = , burial_place = , religion = Alexius Frederick Christian of Anhalt-Bernburg (12 June 1767 – 24 March 1834), was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

of the

. From 1796 until 1807 he was Reigning prince of the

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall un ...

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision from the Principality of A ...

, and from 1807 until 1834 the first

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

of the

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...

of Anhalt-Bernburg.

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 Anhalt-Zerbst was a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts Potsdam-Mittelmark (Brandenburg) and Wittenberg, the city of Dessau and the districts of Köthen, Schönebeck and Jerichower ...

in 1797; Alexius Frederick Christian received the towns of Coswig and

Mühlingen Mühlingen is a town in the district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's west ...

, 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 Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

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 The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saal ...

), which was later destroyed. In 1810 he founded the '' Alexisbad'' in Selketal and later, in the Prussian area of

Gernrode Gernrode () is a historic town and former municipality in the Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2014, it has been part of Quedlinburg.Reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

faiths to be the official co-religions of his state. In 1826 he joined the German

Zollverein The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had b ...

and in 1829 created a civil fund for orphans, widows, and servants. The

Emperor Francis II Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

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 Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into t ...

and

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1562 ...

, joined the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria a ...

. Some of his troops fought for

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, 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 Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 8 June 1815 he joined the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

. Duke Alexius Frederick Christian died at Ballenstedt on 24 March 1834.

Marriages and issue

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

on 29 November 1794 Alexius Frederick Christian married Maria Fredericka (b.

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the ri ...

, 14 September 1768 – d. Hanau, 17 April 1839), daughter of William I, Elector of Hesse. They had four children: #Katharine Wilhelmine (b. Kassel, 1 January 1796 – d. Kassel, 24 February 1796). # Wilhelmine Louise (b. Ballenstedt, 30 October 1799 – d. Schloss Eller, 9 December 1882), married on 21 November 1817 to Prince Frederick William Louis of Prussia, grandson of King

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inherita ...

and uterine half-brother of King

George V of Hanover en, George Frederick Alexander Charles Ernest Augustus , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover , mother = Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , birth_date = 27 May 1819 , ...

. She was the mother of

Prince George of Prussia Prince George of Prussia (Frederick William George Ernest; 12 February 1826 – 2 May 1902) was a member of the House of Hohenzollern. A man of many talents, George was at various periods of his life a Prussian general, poet and writer, often goin ...

. #Frederick Amadeus, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (b. Ballenstedt, 19 April 1801 – d. Ballenstedt, 24 May 1801). #

Alexander Karl, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg , house = Ascania , father = Alexius Frederick Christian, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg , mother = Marie Friederike of Hesse-Kassel , birth_date = , birth_place = Ballenstedt, Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg, Holy Roman Empire , ...

(b. Ballenstedt, 2 March 1805 – d. Hoym, 19 August 1863). The union was completely unhappy and the couple divorced in 1817. In

on 11 January 1818, Alexius Frederick Christian married secondly and

morganatically Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

with Dorothea Fredericka of Sonnenberg (b. Bernburg, 23 January 1781 – d. Ballenstedt, 23 May 1818), who shortly after the wedding was ennobled and created Baroness of Hoym (German: ''Frau von Hoym''). The union only lasted four months until Dorothea's death. In

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeburg ...

on 2 May 1819 Alexius Frederick Christian married thirdly and again morganatically with Ernestine Charlotte of Sonnenberg (b. Bernburg, 19 February 1789 – d. Ballenstedt, 28 September 1845), sister of his second wife. As she, Ernestine was created Baroness of Hoym shortly after the wedding. This marriage was childless. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexius Frederick christian, Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg 1767 births 1834 deaths People from Ballenstedt Princes of Anhalt-Bernburg Rulers of Anhalt House of Ascania Burials at Schlosskirche St. Aegidien (Bernburg)