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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Duke of Anhalt : loved music





April 22, 1918

Duke Friedrich II of Anhalt died today at Schloss Ballenstedt, reports the New York Times in a dispatch from Amsterdam.  

The Duke was 61 years old.

He ruled a duchy that "embraced an area a little larger than 900 square miles.".  His capital, Dessau, was well known for its culture, especially the court theatre, celebrated throughout Europe "for its operatic performances."  The Duke devoted his life to music, and "he was rarely seen in uniform."

He was the second son of Duke Friedrich I and Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg.  He succeeded his father in 1904. He had become the heir apparent after the death of his older brother, Prince Leopold in 1886.

Three years later, he married Princess Marie of Baden.  Their marriage was childless.  The new Duke is his younger brother, Eduard.

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