Carol I

Karl Eitel Friedrich Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was born in Germany. Father - Prince Carl Anton Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen - was at one time Minister-President of the Kingdom of Prussia . Mother - Josephine of Baden , daughter of Karl, Grand Duke of Baden .

Prince Karl studied at the military academy in Berlin , was an officer in the Prussian army, and participated in the Danish War of 1864.

He was elected to the throne of the United Principality of Wallachia and Moldova after the anarchy caused by the overthrow of Alexander Ion Kuzy , when the state faced the danger of collapse and new subjugation of the Ottoman Empire . Since the Austrian empire did not welcome this election, Karl had to incognito from Prussia to his principality by rail through Austria. Having reached the border of Wallachia, he transferred to the crew provided to him (there were no railways in the country yet) and arrived in Bucharest , enthusiastically welcomed by the population. Having ascended the throne, he signed the constitution, which was very liberal at the time.

Domestically, he had to deal with great difficulties. For 10 years, the country suffered from the struggle of the boyar party with the liberals, until in the spring of 1876 the latter won a victory; Nevertheless, during this time many improvements were made, the construction of railways and independent trade with foreign countries began. Romanian sympathies for France and simultaneous with the Franco-Prussian war of 1870–71 the collapse of Strusberg's enterprises, due to which the Romanian railways almost remained unfinished, provoked a movement against Karl in Bucharest on March 22, 1871, prompting him to lay down his power; only with difficulty they asked him to accept her again.

He was an ally of Russia in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the commander of the Romanian forces in the battle of Plevna .

In 1881, after constitutional reform, he accepted the title of King of Romania.

Under him, Romania gained complete independence from the Ottoman Empire (1878) and acquired Dobrudja - most of it back in 1878, and its small area was recaptured from its former ally Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War (1913). In 1907, a powerful peasant uprising was crushed.

For 48 years of his reign (this is the longest reign in the entire history of Romania), Carol I achieved independence of the country, raised its international prestige highly, was engaged in economic recovery with German meticulousness, founded and strengthened the Romanian royal dynasty. In the Carpathian mountains, he built a royal residence - Peles Castle - a pearl in the Neo - Renaissance style .

The castle, equipped with all the technical innovations of the time, he fondly called - "the cradle of the dynasty, the cradle of the nation." With no direct heirs, Karol I appointed his nephew as a successor, for whose family he built the elegant Pelishor Castle next door.

Carol I died at the age of 75, shortly after the outbreak of World War I , in which Romania maintained neutrality until 1916 (despite the king's desire to enter the war on the side of Germany, public opinion tended to the side of the Entente ); many believed that the king’s inability to dissuade his ministers accelerated his death. His successor was his nephew Ferdinand I.

Wife - Princess Elizabeth tsu Vid , writer (pseudonym "Carmen Silva"). The wedding took place on November 3, 1869. The only daughter of Karol and Elizabeth, Maria (1870-1874), died in childhood.

The personality of Carol I was reflected in a number of adaptations. The most famous Romanian film of 2009 is “Carol I”. The role of the prince in it was played by the well-known Soviet and Russian viewers in action movies with Commissar Miklovan Sergiu Nikolaescu .

• Charles I Romanian // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.