George William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

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Family

He was the fifth, but first son, of the six children of Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth by his second wife, Sophie Louise of Württemberg-Stuttgart. Before his own birth, two sisters died before her first year of life, and his only brother, born in 1679, lived only five months. From his two surviving sisters, the eldest, Christiane Eberhardine, became the wife of August the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, and the youngest, Eleonore Magdalene, married a distant kinsman, Hermann Frederick, Count of Hohenzollern-Hechingen.

Life

George William succeeded his father as Margrave of Bayreuth when he died, on 20 May 1712. He wore through a military career, because a study retired on account of his school performances and participated successfully on the imperial side in numerous battles. In this connection, he was seriously wounded near Landau by a musket ball. This hurt never healed up. In his youth, as a Hereditary Margrave, he created the suburb Saint George in The Lake (German: "St. Georgen am See"). It was about an according to plan invested city (today district of Bayreuth) in the baroque architectural style with a castle in the lake. In the artificially created Brandenburg Pond (German: "Brandenburger Weiher"), which was fed by the warm Steinach, he put a ski jump and make naval battles rightly with big ships (up to 18-meter length) specify. On 17 November 1705, he created the Order of the Red Eagle (German: "Roter Adlerorden"), then called "Ordre de la Sincérité", and celebrated all the years there the foundation's day with splendid parties. The Red Eagle's Order also possessed own church (the "Sophienkirche"), which today is called as the Order's church. Here the coats of arms of the Order from the 18th century are hung up to this day.

Also he was an enthusiastic hunter. The Emperor's Hunting Seat (German: "Kaiserhammer") and Thiergarten were built by him. In addition, he is considered the builder of the Hermitage Museum and the Schloss Neustädtlein. As a margrave, he developed the Armed forces substantially.

Marriage and Issue

In Leipzig on 16 October 1699 Georg Wilhelm married with Sophie of Saxe-Weissenfels. They had five children:
#Christiane Sophie Wilhelmine (b. Bayreuth, 6 January 1701 - d. Kulmbach, 15 July 1749). The only surviving child of her parents, she was involved in a scandal when she bore illegitimate twins who died shortly after the birth (1724). For her mischief, she was banished to her uncle's court in Kulmbach, where she died, unmarried and childless, twenty-five years later. Before her departure of her father's court, was allowed to immure her "petschaft" (a necklace with a seal) in the wall of her room in the Schloss Himmelkron. In 1977 this object was finally founded in now is exposed in the Museum of the Collegiate Church of Bayreuth "(Stiftskirchenmuseum"). [ [http://www.die-lindenallee.de/histor001.htm histor001 ] ]
#Eberhardine Elisabeth (b. Bayreuth, 13 January 1706 - d. Bayreuth, 3 October 1709).
#Christian Wilhelm (b. Bayreuth, 14 November 1706 - d. Bayreuth, 16 November 1706).
#Christian Frederick Wilhelm (b. Bayreuth, 7 June 1709 - d. Bayreuth, 9 June 1709).
#Franz Adolf Wilhelm (b. and d. Bayreuth, 7 June 1709), twin with Christian.

Devastated by the tragedy of his beloved daughter, George William, a strong man, suffered a fatal decline in his health since then and died only two years later. Without surviving male issue, he was succeeded by his cousin Georg Frederick Karl, also Margrave of Kulmbach.

References