Alexandra Amalie of Bavaria
Alexandra Amalie Princess of Bavaria (born August 26, 1826 at Johannisburg Palace in Aschaffenburg ; † May 8, 1875 at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich ) was a member of the Wittelsbach family and worked as a writer and translator.
Life
Alexandra Amalie was the fifth and youngest daughter of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and his wife, Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen . The future Prince Regent Luitpold was one of her brothers . Throughout her life she was particularly attached to her mother and after her death tried "to be pleasant and useful to her father". She lived alternately in the Munich residence, Berchtesgaden, at Schloss Leopoldskron, in the Villa Ludwigshöhe near Edenkoben (Palatinate) and in Aschaffenburg. In later years, at the request of her father, she became supreme headmistress and abbess of the royal dynasty for " Saint Anne " in Munich and Würzburg. She was a benefactress of the city of Aschaffenburg and made lasting contributions to the welfare of the poor, for example by founding a poor and sick kitchen in Aschaffenburg in 1860. After the death of her father, King Ludwig I, she inherited his natural history collection.
Alexandra Amalie was a skilled rider and owned four horses.
Works
Alexandra Amalie also combined her literary work with charity; The title pages of their works published from 1856 to 1858 bear the note “The income is destined for the benefit of the Maximilian Orphan Foundation” and Das Kinder-Theater (1870) again carries the note “The income is for Mary who is visibly blessed by God -Sick food determined in Munich ".
- Field flowers. Sketches and stories by Alexandra, Royal Princess of Bavaria, head of the Maximilian Orphan Foundation in Munich , 1856 (digitized at archive.org)
- Christmas roses. Sketches and stories by Alexandra, Royal Princess of Bavaria, supreme headwoman ... , 1858 (digitized at digital-sammlungen.de)
- Imagination and life images. Free translations from English and French by Alexandra, Royal Princess of Bavaria, Supreme Headwoman ... , 1858 (digitized from Google books)
- Little historical stories. Freely edited from the French by Eugénie Foa by Alexandra, royal princess of Bavaria , 1862; Dedication: "Your good father, King Ludwig I of Bavaria, the friend and protector of the arts, dedicates this little book to the grateful daughter Alexandra." (Digitized at Google books)
- Dew drops. Translations from French and short stories by Alexandra, k. Princess of Bavaria , 1863; Dedication: "Her beloved sister-in-law, Queen Maria of Bavaria, in whose hearts the poor find a refuge, dedicates this little book to Alexandra von Bayern in sisterly love." (Digitized at Google books)
- Dreamy hours. Poems , 1865
- The children's theater. Little plays by (Arnaud) Berquin. Freely edited for the German youth by Alexandra, k. Princess of Bavaria , 1870; Dedication: "I dedicate these translations to my beloved brother, Prince Adalbert of Bavaria, with the wish that God may bless them for useful entertainment for his children and other little reading friends whom I love." (Digitized at Google books)
Prevented marriage
After his divorce, Louis Lucien Bonaparte , a nephew of Napoleon, intended to marry the princess. King Ludwig I refused. The reason given was that it was "impossible for him to marry his daughter to a Napoleon". He also pointed out that they were in poor health.
Several mental disorders are attributed to Alexandra, including an exaggerated urge to be clean. Her clothes had to be brushed daily according to this source. The evening cleansing rituals often took hours, so her father instructed the princess to go to rest by 11 p.m. at the latest. As she got older, she also suffered from the delusion of having swallowed a glass piano. When she vomited once, servants threw a small model piano into the spout and told her that she was now rid of the furniture. Such and similar behavioral disorders - other sources cite a pathological fear of being touched - were perhaps the real reason why the princess could not be married. Even a three-year stay in the Illenau asylum could not change her suffering.
Alexandra died in 1875 and was buried in the Theatinerkirche in Munich.
Pedigree
literature
- Franz Brümmer: Lexicon of German poets and prose writers from the beginning of the 19th century to the present , vol. 1. Leipzig: Brockhaus, 1913, p. 47
- Christian Dickinger: The black sheep of the Wittelsbachers: Between throne and madness . Munich: Piper Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-492-24345-2
- Sophie Pataky: Lexicon of German women of the pen , vol. 1. Berlin: C. Pataky, 1898, p. 6
- Dominic Robertson: The Bavarian Princess. A cantastoria between illness, art and royalty . Radio play (or "spoken song", partly in English, with Alexandra's poems), 47 min., Bayerischer Rundfunk 2017
- Martha Schad: Bavaria's queens . Regensburg: Verlag Friedrich Pustet, 1993, ISBN 3-7917-1341-8 ; Munich: Piper Verlag, 1998 a. 2008 (TB), ISBN 3-492-25298-2
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Institution Illenau - Famous Patients ( Memento from July 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Alexandra Amalie of Bavaria |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Alexandra Amalie Princess of Bavaria (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Princess of Bavaria and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 26, 1826 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Aschaffenburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 8, 1875 |
| Place of death | Munich |