Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck (31 January 1620 – 19 November 1692) was a German and Dutch Field Marshal and, for the last three years of his life, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg). In 1641, Waldeck entered the service of the

States-General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States ...

; later in 1651, in the service of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

, he reached the highest rank as minister. He changed the foreign policy completely by abandoning the alliance with the Emperor and trying to forge a coalition with the Protestant princes. In 1656 he arranged a coalition with Sweden, and commanded the cavalry in the

Battle of Warsaw (1656) The Battle of Warsaw (german: Schlacht von Warschau; pl, Bitwa pod Warszawą; sv, Tredagarsslaget vid Warschau) took place near Warsaw on , between the armies of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden and Brandenburg. It was a major ...

against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He was dismissed in 1658 when

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...

made peace with Poland. After that he fought under Charles X Gustav of Sweden against

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 ...

, as German Reichsfeldmarschall in 1664 near Sankt Gotthard. In 1683 he commanded Bavarian troops during the Battle of Vienna. In 1685 he fought as a free-lancer for the Duke of Lorraine and the Elector of Bavaria. After William III left for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1688 to claim the English throne, Waldeck was appointed Field Marshal of William's forces during the

War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...

in the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the H ...

. Although he was victorious at the

Battle of Walcourt The Battle of Walcourt was fought on 25 August 1689 during the Nine Years' War. The action took place near the ancient walled town of Walcourt near Charleroi in the Spanish Netherlands, and brought to a close a summer of uneventful marching, m ...

in 1689, the following year he suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of

Marshal Luxembourg Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

at the Battle of Fleurus. In 1691, he was again outmanoeuvred by Luxembourg and defeated at the

Battle of Leuze The Battle of Leuze was a minor Cavalry engagement of the Nine Years' War that took place on 18 September 1691 between a detachment of French and a superior Allied force. Marshal Luxembourg had been informed that William III of Orange had left ...

. After this defeat Waldeck was appointed chief-of-staff of the

Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army ( nl, Staatse leger) was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This mercenary arm ...

. He died on 19 November 1692 in Arolsen.

Family

Georg Friedrich, count of Waldeck, painted by Johann Valentin Tischbein, ca 1750

He was the son of Count Wolrad IV of Waldeck-Eisenberg and his wife Anna of Baden-Durlach, heir to the Lordship of

Culemborg Culemborg () is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands. The city had a population of 29,386 on 1 January 2022 and is situated just south of the Lek river. Direct train lines run from the railway station towards the cities of U ...

in today's

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In

on 29 November 1643 Georg Friedrick married Elisabeth Charlotte (11 March 1626 16 November 1694), a daughter of Count William of Nassau-Siegen and his wife Countess

Christiane of Erbach Countess Christiane of Erbach (5 June 1596 – 6 July 1646), german: Christiane Gräfin zu Erbach, was a countess from the and through marriage Countess of Nassau-Siegen. Biography Christiane was born on 5 June 1596 as the daugh ...

. They had nine children: * Wolrad Christian (4 April 1645 – 1650). * Friedrich Wilhelm (1649 – 15 March 1651). * Karl Wilhelm (21 June 1650 – 1653). * Louise Anna (18 April 1653 – 30 June 1714), married 22 August 1671 George IV, Count of Erbach-Fürstenau. * Charlotte Amalie (20 October 1654 – June 1657). * Friedrich Wilhelm (3 November 1657 – 21 November 1670). * Karl Gustav (28 February 1659 – 24 June 1678). * Sophie Henriette (3 August 1662 – 15 October 1702), married 30 November 1680

Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (12 June 1655 in Gotha – 17 October 1715 in Hildburghausen) was a duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. He was the ninth but sixth surviving son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg. ...

. * Albertine Elisabeth (9 February 1664 – 1 November 1727; married 16 January 1706 Philipp Louis, Count of Erbach-Erbach. After his death without surviving sons, Georg Friedrich's lands in Waldeck-Eisenberg fell to the Waldeck-Wildungen line; the Lordship of

in the Netherlands was inherited by Sophia Henriette's older sister Louisa Anna (by marriage Countess of Erbach-Fürstenau), and after Louise's death in 1714 without surviving issue, by Sophia Henriette's son Ernest Frederick I, who sold it to the Dutch province of Gelderland in 1748.

References

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor K ...

: ''Georg Friedrich von Waldeck.'' In: Theodor Heuss: ''Schattenbeschwörung. Randfiguren der Geschichte.'' Wunderlich, Stuttgart u. a. 1947 (Too: Klöpfer und Meyer, Tübingen 1999, (''Promenade'' 13)). * Thomas Klein:
Georg Friedrich
'. En: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 6, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, , S. 230 f. * Gerhard Menk: ''Georg Friedrich von Waldeck (1620–1692). Eine biographische Skizze.'' Waldeckischer Geschichtsverein, Arolsen 1992, (''Waldeckische historische Hefte'' 3). * Gerhard Menk: ''Absolutismus und Regierungsform in Waldeck. Der Zugriff Graf Georg Friedrichs und seines Kanzlers Johann Viëtor auf Staat und Stände'', in: Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte 35 (1985), S. 69–135. * Gerhard Menk: ''Der frühneuzeitliche Beamte und die Staatsräson. Georg Friedrich von Waldeck und die Nachlaßregelung des Kanzlers Johann Viëtor'', in: Geschichtsblätter für Waldeck 81 (1993), S. 35–75. * Pieter Lodewijk Muller: '' Georg Friedrich, Fürst von Waldeck, Graf von Pyrmont und Culemborg''. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 8, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1878, S. 701–709.

External links

*
Biography on Georg Friedrich zu Waldeck

Waldeckischer Geschichtsverein - Bad Arolsen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georg Friedrich Of Waldeck, Prince 1620 births 1692 deaths People from Bad Arolsen German princes Field marshals of Germany Princes of Waldeck and Pyrmont Dutch military personnel of the Nine Years' War House of Waldeck People of the Austro-Turkish War (1663–64) Generals of the Holy Roman Empire 17th-century Dutch military personnel