Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz

Karl Ludwig von Pollnitz, Karl Ludwig Wilhelm Freiherr von Pollnitz, (* February 25, 1692 in Issum in Kleve, † June 23, 1775 in Berlin) was a Prussian writer and adventurer, his last decades of life at the court of Frederick II spent.

Life

He came from a noble family in Thuringia and was in Issum on the Dutch border, at that time belonging to the Electorate of Cologne, was born. The family arrived with his grandfather Gerhard Bernhard of Pölnitz - who was married to a daughter of Maurice of Orange and close friend of the first wife of the Great Elector - to Brandenburg - Prussia. Since his father Wilhelm Ludwig von Pollnitz, the (one year after the birth of his son ) died in 1693, when Colonel stood in Brandenburg military service, he spent much of his youth until 1710 in Berlin. He grew up as the playmate of the later Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm. Since his father not left much to him, he also chose initially to military service and fought in Flanders. According to his not very reliable memoirs (but only go up to 1723), he is then traveled far, to the smaller courts of Germany, but also to Madrid (where he was allegedly Colonel ), London, Warsaw, Rome and Sicily. He also went to the court of Hanover, there lost all his money at the gaming table, and went with the recommendation of the Princess Sophia in 1713 to Paris, where he was introduced by the Duchess of Orleans by the Court. However, the Treaty of Utrecht in military career plans an end. He traveled on through Prussia, Poland and Saxony, where he was detained more frequently later because of gambling debts, and tried again in need of money recharger in 1716 his fortune in Paris. He wanted to marry a rich widow, but died before, borrowed money from the Duchess of Orleans and went to further his career prospects, in 1717 to the Catholic faith. Later, however, he seems to have changed several times the denomination. As this but the Prussian Crown Prince Frederick William, his old childhood friend, came to the ears, he withdrew his offer to a gentleman of the bedchamber place in 1718 in Berlin. After participating in the conspiracy of Cellamare 1718 against the regent, he forfeited it with the Duchess of Orleans, mother of the regent, who said the rest of him: "He can speak well and speaks not a little " (the same opinion had Pollnitz repented of her). Next forced to travel through Europe, he threw himself in Rome, allegedly, the Pope 's feet, hoping to make career as a priest, but then found a better source of income as a writer of entertaining gossip. From 1730 he made his (very unreliable ) memoirs in Amsterdam for money ( printed in Liege 1734), which are basically travel reports from the cities of Europe and at that time had a similar success as the Baedeker. There followed in 1732 a book on the farm in Hanover, or more precisely about the Princess of Ahlden, in which he was warming up the Königsmarckaffaire, based on such dubious sources as the novels of Anton Ullrich Wolffenbüttel and Brunswick. The book was still in England, where people like to learned more of the " skeletons in the closet " by George I., a great success. His biggest success was a total of La Saxe Galante 1734 about the love affairs of August the Strong. He also wrote travel reports of fashionable seaside resorts ( and centers of gambling ), such as Spa and Aix (Aachen). 1737 was followed by the continuation of his memoirs, this time with the depiction of the Berlin court in the period 1688-1710.

1735 he returned to Berlin via Vienna and found after he became Protestant again, employment with the Soldier King, but at the same time spied for Vienna and Dresden. He was a member of the Quorum of tobacco and Chamberlain. In this position took him Frederick II, who in 1740 made ​​him the master of ceremonies and appreciated as an amusing Master. As Crown Prince, his opinion of Pollnitz had was called for just: " divertissant while eating, imprison afterwards ". Frederick increased his meager income under the soldier king of 250 thalers annually by six times, paid back his debt Taler 6000 and appointed him Grand Master of Ceremonies. Anno 1741 traveled Pollnitz the young king in the First Silesian War the soldiers quarters and hurried after him in August 1742 ahead of the cure in Aachen. In May 1746 he dwelt with the king for a cure in Bad Pyrmont. In the circle of Frederick the Great, he was often the object coarse jokes, so he temporarily resigned in 1744. When he died impoverished in 1775, he was, as Frederick wrote to Voltaire, no one mourned than by his creditors.

Works

• Secrette Histoire de la duchesse de Hanovre, London 1732 (anonymous), German and Dutch in 1734, 1735 Secret History of the Duchess of Hannovre ( about 80 pages), greatly expanded by sliding trays that have nothing to do with the matter, in Berlin in 1825 as Fredegunde or memorabilia to secret history of the Hanoverian court.
• Memoires contenants les observations faites dans ses qu'il a voyages et le caractere of personnages qui les principales composent cours de l'Europe, 3 vols, Liege ( Liege ) in 1734, 4 vols London 1735 (English edition 1738/9 )
• News of Baron Carl Ludwig von Pollnitz; Containing, which is the same specifically noted on his travels, no less the properties dererjeniger people, from which the principal courts of Europe exist. Translated from the French new improved and translated to a considerable increased second edition into German. First to fourth part, Frankfurt am Main, 1735
• Lettres et Memoires, 2 vols 1740
• Nouveaux Memoires du Baron Pollnitz contenant l' histoire de sa vie et la relations de ses premiers Voyages, 2 vols, Amsterdam 1737, Frankfurt 1738.
• La Saxe galante, Amsterdam 1734 (416 pp.), anonymous, GV " The gallant Saxony ", Frankfurt 1735, 1739, revisited: Munich, dtv 1995, ISBN 3-423-02362-7.