Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp (22 December 1597 – 10 August 1659) was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark. He had ambitious plans concerning the development of sea trade. With this purpose he established Friedrichstadt in 1621, in sympathy with city of

Glückstadt Glückstadt (; da, Lykstad) is a town in the Steinburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Lower Elbe at the confluence of the small Rhin river, about northwest of Altona. Glückstadt is part of th ...

established in 1617 by

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...

. Furthermore, he attempted to find a commercial way to

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-eig ...

and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

that would not pass around Africa. For this reason he sent on 6 November 1633 the expedition from

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

under the management of a commercial agent of Otto Brüggemann and a ducal adviser, Philipp Crusius, and with Adam Olearius as secretary. On 14 August 1634 the delegation arrived at Moscow. Although it was not successful in concluding a commercial agreement with Tsar

Michael I of Russia Michael I ( Russian: Михаил Фёдорович Романов, ''Mikhaíl Fyódorovich Románov'') () became the first Russian tsar of the House of Romanov after the Zemskiy Sobor of 1613 elected him to rule the Tsardom of Russia. He ...

, nevertheless, immediately after the return of the delegation to

Gottorp Gottorf Castle (german: Schloss Gottorf, da, Gottorp Slot, Low German: ''Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and ha ...

on 6 April 1635, Frederick began the preparation of the following expedition. In 1636, he sent his delegation to Persia, and in 1639

Safi of Persia Sam Mirza ( fa, سام میرزا) (161112 May 1642), better known by his dynastic name of Shah Safi ( fa, شاه صفی), was the sixth Safavid shah (king) of Iran, ruling from 1629 to 1642. Early life Safi was given the name Sam Mirza when ...

sent a return delegation with presents for the Duke. The difficult task of leading the country through the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

confronted Frederick. He tried a policy of neutrality, which meant in practice the refusal of the union with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and inclinations toward Sweden. In 1654 he hosted the recently abdicated

Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December (New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death a ...

. She wrote to her successor to recommend two of his daughters as potential brides. Thus, he married his daughter Hedvig Eleonora to King Charles X of Sweden. Since the Swedish attempt at being the ''Great Power'' ultimately failed, Frederick's pro-Swedish policy led to the weakening of the house of Holstein-Gottorp. Frederick as the patron of art and culture was more successful. Thus he founded on 3 September 1642 together with Prince Louis I of Anhalt-Köthen the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it a ...

. Furthermore, he contributed to the creation of the Globe of Gottorf. The painter

Jürgen Ovens Jürgen Ovens (1623 – 9 December 1678), also known as Georg, or Jurriaen Ovens whilst in the Netherlands, was a portrait painter and art-dealer from North Frisia and, according to Arnold Houbraken, a pupil of Rembrandt. He is best known for hi ...

worked more than 30 years for him and his successor Christian Albrecht of Holstein-Gottorp.

Family and children

He was married in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

on 21 February 1630 to Princess

Marie Elisabeth of Saxony Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony (22 November 1610 – 24 October 1684) was duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp. As a widow, she became known as a patron of culture. Biography She ...

, daughter of Elector

John George I of Saxony John George I (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45 year reign. Biography Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector Chr ...

and

Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 12 February 1659) was an Electress of Saxony as the spouse of John George I, Elector of Saxony. She is a 6th times matrilineal great grandmother to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Life ...

. They had the following children: # Sofie Auguste (5 December 1630 – 12 December 1680), married on 16 September 1649 to

John VI, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst John VI of Anhalt-Zerbst (Zerbst, 24 March 1621 – Zerbst, 4 July 1667), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. He was the only son of Rudolph, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, by his second wife Mag ...

. Mother of

John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg (4 May 1656, in Zerbst – 1 November 1704, in Dornburg), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dornburg, as well as a grandfather of Catherine the Great. He ...

, grandmother of

Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (29 November 1690, in Dornburg – 16 March 1747, in Zerbst) was a German prince of the House of Ascania, and the father of Catherine the Great of Russia. He was a ruler of the Principality of A ...

, and great-grandmother of Catherine II of Russia. # Magdalene Sibylle (24 November 1631 – 22 September 1719), married on 28 November 1654 to

Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg Güstrow(26 February 1633 – 6 October 1695) was the last ruler of Mecklenburg-Güstrow from 1636 until his death and last Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg from 1636 to 1648.Jonatha ...

. Mother of

Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (28 August 1667 – 15 March 1721) was Queen of Denmark and Norway as the first spouse of King Frederick IV of Denmark. In 1708–09, she was regent during her husband's trip to Italy. Early life Louise was born in ...

, Queen of Denmark. # Johann Adolf (29 September 1632 – 19 November 1633). # Marie Elisabeth (6 June 1634 – 17 June 1665), married on 24 November 1650 to Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. # Friedrich (17 July 1635 – 12 August 1654). # Hedwig Eleonore (23 October 1636 – 24 November 1715), married on 24 October 1654 to King Charles X of Sweden. # Adolf August (1 September 1637 – 20 November 1637). # Johann Georg (8 August 1638 – 25 November 1655). # Anna Dorothea (13 February 1640 – 13 May 1713). # Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (3 February 1641 – 6 January 1695). # Gustav Ulrich (16 March 1642 – 23 October 1642). # Christine Sabine (11 July 1643 – 20 March 1644). # August Friedrich (6 May 1646 – 2 October 1705), Prince-Regent of Eutin and Prince-Bishop of Lübeck; married on 21 June 1676 to Christine of Saxe-Weissenfels (daughter of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, and his first wife Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin). No issue. # Adolf (24 August 1647 – 27 December 1647). # Elisabeth Sofie (24 August 1647 – 16 November 1647), twin of Adolf. # Auguste Marie (6 February 1649 – 25 April 1728), married on 15 May 1670 to Frederick VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach.

Ancestors

Embassies

The Voyages and Travells of the Ambassadors Sent by Frederick Duke of Holstein, to the Great Duke of Muscovy, and the King of Persia: Begun in the Year M.DC.XXXIII, and Finish'd in M.DC.XXXIX : Containing a Compleat History of Muscovy, Tartary, Persia, and Other Adjacent Countries : with Several Publick Transactions Reaching Near the Present Times : in VII Books
(1669)

References

* {{Authority control Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp 1597 births 1659 deaths

Family and children

Ancestors

Embassies

See also

References