Alice from Rothschild

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alice Charlotte von Rothschild (1847-1922) .png

Alice Charlotte von Rothschild (born February 17, 1847 in Frankfurt am Main ; † May 3, 1922 ) was a prominent family member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria , a botanist and horticulturalist.

ancestors

Her grandparents were the founder of the Austrian branch of the Rothschild banking family, Salomon Meyer Freiherr von Rothschild (1774–1855) and her grandmother Caroline Stern (1782–1854). According to the will of the Frankfurt progenitor Mayer Amschel Rothschild , the family should marry each other with their first and second cousins.

family

Her father Anselm Salomon Freiherr von Rothschild (1803–1874), who later took over the management of the Rothschild Bank in Vienna , therefore married her mother Charlotte von Rothschild (1807–1859). This was the eldest daughter of the London banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1830), the younger brother of his father. The couple had eight children who had a strong connection to the Kingdom of Great Britain through their mother. Of her seven siblings, she was particularly close to her brother Ferdinand, who was only eight years older and was born in Paris , who studied at Cambridge University and married an English cousin. When she was twelve years old, her mother Charlotte von Rothschild (1807-1859) died. Her childhood was even more lonely as her father was constantly traveling and very busy running the bank.

Waddesdon Manor by Ferdinand von Rothschild
Eythrope Pavilion by Alice Charlotte von Rothschild
Old view of Grasse near Nice / Cannes
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

Eythrope Pavilion at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire

When her brother Ferdinand began building Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire ( England ) in 1874 , she bought the Eythrope property on the edge of the site a little later . Between 1876 and 1879 she laid out a park and garden there and had a house built near the river called the Eythrope Pavilion . Because she had a rheumatic fever, she was strongly advised not to live near water, as moisture could exacerbate her health problem. So she had her house built without a bedroom and returned to nearby Waddesdon Manor to spend the night every night.

After the death of her brother Ferdinand in 1898, Alice inherited Waddesdon Manor. During the First World War, she tried growing certain vegetables in the gardens of Waddesdon and Eythrope, but had little luck.

Former Rothschild Gardens in Grasse

As her health deteriorated, she spent more and more time in Grasse in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southern France from 1887 , mostly from October to March. As a 42-year-old, she first bought a small olive grove next to the then Grand Hotel and a country house on it. Your land purchase ended there with a 135 hectare site.

As a knowledgeable biologist and garden lover, she built a huge garden in the style of English gardening. Many exotic trees and plants were planted and cared for here under their expert guidance at times with 50 to 80 employees. In addition, the country house for Villa Victoria and, essential for an Englishwoman born in Frankfurt, a tea pavilion were built. Their property there was about 20 kilometers inland, north of the Mediterranean coast. With no family of her own and childless, she sought to be close to relatives. Her cousin Laura Thérèse von Rothschild , the widow of James-Edouard de Rothschild, owned the Villa Rothschild near Cannes . Only 55 kilometers away was the Villa Ephrussi of another cousin, Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild , on a seven-hectare property in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the Côte d'Azur .

Even Queen Victoria made in Grasse often winter holiday and visited the then already famous gardens of Alice Charlotte de Rothschild. According to the book The Rothschild Gardens by Miriam Rothschild, Alice von Rothschild invested the equivalent of nearly half a million pounds annually in her gardens in Grasse. Alice was a strong-willed impulsive and direct person. According to a book by author Michael Nelson, published in 2001, she ruled Queen Victoria herself: "The Queen stepped across a flowerbed in a meadow and accidentally broke several plants. The baroness could not contain herself and called the sovereign to" Get "with all her might Out!"

Like most of the other members of the Rothschild family, Alice von Rothschild was an art collector. She acquired paintings, sculptures and other works of art. She also built up a unique collection of pipes including French, Spanish and Italian examples from the 17th century. The collection was donated to the city of Grasse after her death in 1822 . After her death, Edmond de Rothschild donated the garden property to the city of Grasse on condition that parts of the gardens be made accessible to the public. A large part was parceled out by town planning, over 100, and later built on with villas. Nevertheless, parts of the former garden such as proud old trees and terraces can still be seen today. The Villa Victoria later became the hotel "Parc Palace", in which u. a. the famous French actor Gérard Philipe shot.

Hereditary control

The childless Alice von Rothschild chose as her heir from Waddesdon Manor James Armand de Rothschild, called Jimmy (1878-1957), the firstborn son of Edmond de Rothschild from the Parisian banking house Rothschild , who lived in England . Jimmy's childless wife Mathilde Dorothy de Rothschild was then the next heiress. She should pay seven million inheritance taxes. Therefore the Waddesdon Manor building was given to the National Trust . Jimmy's wife inherited the land, including the Eythrope, and the art collection. In 1988 she chose the already wealthy Lord Jacob de Rothschild from the London bank as heir.

Honors

Avenue Rothschild in Grasse is named in her honor.

literature

  • Dorothy de Rothschild: Rothschilds in Waddesdon Manor. Viking Penguin, 1979, ISBN 0-670-60854-8
  • Miriam Louisa Rothschild: The Rothschild Gardens. Harry N. Abrams, London 1998, ISBN 0-8109-3790-5
  • Michael Nelson: Queen Victoria and the discovery of the Riviera. IB Tauris, London 2001, ISBN 1-86064-646-8

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rothschild, Alice from
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rothschild, Alice Charlotte von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German botanist and horticulturist
DATE OF BIRTH February 17, 1847
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 1922