King William I of Württemberg
| William I | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| King of Württemberg | |
| Reign | 30 October 1816 – 25 June 1864 |
| Predecessor | Frederick I |
| Successor | Charles I |
| Born |
27 September 1781 Lüben, Kingdom of Prussia (now Lubin, Poland) |
| Died | 25 June 1864 (aged 82) Stuttgart Kingdom of Württemberg |
| Burial | 30 June 1864 Württemberg Mausoleum |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Württemberg |
| Father | Frederick I of Württemberg |
| Mother | Augusta of Brunswick |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
William I (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Karl; 27 September 1781 – 25 June 1864) was King of Württemberg from 30 October 1816 until his death.
Upon William's accession, Württemberg was suffering crop failures and famine in the "Year Without a Summer", in 1816. After taking office, he initiated sweeping reforms, resulting in the approval of the Estates of Württemberg to a constitution on September 25, 1819. In his 48-year reign, the kingdom moved from one that was created from different denominational principalities and a heterogeneous agricultural country, into a constitutional state with a common identity and a well-organised management.
In addition to his successful domestic policy, he pursued throughout his reign an ambition focused on German and European foreign policy. Alongside the great powers of Prussia and Austria, he imagined a third major German power in the form of Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover and Württemberg. Although this plan never succeeded, it ensured a consistent, coherent and targeted policy during his reign.
William was the only German monarch who was forced to recognise the Frankfurt Constitution of 1848. After the failure of the March Revolution of 1848, he pursued restorative policies that counteracted his liberal image from before the revolution. He died in 1864 at Rosenstein Castle in Bad Cannstatt and is buried in the Württemberg Mausoleum.
Born at Lüben (after 1945 Lubin, Poland) on 27 September 1781, Frederick William (known as "Fritz" until the beginning of his reign) was the son of Duke Frederick William Charles of Württemberg (1754–1816) and his wife, Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1764–1788). The relationship between his mother and father was one of strife and discord. His father had entered the Prussian military in 1774, then moved shortly after William's birth to the service of the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great, who appointed him Governor-General of Eastern Finland. Although William's mother gave birth in 1783 to his sister Catharina Frederica, then later that year to Sophia Dorothea, and Paul in 1785, the relationship between the parents continued to deteriorate. Augusta sought sanctuary from her abusive marriage and asked the Empress for protection in 1786. Catherine forced Friedrich and his children to leave Russia and placed Augusta in the custody of a former royal huntsman, Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann, by whom she later became pregnant. She died in 1788 in agony from a miscarriage, due to Pohlmann refusing to seek medical attention in order to conceal the illegitimate pregnancy. In 1790, Friedrich and his two sons moved to Ludwigsburg Palace. He made sure that his sons' educators were from Württemberg and their education, at the behest of their father, was regulated and very strict.
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