| Wilhelm Friedrich, who ruled from 1703 until 1732, assumed the Margraveship of Brandenburg- Ansbach when his unmarried brother Georg Friedrich II was killed at the Battle of Kittensee in 1703. Wilhelm Friedrich created the first public library in the Residenzstadt by decree of December 21, 1720. Margrave Georg Friedrich the Elder (1556 - 1603) had already formed the basis of the house library, which served the Margrave's family and included theological works and Latin classical authors and chronicles. His successor, Margrave Joachim Ernst (1603 - 1625) had preferred historical and geographical books as well as works of war and fortress architecture; likewise, his son and successor Albrecht V. (1639 - 1667) enjoyed theology. All fields of knowledge showed up in the library of Margrave Johann Friedrich (1672 - 1686). "Wild Wilhelm", Karl Wilhelm Friedrich, enriched it considerably throughout his life. Early in the 18th century, the library held 14,000 volumes and choice incunabula, prints and drawings. In 1818, it acquired 1,800 English, French and Italian classics. In addition, it housed thousands of rare medical, legal and theological books and dissertations. |
| The Library |
| The first settler in Ansbach was named Onold, and he established himself in the Rezat Valley about 700 A.D. Around 748 A.D., the Frankish nobleman Gumbertus founded a Benedictine monastery and the settlement grew into the city of Onolzbach, which would be later be called Ansbach. The predecessor to both the margraviates of Ansbach and of Bayreuth was the Burgraviate of Nürnburg. Ansbach became a possession of the house of Hohenzollern through marriage around 1192 and Hohenzollern Burgraves from Nürnberg took control in 1331 and enlarged their territory, elevating it to princely status in 1363. The principality of Ansbach was established at the death of Burgrave Friedrich V of Nürnberg in January, 1398. His lands in the Burgraviate of Nürnberg were partitioned into two margraviates which were split between his two sons and from then on granted to collateral branches of the house of Hohenzollern in Brandenburg. The German king Sigismund pledged the Margraviate of Brandenburg to the younger son, Burgrave Friedrich VI who thence became Elector Friedrich I of Brandenburg in 1415 and received Ansbach, while the elder son, Johann III, received Bayreuth. After Johann III's death in 1420, the two principalities were reunited under Friedrich VI. Upon his death in 1440, his territories were divided between his sons; Johann received Bayreuth (Brandenburg- Kulmbach), Friedrich received Brandenburg and Albert received Ansbach. Thereafter Ansbach was held by cadet branches of the House of Hohenzollern, and its rulers were called the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach. They would rule for almost 500 years. Gumbertuskirche, built in 1080, holds their Crypt. Margrave Georg the Pious supported Luther during the Reformation, and during his reign the first neoclassic houses were built. The escapades of the ruling margraves were legendary, but one especially tickles the imagination. The "Wild Margrave" of Ansbach was born Karl Wilhelm Friedrich on May 12, 1712 in Ansbach, son of Margrave Wilhelm Friedrich of Brandenburg. His uncle was King George II. of Great Britain. His mother, Mark Countess Christiane Charlotte, took over the regency after the death of his father in 1723 and provided building activity typical of the age for the adornment of the Residenzstadt, originally built around 1400 as a large hall. She brilliantly transformed the Margrave's residence "Onolzbach" (the ancient name of Anspach) and she greatly embellished the gardens in the French style and established an Orangerie. Wild Bill's wife, Friederike Luise, was born in 1714 as one of Friedrich the Great's sisters. Her father wished to expand his power in the south of the realm and married her off to another Hohenzollern, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich, . She was fifteen, and he two years older. By the connection of the two royals originating from related Hohenzollern lines, the Prussian king could influence and secure succession on the Frankish line. After his wedding, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich took over the regency of the Brandenburg Margraveship from his mother, who died on Christmas, 1729. It was a bad union for poor Friedrike. She suffered from the same debilitating disease termed "Porphyrie" which afflicted her father, and she had difficult spells in which she had severe nausea accompanied by paralyses which made her appear "dead." And that is how her husband regarded her. From the start, he found her unattractive and made no secret of his aversion toward her, with her limp and bad teeth, and she was unappealing to him in bed. All the same, she suffered repeated miscarriages and lost one son, until 1736, when she gave birth to the future Margrave, Christian Friedrich Karl Alexander. Her marriage was so miserable that she once etched into a windowpane of the palace with her diamond that she was sad yet she dare not show it. The unhappy, unloved princess spent a great deal of her time with her sister, Wilhelmine of Bayreuth. The Margrave was given to immoderation with purchases, drink, women and hunting, and he looked for comfort with the common girls...and found it often. His passion for hunting had cost the state 10% of its annual budget, and he possessed the largest falcon yard of Europe, a hobby which cost him more than one half million guldens between 1730 and 1748. He also had numerous buildings erected in Ansbach, and had the royal residence renovated by the architect Leopoldo Retty. He then established two castle buildings in Gunzenhausen. 56 new churches and parsonage buildings were developed during his reign, and between 1736 to 1738, he had Gumbertus church in Ansbach redesigned in the typical “markgräflichen" style. In 1583, the castle at the ancient crossroads at Unterschwaningen came into the possession of the Ansbach Margraves. The flowering of the village began in 1712 and lasted almost 90 years. The "Old Castle" was remodelled and briefly used as a summer residence before sitting idle for several years. Then, Countess Friederike Louise took over as mistress of the castle Schwaningen which she had rebuilt to plans drawn up by architect Leopoldo Retti. In 1733, after the birth of her son, the future margrave, the castle was given to her, and Friederike Louise spent over 40 lonely, withdrawn years of her life here devouring English and French literature. She passionately collected books of various fields of knowledge including histories of western states. Her extensive library survived and is now located in the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen. Friederike Louise was very frugal and received an annual compensation sum of approximately 10 000 guilders from the royal treasury. In the year 1758, she had a new schoolhouse built for the population of Unterschwaningen, and she was regarded as a kind mistress. She never returned to live in the royal residence. Suffering from mental confusion and depression, she died February 4, 1784 and her final resting place is in the crypt of St. Gumbertus Church in Ansbach. The cellar crypt of St. Gumbertus church in Ansbach contains 24 elaborate coffins of some of old markgraves and their familes. It is the only section of the building surviving from the original Romanesque foundation onto which the church was added, and said to be haunted. It is here that Wild Wilhelm was laid to rest among his ancestors, above top right Margrave Karl Wilhelm of Ansbach could be good-natured and even kind when he wasn't in a bad mood or drunk. He did small favors for his servants and sent food to the sick. He dealt with criminals fairly unless they were military criminals, and then he could be brutal. He was religious and gave generously to churches. He invested in schools and hospitals. But his temper was notorious and his subjects were afraid of his erratic nature. This resulted in numerous stories, gossip and legends. Once, having heard that his dogs were not well fed by his kennel keep, he supposedly rode to the man's house and shot him on his own doorstep. After an inn-keeper complained of some petty theft, the Margrave had the thief hanged before the inn's door. In 1747, a servant-girl and her betrothed soldier were said to have been hanged without trial for having plotted desertion so they could elope. Another story tells of the Margrave riding out of his castle one day and asking the sentinel on guard for his musket. When the sentinel naively gave it up, the Margrave called him a coward and had him dragged by horses until dead. Then there is the most famous story of him shooting a chimney sweep off of a roof, one version claiming it was to amuse his mistress and the other insisting it was because he had a sudden fit of rage. The Schaitberger family were the royal chimney sweeps in Ansbach during this time, and there is no record of any of them having been shot. However, Leonhardt Schaitberger, who was the same age as the Margrave, carried the title of "Hochfürstlich Onolzbachischer Hoff Caminfegermeister", and he lost one of his sons to a "chimney fall" in the late 1750's. The Margrave married incognito in 1734 with his falcon keeper's daughter Elisabeth Wünsch. The four children from this marriage were raised under the noble name 'von Falkenhausen' which he bestowed upon them, and were provided with their own estates. The descendants of the Barons von Falkenhausen live on today. The "Wild Margrave" was the embodiment of an absolutist prince: highly intelligent, self-confident and loving both opulence and the simple country life. He had differences with his brother- in-law, Friedrich the Great, yet managed to hold his own politically. Karl Wilhelm Friedrich died on August 3, 1757 at his hunting lodge after a hunting accident. It is said that when his body was being moved through the streets, the assembled crown was not unhappy at his demise and showed not a little exuberance. His legitimate son, Christian Friedrich Karl Alexander, was his successor and he would be the last Margrave of Ansbach. His father left him great financial liabilities and burdened him with a gigantic debt. |
| The Margraveship of Ansbach |
