Alexandra Pavlovna Romanova

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Alexandra Pavlovna Romanowa based on a painting by Vladimir Lukitsch Borowikowski , painted in 1798

Alexandra Pavlovna Romanova, Grand Duchess of Russia (born July 29 . Jul / 9. August  1783 greg. In St. Petersburg ; † 16th March 1801 in the oven ) was a member of the House of Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp .

Life

Childhood and youth

Alexandra was the eldest daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia (1754-1801) and his second wife, Tsarina Maria Fjodorowna, Princess Sophie Dorothee of Württemberg (1759-1828), daughter of Duke Friedrich Eugen von Württemberg and Princess Friederike Dorothea Sophia von Brandenburg-Schwedt . She was the sister of the two future Tsars Alexander I and Nikolaus I. Her paternal grandmother, Tsarina Katharina II , was disappointed with the birth of her first granddaughter: “A third child was born and it was a girl named Alexandra , in honor of her older brother. To tell the truth, I'm infinitely more for boys than girls. "

Alexandra Pavlovna Romanowa, painted by Johann Baptist von Lampi , around 1790

The Tsarina's secretary, Alexander Khrapowitsky, wrote that Catherine considered the new-born Grand Duchess very ugly and compared her appearance to that of her brother Alexander. The Tsarina noticed that Paul's second daughter, six-month-old Helena , was much smarter and more charming than two-year-old Alexandra. But on the occasion of Alexandra's birth, Tsarina Katharina gave her son and his family the Gatchina Palace , in the city of Gatchina , south of Saint Petersburg.

Alexandra and Helena Pavlovna Romanowa, by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1796)

Later on, the relationship between Alexandra and her grandmother improved. On March 12, 1787 Katharina wrote to her: “Alexandra Pavlovna, I am always happy that you are clever and not tearful. You are intelligent and I am satisfied with that. Thank you for loving me, I will love you. ”Over time, Katharina developed a strong bond with her granddaughter. She noted: "She (Alexandra) loves me more than anyone in the world and I think she is willing to do anything just to please me, or at least to get my attention for a moment."

Of all the siblings, Helena, who was one year younger, was closest to her. The two were often painted together. Alexandra received an upbringing that corresponded to that of a girl of the time. She was taught exclusively by governesses and private tutors in English, French and German. She also received lessons in drawing, music and courtly conversation. Alexandra's upbringing and that of her sisters was the responsibility of Charlotte von Lieven , from 1801 chief steward . The Grand Duchess was considered an extremely hard-working and inquisitive student. In 1787 her mother proudly wrote that she was making remarkable progress in becoming diligent and starting to translate from German . Alexandra was fascinated by painting. As in music, she was given great talent.

In 1790, Tsarina Katharina described her granddaughter in a letter to Friedrich Melchior Grimm : “... The third is a portrait of Grand Duchess Alexandra. During the first six years of her life, I found nothing special about her. But in the last year she went through a surprising change: she became more and more beautiful and took on an attitude that made her appear older. She speaks four languages, is good at drawing and writing, plays the harpsichord , sings, dances, learns quickly and shows a pleasant, gentle character. "

Engagement to Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden

King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (1778–1837)

Catherine II wanted to marry her 13-year-old granddaughter Alexandra with the Swedish King Gustav IV Adolf (1778–1837). This link was intended to resolve political problems between Russia and Sweden. Negotiations about a possible marriage soon began. When the king visited Russia in 1796, Alexandra fell in love with him at first sight. Gustav Adolf was delighted with her naivety and amiability and immediately asked Catherine II for her hand. The tsarina was delighted. In all the excitement she had overlooked the religion thing. As Queen of Sweden, Alexandra would have to convert from the Russian Orthodox Church to the Evangelical Lutheran faith . Gustav Adolf would have to agree to allow Alexandra to continue to be Russian Orthodox if he loved her. After lengthy negotiations, her engagement was set for September 11th. One day before the engagement the king read in the engagement contract that Alexandra would keep her religion after the marriage. Gustav Adolf exploded with anger, declaring that he had been lured into a trap. He vowed never to agree to give his people an Orthodox queen. He did not appear on the day of the engagement. Alexandra was heartbroken.

Catherine II died a few months after the broken engagement. Gustav IV Adolf married Princess Friederike von Baden , the younger sister of Alexandra's sister-in-law Elisabeth Alexejewna , in 1797 .

Marriage to Archduke Joseph of Austria

Alexandra Pavlovna Romanowa, painting by Wladimir Lukitsch Borowikowski around 1795

The Grand Duchess was born on February 20 (March 3) 1799 with Archduke Joseph of Austria , Palatine of Hungary (1776–1847), who was seven years her senior , after the same on February 19 (March 2) under the incognito of a “Count of Burgau ”arrived in St. Petersburg, was solemnly engaged. On October 30, 1799, the wedding ceremony was held at the Gatchina summer palace not far from St. Petersburg, first in the imperial chapel according to the Russian Orthodox rite and then in the knight's hall (in front of the altar that was specially erected and consecrated for this purpose) by the Bishop of Lemberg carried out according to the Roman Catholic rite. Archduke Joseph was the seventh son of Leopold II , Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Bohemia , Croatia and Hungary from the House of Habsburg-Lothringen and the Infanta Maria Ludovica of Spain from the House of Bourbon .

The young couple were very fond of each other and lived in Alcsút Castle . Nevertheless, her life in her new home was not always happy. Alexandra suffered from the hostility that Empress Maria Theresa , second wife of Emperor Franz II , had towards her. She was jealous of Alexandra's beauty and her jewelry and jewels. She also resembled Emperor Franz's first wife, Elisabeth von Württemberg , who had been Alexandra's maternal aunt. Their Orthodox faith also aroused hostility to the Roman Catholic Austrian imperial court.

Death and burial

In 1803 the funeral chapel for Grand Duchess Alexandra Pawlowna Romanoma was built in a braid style in Üröm

The happy marriage ended tragically on March 8, 1801. On this day, Alexandra Pavlovna gave birth to a girl (Archduchess Paulina), but she died on the same day. The mother did not recover and died on March 16, 1801 of puerperal fever in Ofen. In the same month, an assassination attempt was carried out on her father, Tsar Paul I , in which he was killed.

Alexandra Pawlowna's body was temporarily buried in the Capuchin Church of the 'Water City' von Ofen . According to the Grand Duchess's testamentary legacy, who wanted to be buried on her favorite property on Üröm, Palatine gave Joseph the order to build an Orthodox chapel for her. The court architect of the Palatine, Stanislaus Heppe (*? - † 1809) was commissioned with the planning . The foundation stone was laid in 1802. The inauguration of the burial chapel was carried out by Alexandra Pavlovna's confessor - whom she had brought from St. Petersburg - Dean Andrei Samborsky in 1803.

Because of the fear of French troops during the Napoleonic War , the coffin (which was already buried in the unfinished chapel in 1802) was relocated and only brought back to Üröm in 1814.

The remains of Alexandra Pawlowna were reburied on September 11, 2004 in Üröm. (At the microphone Péter Cardinal Erdő )

The later fate of the grave site

After the death of Palatine Joseph (1847), the Üröm estate was also given to his heirs. The burial chapel survived the two world wars unscathed. Shortly after the Second World War , however, the chapel was broken into, and the coffin was forcibly opened in search of valuables. The burial chapel was broken into a second time on April 26, 1981, but this time the devastation was so great that the coffin (with the desecrated remains of the Grand Duchess) had to be brought to the Palatine Crypt in the castle of Ofen .

Thanks to the financial generosity of a patron from St. Petersburg, but also the willingness of the Hungarian local authorities in the region and the Orthodox-Russian St. Sergius Congregation, the grave church in Üröm was restored and brought back to its original condition. The restoration work began in 2003. On September 11, 2004, Alexandra Pavlovna's remains from the Palatine Crypt were returned to their original burial site - Üröm - and solemnly reburied. The solemn consecration was made by Hilarion Alfejew , the (then) Orthodox Bishop of Vienna and Austria . The ceremony also the Primate of Hungary and took Archbishop of Gran - Budapest Peter Cardinal Erdo , many guests of honor, as well as representatives of the families of Habsburg and Romanov part.

literature

Web links

Commons : Alexandra Pavlovna Romanowa  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
  • Biography , The House of the Romanovs (Russian)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Biographical Lexicon of the Austrian Empire , Seventh Part (1861)
  2. ↑ a b c d Tragic sisters: Elena and Alexandra Pavlovna. In: Byron's muse. December 30, 2013, accessed April 30, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Kenneth: Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna. In: www.rusartnet.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Biographical Lexicon of the Austrian Empire , Seventh Part (1861)
  5. ↑ Cseke: Dunakanyar p. 109
personal data
SURNAME Romanowa, Alexandra Pavlovna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Habsburg-Lothringen, Alexandra von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Member of the House of Romanow-Holstein-Gottorp
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1783
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Petersburg
DATE OF DEATH March 16, 1801
Place of death Vienna