Esperanza de Sarachaga

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Doña Esperanza Felicitas Alexandra de Saráchaga y Lobanov Rostovsky was a 19th century courtier and socialite of Spanish and Russian descent. Born in St. Petersburg, she was informally known as “Spera”. She was the eldest daughter of Don Jorge de Saráchaga y Uría and his Russian wife Princess Ekaterina Lobanov-Rostovskaya.[1] Her father, also known as Georg von Sarachaga-Uria (23 April 1811 – 14 December 1843) was born in Manzanares, Spain and killed near Mannheim in a duel. Esperanza married Bavarian diplomat, Friedrich Freiherr Truchseß von Wetzhausen.

Esperanza's maternal grandparents, Prince Aleksei Lobanov-Rostovsky and his wife Countess Kucheleff.

Family and childhood

Esperanza was a member of the Basque noble family de Sarachaga[2]. The family was of old untitled landed nobility, but in some Russian circles they have been regarded as equivalent to Barons[3]. This was however not recognized in the Almanach de Gotha's publications[4]. Her paternal grandmother, Maria Micaela de Uria y Alcedo, married to Florentino de Sarachaga, had been a courtier at the court of Joseph Bonaparte[5]. She left Spain in 1813 with a Baden general in French service, Carl von Lasollaye, and took the children, one of them Spera's father Jorge, with her to Karlsruhe. After the death of her husband who had been left behind in Spain, she married Von Lasollaye[6]. Don Jorge, joined the military service in Baden. In 1833, Esperanza’s mother became a maid of honour to Empress Alexandra Fjodorovna. She was the eldest daughter of Russian Prince Aleksey Aleksandroich Lobanov-Rostovsky and his wife Countess Alexandra Grigorievna Kucheleff. Doña Esperanza’s father and mother met in St. Petersburg as children. Esperanza would later write that her childhood was happy, but that it was also very sad because by the time she was almost ten years old she had lost both her parents and her grandfather. When Esperanza was six years old, she and her brother inherited her father’s fortune upon his untimely death in a duel with Moritz von Haber in 1843. Von Haber was a Jewish banker who, according to a group of aristocratic army officers to which Jorge belonged, had an undue influence on the Grand Ducal house. A series of duel's followed of which Jorge was the final victim.[7][1][8] After his death, Esperanza and her brother were adopted by their maternal grandparents, Prince and Princess Lobanov-Rostovsky. Her grandmother, died in Paris during the French Revolution of 1848, and Esperanza was sent to be brought up in St. Petersburg away from her brother Alexis. She was summoned to and joined the Russian imperial court at sixteen. She entered the court as a Lady in waiting to the Empress. She and her brother spent their childhood apart between Russia, France, Norway, and Spain. Alexis, together with Jesuit Victor Drevon, later became the founder of the Hiéron du Val d'Or, a Roman Catholic esoteric political cabal that sought to prepare the political landscape in Europe for the reign of Christ. They also founded the Musée du Hiéron[9]

Childhood

Doña Esperanza’s father and mother met in St. Petersburg as children. Esperanza would later write that her childhood was good because she had so many people around her who loved her, but that it was also very sad because by the time she was almost ten years old she had lost both her parents and her grandfather. When Esperanza was six years old, she and her brother inherited her father’s fortune upon his untimely death in a duel with Moritz von Haber in 1843.[1][10][11] After his death, Doña Esperanza and her brother were adopted by their maternal grandparents, Prince and Princess Lobanov-Rostovsky. Doña Eperanza’s grandmother, died in Paris during the French Revolution of 1848, and Esperanza was sent to be brought up in St. Petersburg away from her brother Alexis. She was summoned to and joined the Russian imperial court at sixteen.[12] She entered the court as a Lady in waiting to the Empress. She and her brother spent their childhood apart between Russia, France, Norway, and Spain.[13]

Marriage

Doña Esperanza married Bavarian diplomat Friedrich Freiherr Truchseß von Wetzhausen. They were wed on 15 July 1862.[1][14]

Esperanza first met Friedrich when he was working as a diplomat at the Prussian and Russian court. It was love at first sight, and they were married soon after. During their marriage she often took him back to Bilbao, Spain to visit her family. Her sense of humor often manifested itself in harmless games of trickery. Once, when they were newly-wed, she took her new husband on a long hiking trip in Spain where they came upon a beautiful country palace. Her husband loved it and said that he wanted to know more about the owners because he was going to buy it for her. The gardener was the one to reveal to him that Esperanza was the owner all along.[15]

Prince Philipp zu Eulenburg-Hertefeld commented that Esperanza was considered by her peers at age 44 to have beauty, be generous and have a strong intelligence, and a generous nature,[15]

The couple longed to have children but were unable to. In 1885 Doña Esperanza and her brother Don Alexis became guardians of their recently orphaned nephew and niece, Don Ricardo de Saráchaga y Arribalzaga and Doña Gloria de Saráchaga y Arribalzaga.

Esperanza died in Cannes, France on January 28, 1914.

Charitable work

Esperanza was described as very generous to those around her. She founded many institutions and foundations including a Bavarian Kindergarten[15] and "Friedrich's Home", a Bavarian elder care home named after her husband. in addition she was a benefactress of her brother's legacy the Musée du Hiéron

Diplomacy and politics

During a time of great upheaval, especially in both Prussia and Spain. Spera was a well known figure at the Spanish, French and some German courts. Sometimes she found herself in an awkward position when many of her close friends had loyalties to governments at war with each other. Esperanza moved through their circles, always trying to maintain balance. She was very loyal to her friends, Philipp zu Eulenburg-Hertefeld relays that when Esperanza found out that King Ludwig II of Bavaria was about to be institutionalized for mental illness, she attacked the commission that came to get him at the entrance to Schloss Hohenschwangau, protesting and flailing at the men with her umbrella, and then rushed to the king’s apartments to identify the conspirators. Ludwig then had the commissioners arrested, but after holding them captive for several hours, released them.[15][16]

Children

Friedrich and Esperanza's adopted children were her niece and nephew, Doña Ciriaca María de la Gloria Josefa and Don Ricardo Alfonso Mateo de Saráchaga y Arribálzaga. Ricardo’s granddaughter, Doña Stephanie Zobel de Saráchaga and her husband currently run the de Sarachaga-Lobanov Rostovsky foundation which is actively involved with preserving Esperanza's and her brother Alexis's legacy and the charitable institutions they were a part of [citation needed].

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Sentencias del Consejo de Estado. Madrid : Impr. del Ministerio de Gracia y Justica, [18--]-1867. pg. 513
  2. ^ Becke-Klüchtzner, Edwund von der, Stamtafeln des Adels des Grossherzogtums Baden, Baden Baden 1886, p 399
  3. ^ Russian genealogical collection volume 1-4, 1841 by Peter Dolgorukov
  4. ^ Gothaisches Taschenbuch der freiherrlichen Häuser, Vol 42, 1892 p 920
  5. ^ Euskomedia
  6. ^ Congreso Internacional de las Ciencias Genealógica y Heráldica, Volume 2, pp 349-350
  7. ^ Blick in die Geschichte Nr. 77 vom 21. Dezember 2007: Verlauf und Hintergründe des "Haber-Skandals"
  8. ^ George von Sarachaga-Uria, Georg v. Sarachaga's Vermächtniß oder Neue Folgen in der Göler-Haber'schen Sache, Stuttgart 1843, Nachtrag
  9. ^ Politica Hermetica, Les contrées secretes, pp 79 - 101
  10. ^ City Archives Karlsruhe
  11. ^ https://books.google.nl/books?id=iFFhAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA83&lpg=PA83&dq=Georg+von+Sarachaga-Uria&source=bl&ots=zDdxSLY1ML&sig=0hi1ukXliLh7vyhDn8JsILt1I1k&hl=nl&sa=X&ei=KDWYVbTJNqup7AbUvpe4Aw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Georg%20von%20Sarachaga-Uria&f=false%7C George von Sarachaga-Uria, Georg v. Sarachaga's Vermächtniß oder Neue Folgen in der Göler-Haber'schen Sache, Stuttgart 1843, Nachtrag
  12. ^ La Gaulois newspaper , Paris 1914
  13. ^ Politica Hermetica (1999), Politica Hermetica 12: Les ContrÉes SecrÈtes, retrieved 2012-04-08
  14. ^ Gothaisches genealogisches taschenbuch der freiherrlichen Häuser, Volume 30.
  15. ^ a b c d Prince Philipp zu Eulenburg-Hertefeld (1934), Princess Augusta of Eulenburg-Hertefeld (ed.), The end of King Ludwig II and other experiences, Fri Wilh. Grunow publisher, retrieved 2012-04-08 Cite error: The named reference "eulenburg-hertefeld" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ Werner Bertram, King Ludwig II of Bavaria: A royal recluse; memories of Ludwig II of Bavaria

External links

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