Antoinette Murat

Antoinette, Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

Antoinette Murat (also Antoinette Marie Murat ; born January 3, 1793 in Labastide-Murat near Cahors ; † January 19, 1847 in Sigmaringen ) was a French hereditary princess and from 1831 until her death Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen .

Life

Antoinette was a posthumously born daughter of Pierre Murat (1748–1792), an innkeeper from Cahors, from his marriage to Luise (1762–1793), daughter of Aimery d'Astorg. She only got to know two of her five siblings, who in turn did not reach adulthood. When Antoinette was seven years old, her mother married a second time. There were other children from this marriage. Antoinette's father was an older brother of Joachim Murat , who was married to Napoleon Bonaparte's youngest sister Caroline and who rose to become Grand Duke of Berg and King of Naples . Antoinette, who was orphaned early, grew up with him as his ward . The relationship with uncle and aunt was cordial. She was raised in the cosmopolitan city of Paris: At age 13, she attended the prestigious Institute of Madame Campan , in 1806 she received the Elysee Palace with her uncle at the instigation of Princess Amalie Zephyrine of Hohenzollern (1760-1841) private lessons, as a necessity for the future life at the side of their son, eight years older than Karl von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1785-1853), later Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Amalie Zephyrine, who had excellent contacts with Emperor Napoleon I, informed her husband Anton Aloys Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1762–1831) in May 1806 about the averse marital relationship. The marriage for political reasons was to take place in October 1807. But it was decided to wait until Antoinette was 15 years old. The marriage corresponded to Napoleon Bonaparte's wedding policy of calling for marriages to the three important southern German aristocratic houses of Bavaria , Baden and Württemberg . The Catholic branch of the House of Hohenzollern was measured against these an old noble family, but both politically and in size rather insignificant.

In February 1808 Napoleon I elevated Antoinette to the status of princess by imperial decree. She married securely on February 3, 1808 at the Hôtel de Breteuil in Paris and ecclesiastically on February 4. Napoleon was present at the wedding ball with his wife Joséphine . Prince Anton Aloys “was out of the question” and stayed away from the wedding. As Wittum , an annuity of 10,000  French francs was agreed for Antoinette . For the wedding, Joachim presented the groom with a Mamluk saber. The marital connection with Antoinette also contributed to the recognition of the sovereignty of the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

Since Karl was released from his service in the French military, the hereditary prince couple settled in Krauchenwies Castle in July 1808 . When he moved into the prince's residence in Krauchenwies , Karl's father, Prince Anton Aloys, used to stay in Bavaria, probably so as not to see Amalie Zephyrine. The young hereditary princess Antoinette had to adjust to many changes in rural Krauchenwies compared to her previous life in the "grand monde". That was one of the reasons why she spent the winter of 1808/1809 in Naples at the court of her uncle Joachim Murat, only to return to Krauchenwies in May 1809. The court book of 1809 states that half of the staff entrusted with the keeping of the court were of French origin. German family names can only be found among the lower servants. Amalie Zephyrine tried to keep her daughter-in-law happy, assuming responsibility towards her son: Antoinette obtained fashion directly from Paris and fabrics from Strasbourg , bought luxury goods from France and served French cuisine with exquisite fare, which led to the Mandelli family as a supplier came to a certain wealth in their environment. The kitchen was carried out by chefs from France, kitchen helpers were sent to France for training.

Fearing mediatization , Karl stayed in Paris at the end of 1809. Antoinette, who would have loved to accompany him to her “home”, spent the first time pregnant in Krauchenwies this winter. On July 6, 1810, she gave birth to a daughter, Karoline, in Krauchenwies . Their godparents were Joachim and Caroline Murat. In 1811 the couple was expecting their second child. On September 7th, they were lucky enough to get a male ancestral owner, Karl Anton . With a little distance, the daughter Amalie Antoinette was born in Sigmaringen in 1815 .

The couple bought Weinburg Castle in Thal near Rheineck in the canton of St. Gallen in 1817 . The proximity to Arenenberg Castle , the residence of Hortense de Beauharnais , mother of Emperor Napoleon III , was also decisive for the purchase . Antoinette was entrusted with the establishment of the property in the Rhine Valley and created a "little France" for herself.

In 1820, when Antoinette was 27 years old, the couple had their fourth and last child, Friederike . She was also born in Sigmaringen.

Even after 20 years at the Sigmaringer Hof, Antoinette lived the French lifestyle and culture. She still gave preference to French staff and continued to place no value on learning the German language . So she used to conduct her correspondence in French and read only francophone literature. To her relatives, especially to her aunt and uncle, she always confirmed that she had a happy marriage, but once angrily referred to her husband as "a savage who roams the wilderness". She was responsible for raising her daughters, which led to them being raised primarily Francophile and Francophone. Karolin was educated at a Paris institute until she was 17. About Amalie Antoinette, Antoinette's favorite daughter, Karl could tell his father Anton Aloys: “Other measures must be taken with this daughter”. - She got a governess from a Prussian house, who later complained about the bad behavior of Amalie Antoinette.

From 1831 she carried the title of Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. As such, she also had a French lady-in-waiting . Antoinette began to redecorate the princely residence of Sigmaringen Castle : starting with the furniture, to the wallpaper, to the mirrors for the dining room.

Critical appraisal

From the point of view that the migrant in the service of the dynasty refused to integrate herself to a large extent, she can be referred to as a “historical refusal to integrate”, but she brought “France” to Hohenzollern and thus opened up to the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen access to the European aristocracy. The future French Emperor Napoleon III stayed as a guest of the Princess . often in Sigmaringen .

progeny

From their marriage, Antoinette had the following children:

• Karoline (1810-1885)

⚭ 1. 1839 Count Friedrich Franz Anton von Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1790–1847)

⚭ 2. 1850 Johann Stäger von Waldburg (1822–1882)

• Karl Anton (1811–1885), Prince of Hohenzollern, Prussian Prime Minister

⚭ 1834 Princess Josephine of Baden (1813–1900)

• Amalie Antoinette (1815-1841)

⚭ 1835 Prince Eduard of Saxony-Altenburg (1804-1852)

• Friederike (1820–1906)

⚭ 1844 Marchese Gioacchino Napoleone Pepoli (1825–1881), a grandson of Joachim Murat

literature

• Jean Vanel: Antoinette Murat. Princesse de Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, 1793–1847, ses origines, sa vie, sa postérité. In: Cavalier et roi. 6, Octobre 1974, ZDB -ID 442007-x , (also special print: Les Amis du Musée Murat, La Bastide-Murat 1974).
• Prussian provincial sheets. Volume 3, 1853, p. 429 .
• Carmen Ziwes: From Paris to Krauchenwies. Migration in the service of the dynasty using the example of Hereditary Princess Antoinette Murat of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen . In: Hohenzollerische Heimat 67 (2017), 3, pp. 49–56.

Web links

Commons : Antoinette Murat  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Notation cf. Wedding contract
2. ^ Antoinette Marie Murat, Princesse Murat on thepeerage.com , accessed September 11, 2016.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s} From Paris to Krauchenwies - Migration in the service of the dynasty using the example of Antoinette Murat . Lecture by Carmen Ziwes on November 22, 2010 in Krauchenwies
4. ^ ^{A b c} Kreiskulturforum - Lecture by Carmen Ziwes. From Paris to Krauchenwies - Migration in the service of the dynasty using the example of Antoinette Murat . In: Scroll. Bulletin of the Krauchenwies community with the districts Ablach, Bittelschieß, Ettisweiler, Göggingen and Hausen . Vol. 51, No. 46 from November 19, 2010
5. ↑ Ancestors of Princess Josephine of Belgium (1872–1958) ( Memento of July 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
6. ^ The Hohenzollern: Family tree ( memento from July 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) on hohenzollern.com; Retrieved January 23, 2011
7. ^ Napoleonic land consolidation on the Landeskunde Baden-Württemberg page on behalf of the State Center for Political Education; Retrieved January 23, 2011
8. ^ Walter Clark: Recollections of the Private Life of Napoleon , BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009, p. 89
9. ↑ Otto Becker: House archive Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen: History of tradition ; Retrieved January 23, 2011
10. ↑ Gravestone embedded in the Catholic parish church of St. Laurentius
11. ↑ Summary by Edwin Ernst Weber at the lecture From Paris to Krauchenwies - Migration in the Service of the Dynasty using the example of Antoinette Murat by Carmen Ziwes on November 22, 2010 in Krauchenwies as part of the cultural focus migration and integration of the cultural forum of the Sigmaringen district
12. ^ General German real encyclopedia for the educated classes: Conversations-Lexikon , Volume 10, FA Brockhaus, 1867, p. 579 ( digitized version )