Alexander von Hanstein

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Maximilian Elisäus Alexander von Hanstein, Count of Pölzig and Beiersdorf (born June 9, 1804 in Burghaig, district of Kulmbach , † April 18, 1884 in Schmölln ) was the stepfather of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and the grandfather of Hans Poelzig .

Life

Alexander von Hanstein came from the Thuringian noble family of Hanstein and grew up as the son of Freiherr Friedrich von Hanstein and his wife Anna Maria Hausmann. In 1818 he and his older brother Ludwig took over the Einberg manor from their late father . In 1824 he was stable master of Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld . His affair with the young Duchess Luise von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg , the wife of Duke Ernst, triggered the separation of the ducal couple. Luise had to leave the duchy - and her two small sons - in autumn 1824 and was assigned the principality of Lichtenberg in what is now Saarland as her place of residence. Alexander followed her.

After Duke Friedrich IV died on February 11, 1825 , Luise became sole heir to the House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg . In the subsequent inheritance disputes and divorce negotiations, it was regulated that she waived her claims to Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, with the exception of a castle in Altenburg. The divorce from Duke Ernst took place on March 31, 1826.

Pölzig Castle around 1840, demolished after 1948
Pölzig Castle

In order to create the professional requirements for a marriage with Luise, Alexander von Hanstein was raised to Count von Pölzig and Beiersdorf on July 19, 1826 by Duke Friedrich von Sachsen-Altenburg , after Luise's estate in Altenburger Land . The small Gut Pölzig and Beiersdorf located between Gera and Altenburg comprised the Pölzig Castle in the middle of the village of Pölzig .

On October 18, 1826, Alexander and Luise married in St. Wendel , the royal seat of the small principality of Lichtenberg. They lived in the castle there and spent some happy years. The marriage remained childless and contact with Luise's children Ernst and Albert from their first marriage, who had remained in Coburg, was forbidden.

Luise died on August 30, 1831. Duke Ernst sold the Principality of Lichtenberg to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1834 for a rent of 80,000 thalers . Alexander went into Prussian service and finally commanded the Guard Cürrassier regiment in Potsdam . Less than two years later he married the 21-year-old Marie Therese von Carlowitz from Greiz . The wedding took place on April 18, 1833 in Coburg. As Count and Countess of Pölzig, they then lived in his Pölzig Castle and had three children:

  • Maximilian Anton (born February 18, 1834; † between 1865 and 1871)
  • Clara Henriette Marie (April 3, 1835 - April 25, 1879)
  • Thekla Marie Agnes (born November 29, 1841 - † April 4, 1903)

On October 15, 1833, Alexander and his brother Ludwig von Hanstein sold the Einberg manor to the chancellery Carl Friedrich August Briegleb.

Marie Therese died on April 22, 1845 in Naumburg . Three years later he turned to his stepson Albert, who had meanwhile become the husband of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, and complained that he had been taken advantage of in the settlement once concluded with Duke Ernst. Prince Albert acknowledged that Alexander had been "hugely cheated" at the time and granted him a pension.

Alexander's second daughter Clara married the British shipowner George Acland Ames from Clifton near Bristol on July 13, 1854 at Pölzig Castle . The couple moved to Clifton and had five children there. Then the marriage began to fall into crisis, because the sixth child, Hans, was born on April 30, 1869 in Berlin. Since Ames did not recognize him as his son, Hans was given the surname Poelzig. In July 1869, Clara and Ames were divorced in London. Clara returned to Pölzig, lived as "the young countess" at the castle and died 10 years later in Beiersdorf. Hans Poelzig grew up with foster parents in Berlin and became a famous architect and set designer.

Alexander died in Schmölln on April 18, 1884 . The children of Clara Ames who lived in England inherited Pölzig Castle.

literature

  • Hans-Joachim Netzer: Albert von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha , Beck-Verlag Munich 1988, ISBN 3-406-33000-2
  • Carl Philipp Emil von Hanstein: Documented history of the von Hanstein family , Kassel 1856/57, reprint in the Mecke-Verlag, Duderstadt 2007, ISBN 3-936617-39-2
  • Theodor Heuss : Hans Poelzig. Buildings and designs by a German master builder , Stuttgart 1939.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Egon Grams: Einberg, History and Stories 1162 - 1962 - 2012 , City of Rödental, Rödental 2011, p. 24
  2. ↑ a b Harald Sandner: The House of Saxony-Coburg and Gotha 1826 to 2001; Documentation on the 175th anniversary of the parent company in words and pictures. Druck- und Verlagsanstalt Neue Presse, Coburg 2001, ISBN 3-00-008525-4 , pp. 55-64.
personal data
SURNAME Hanstein, Alexander von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hanstein, Maximilian Elisäus Alexander von (full name); Pölzig, Alexander Graf von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count in Thuringia
DATE OF BIRTH June 9, 1804
PLACE OF BIRTH Burghaig
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 1884
Place of death Schmoelln