Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg

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Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg
File:Jan Michał Strzałecki - Portrait of Friedrich Berg - MP 685 MNW - National Museum in Warsaw.jpg
Portrait by Jan Michał Strzałecki, 1867
Governor-General of Finland
In office
19 December [O.S. 7] 1854[citation needed] – 20 November [O.S. 8] 1861
Monarch Nicholas I
Alexander II
Preceded by Alexander Menshikov
Succeeded by Platon Rokassovsky (ru)
Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland
In office
31 October [O.S. 19] 1863 – 18 January [O.S. 6] 1874
Monarch Alexander II
Preceded by Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich
Succeeded by Position abolished (Paul Demetrius von Kotzebue as the Governor-General of Warsaw)
Personal details
Born 15 May [O.S. 26] 1794
Sagnitz Manor, Sagnitz, Kreis Dorpat, Riga Governorate, Russian Empire
(in present-day Sangaste, Otepää Parish, Valga County, Estonia)
Died 6 January [O.S. 18] 1874 (aged 79)
St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Signature Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg's signature
Military service
Allegiance  Russian Empire
Service/branch  Imperial Russian Army
Years of service 1812 – 1874
Rank 30px General-Field Marshal
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See battles
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Napoleonic Wars

Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)

November Uprising

Crimean War

January Uprising

Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert Graf[lower-alpha 1] von Berg (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg, Russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Берг, tr. Fëdor Fëdorovič Berg; 15 May [O.S. 26] 1794 – 6 January [O.S. 18] 1874) was a Baltic German nobleman, statesman, diplomat and general who served in the Imperial Russian Army. Berg was a count of the Austrian Empire and Grand Duchy of Finland[1] and the 5th last man to be promoted General-Field Marshal in the history of the Russian Empire. He served as the Governor-General of Finland[2] from 1854[citation needed] to 1861 and the last Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland from 1863 to 1874.

Berg was most notable for his role as the viceroy of Finland and Poland. He gained a reputation for his role in defending Finland and Estonia from Anglo-French invasion during the Crimean War and was also crucial in suppressing and crushing the Polish January Uprising of 1863, during which rebel forces carried out numerous failed assassination attempts on him, martial law was consequently declared in Poland. Berg also held responsible for improving the economy and industry of Finland and Poland during his time as viceroy. As a German, Berg was never keen of the Russification policies introduced in Poland, being opposed to the Pan-Slavism ideology of the Russians and keen towards the foreign policies of Germany.[3] Outside of his military career, Berg was also a topographer and geodesist, being one of the founding members of the Russian Geographical Society. He died in St. Petersburg in 1874 and was buried in his family estate in Korten, Livonia (in now Pilskalns, Latvia).

Biography

Origin

File:Sangaste mõisa peahoone2.jpg
The Sagnitz castle, where Count von Berg and his siblings spent their childhood in

Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg was born on May 15, 1794 (26 according to the Julian calendar in use in Russia at the time), in the family estate in the small village of Sagnitz, in the Kreis Dorpat of the Governorate of Livonia. His father Friedrich Georg von Berg (1763–1811) was a state councillor and his mother Gertruda Wilhelmine von Ermes (1774–1844) was a young noblewoman, the younger Friedrich was the first cousin once removed[lower-alpha 2] of generals Gregor (1765–1838) and Burchard Magnus von Berg (1764–1838), both of whom served in the Russian Imperial Army during the course of the Napoleonic Wars. Genealogists still debate[7] where the Livonian noble Berg family originated in, many speculated they originated in Westphalia. The first known ancestor of the family to appear in Livonia was Otto von Berg. His son, who was also named Otto, was a vassal of the Livonian Knighthood.

Friedrich belonged to the Sagnitz branch of the Luist line of the family. The Luist line[5] was formed by Captain Gustav von Berg (1656–1715), and the further divided Sagnitz branch[6] was formed by Friedrich's grandfather Major Gotthard Ernst von Berg (1714–1766).

Early life

Berg along with his siblings spent their childhood in the Sagnitz castle and were home educated by the young Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve.[8] He was brought up as a Lutheran.[9] After he finished his home education he studied in the Tartu Gymnasium in Dorpat. Originally not seeking a military career as a family tradition, Berg enrolled into the Philosophy faculty of Imperial University of Dorpat in 1810.[10] But after Napoleon invaded of Russia in 1812, Berg dropped out from university and voluntarily entered the Russian Imperial Army. He entered the army as a Fahnenjunker and was enlisted into the 6th Libau Infantry Regiment which was stationed at the north-western part of Russia to defend against Napoleon. Berg's bravery during the war of 1812 rewarded him the rank of lieutenant from Alexander I personally. He was also appointed second to the quartermaster due to his high education and being multilingual among Russian soldiers at the time.

After Napoleon was pushed out of Russia, Berg was transferred to a partisan unit under the commands of Baron von Tettenborn and Pavel Kutuzov and took part in actions in Germany including the Battle of Leipzig.

Family

Berg was born the eldest son of a family with three siblings, including his younger brother Gustav "Astaf" Gotthard Karl von Berg, owner of the Alt-Ottenhof Manor.[10] His other brother Alexander was a diplomat and consul in Naples and London.[10] Count von Berg married late in his life. In 1839, after a long relationship with the Baroness de Sassè, he married[10] a rich Milanese aristocrat Leopoldina Cicogna-Mozzoni (1786–1874), the widow of the Italian politician Alessandro Annoni, with whom he had no children. However, after his brother Gustav's death in 1861, Friedrich adopted his orphaned nephews and brought them under his care:

  • Friedrich Georg Magnus Graf von Berg (1845–1938)
  • Alexander Rembert Joachim Graf von Berg (1847–1893)
  • Georg Erich Rembert Graf von Berg (1849–1920)
  • Emilie Wilhelmine "Minni" Anna Marie Ulrike Pauline Gräfin von Berg (1852–1945)

Since his marriage was childless, his Austrian and Finnish comital titles were inherited by his nephews/adoptive children.

Honours and awards

File:Berg-Wappen-Kattentack BWB.png
Coat of arms of the Berg family (de), which belonged to the Uradel, in the Baltic Coat of arms book by Carl Arvid von Klingspor in 1882.[11]
File:Graf Berg.jpg
Coat of arms of the counts of the family of 1856, in the Baltic Coat of arms book by Carl Arvid Klingspor in 1882.[11]

Russian

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Foreign

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Publications

  • Le feldmaréchal-comte Berg, namiestnik dans le royaume de Pologne. Notice biographique. Warsaw 1872 – Autobiography

Notes

  1. ↑ Regarding personal names: Until 1919, Graf was a title, translated as Count, not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin. In Germany, it has formed part of family names since 1919.
  2. ↑ Gregor and Burchard Magnus von Berg were the children of Magnus Johann von Berg,[4] while Magnus Johann was the brother[5] of Gotthard Ernst who was the grandfather[6] of Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert

Citations

  1. ↑ Grevliga ätten nr 11 BERG Archived 2007-10-22 at the Wayback Machine – Finnish House of Nobility
  2. ↑ Governors-general of Finland
  3. ↑ Stolberg-Wernigerode 1955, pp. 74.
  4. ↑ Stackelberg 1930, pp. 660.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Stackelberg 1930, pp. 659.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Stackelberg 1930, pp. 661.
  7. ↑ Stackelberg 1930, pp. 654-655.
  8. ↑ Fr. G. W. Struve Dorpat period
  9. ↑ Stolberg-Wernigerode 1955, pp. 73.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Stackelberg 1930, pp. 662.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Klingspor 1882, p. 10.

Works cited

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General sources

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Political offices
Preceded by Governor-General of Finland
1855[citation needed]–1861		 Succeeded by
Platon Rokassovsky (ru)
Preceded by Viceroy of Poland
1863–1874		 Succeeded by
Paul Demetrius von Kotzebue
as Governor-General of Warsaw
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