Peter von Biron
Encyclopedia
Peter von Biron was the last Duke of Courland from 1769 to 1795.
Peter was born in Jelgava
as the son of Ernst Johann von Biron
, future Duke of Courland, and his wife Benigna von Trotha
. When 16 years old, he was forced to follow his family into the Siberia
n exile. In 1769, Peter was given the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
by his father. In 1775 he founded Academia Petrina in Jelgava
hoping that the school would grow into a university. He ceded the government in the Duchy and then its territory to the Russian Empire
in 1795, and received in return a high appanage
. This helped him to buy and refurbish for his purposes a palace in Berlin
's street of Unter den Linden
(Palais Kurland, bought in 1782). In 1785 he bought the park and castle in Friedrichsfelde (part of today's Tierpark Berlin), which he rebuilt in luxurious beauty. In April of the following year he purchased the Duchy of Sagan
from the Bohemia
n Lobkovic family, then additionally using the title of Duke of Żagań. In 1795, Russia determined the further fate of Courland when with its allies it began the third division of Poland
. Given a "nice recommendation" by Russia, Duke Peter von Biron gave up his rights to Russia. With the signing of the final document on March 28, 1795, the Duchy of Courland ceased to exist. Five years later, Peter died in Gellenau
.
1) Caroline of Waldeck and Pyrmont (14 August 1748 - 1782) in 1765; divorced in 1772
2) Eudoxia Borisovna Yusupova (16 May 1743 - 1780) in 1774; divorced in 1778
3) Dorothea von Medem
(a member of the old Courland nobility) in 1779. They had six children, of which two died in infancy. The remaining four were:
Peter was born in Jelgava
Jelgava
-Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...
as the son of Ernst Johann von Biron
Ernst Johann von Biron
Ernst Johann von Biron was a Duke of Courland and Semigallia and regent of the Russian Empire .-Biography:Born as Ernst Johann Biren in Kalnciems, Courland, he was the grandson of a groom in the service of Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland, who bestowed upon him a small estate, which Biron's...
, future Duke of Courland, and his wife Benigna von Trotha
Benigna Gottlieb von Trotha gt Treyden
Benigna Gottlieb von Trotha gt Treyden , was a Duchess consort of Courland. She married the Duke of Courland, Ernst Johann von Biron, in 25 February 1723.-Biography:...
. When 16 years old, he was forced to follow his family into the Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n exile. In 1769, Peter was given the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia is the name of a duchy in the Baltic region that existed from 1562 to 1569 as a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and from 1569...
by his father. In 1775 he founded Academia Petrina in Jelgava
Jelgava
-Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...
hoping that the school would grow into a university. He ceded the government in the Duchy and then its territory to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in 1795, and received in return a high appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
. This helped him to buy and refurbish for his purposes a palace in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
's street of Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....
(Palais Kurland, bought in 1782). In 1785 he bought the park and castle in Friedrichsfelde (part of today's Tierpark Berlin), which he rebuilt in luxurious beauty. In April of the following year he purchased the Duchy of Sagan
Zagan
Zagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland...
from the Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n Lobkovic family, then additionally using the title of Duke of Żagań. In 1795, Russia determined the further fate of Courland when with its allies it began the third division of Poland
Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland or Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1795 as the third and last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Background:...
. Given a "nice recommendation" by Russia, Duke Peter von Biron gave up his rights to Russia. With the signing of the final document on March 28, 1795, the Duchy of Courland ceased to exist. Five years later, Peter died in Gellenau
Jeleniów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship
Jeleniów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Lewin Kłodzki, within Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany....
.
Marriage and issue
Peter married :1) Caroline of Waldeck and Pyrmont (14 August 1748 - 1782) in 1765; divorced in 1772
2) Eudoxia Borisovna Yusupova (16 May 1743 - 1780) in 1774; divorced in 1778
3) Dorothea von Medem
Dorothea von Medem
Dorothea von Medem was born a Gräfin of the noble German Baltic Medem family and later became Duchess of Courland...
(a member of the old Courland nobility) in 1779. They had six children, of which two died in infancy. The remaining four were:
- Katharina Friederike Wilhelmine BenignaWilhelmine von SaganKatharina Friederike Wilhelmine Benigna, Princess of Courland, Duchess of Sagan was a German noble from the Ruling family of Courland and Semigallia and a sovereign Duchess of Sagan...
, known as duchess Wilhelmine von Sagan; on Peter's death, it was she who inherited the duchy of SaganZaganZagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland...
in SilesiaSilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
and the HerrschaftHerrschaft (territory)In the German feudal system, a Herrschaft or Herrlichkeit was the fiefdom of a lord, who in this area exercised his full feudal rights...
of NáchodNáchodNáchod -History:Náchod was founded in 14th century by knight Hron of Načeradice, who founded a castle on a strategical place, where local trade road reaches the defile called Branka. The first written note dates back to 1254.-Castle:...
in BohemiaBohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. - Maria Luise PaulineLuise Pauline Maria BironLuise Pauline Maria Biron, Princess of Courland, Duchess of Sagan was a Princess of Courland by birth and through her marriage to Friedrich Hermann Otto, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Pauline was Princess consort of Hohenzollern-Hechingen...
(19 February 1782, Mitau - 8 January 1845, Vienna); married Prince Friedrich Hermann OttoFriedrich Hermann Otto of Hohenzollern-HechingenFriedrich Hermann Otto of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was the penultimate Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen...
von Hohenzollern-HechingenHohenzollern-HechingenHohenzollern-Hechingen was a county and principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to a branch of the senior Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty.-History:...
; on Peter's death, she inherited the Prager Palais and the Herrschaft of Hohlstein and Nettkow, and on Wilhelmine's death she also inherited the duchy of SaganZaganZagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland...
in Silesia and the Herrschaft of Náchod in BohemiaBohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. - Johanna Katharina (24 June 1783, Würzau - 11 April 1876, Löbichau); married HE Don Francesco Ravaschieri Fieschi Squarciafico Pinelli Pignatelli y Aymerich, Duke of Acerenza, brother and heir presumptive of the 8th Prince of Belmonte and of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1806 she inherited the Kurland-Palais in PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and on her mother's death inherited the Herrschaft of LöbichauLöbichauLöbichau is a municipality in the district Altenburger Land, in Thuringia, Germany....
in AltenburgischenAltenburger LandAltenburger Land is a district in Thuringia, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Greiz, the Burgenlandkreis , and the districts Leipziger Land, Mittweida, Chemnitzer Land, Zwickauer Land in Saxony.- History :...
. - DorotheaDorothea von BironDorothea von Biron, Princess of Courland, self-styled Dorothée de Courlande , was a Baltic German noblewoman. Her mother was Dorothea von Medem, Duchess of Courland, and although her mother's husband, Duke Peter von Biron, acknowledged her as his own, her true father was a Polish statesman...
, married Edmond de Talleyrand-PérigordEdmond de Talleyrand-PérigordEdmond de Talleyrand-Périgord, 2nd Duke of Talleyrand, 2nd Duke of Dino , , was a French general of the Napoleonic Wars. As the son of Archambaud de Talleyrand-Périgord and Madeleine Olivier de Senozan de Viriville , he was the nephew of the minister Talleyrand...
, 2nd duke of Talleyrand and 1st duke of DinoDinoDino may refer to:* slang term for a dinosaur* Dean "Dino" Martin , American singer and actor* Dino , one of the Graiai* Japanese professional wrestler who uses the name Danshoku Dino...
in CalabriaCalabriaCalabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
. A PolishPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
nobleman, Alexander Batowski, was her biological father, but Peter acknowledged her as his own. On Peter's death she inherited the Kurland-Palais in Berlin and the Herrschaft of Deutsch Wartenberg; on her half-sister Pauline's death in 1842 she also inherited the Duchy of SaganZaganZagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland...