Wilhelmine Amalie of Braunschweig-Lüneburg
Wilhelmine Amalie von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (born April 21, 1673 in Hanover ; † April 10, 1742 in Vienna ) was a daughter of Duke Johann Friedrich von Braunschweig-Calenberg and his wife Benedicta Henriette von der Pfalz and finally the wife of Emperor Joseph I.
Life
She was raised Catholic by her mother and then grew up with her aunt Louise Hollandine in Maubuisson monastery . In 1693 she came back to Hanover . Initially against the will of his mother Eleonore Magdalene von Pfalz-Neuburg, Joseph wooed her early on. She was considered an outspoken beauty, but also very pious and serious.
On the occasion of their wedding in 1699, Reinhard Keizer , "Cammer-Composer" in the Duchy of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and later Kapellmeister in Hamburg, composed the opera Hercules and Hebe . As was customary at the time for major events, this stage work was performed at important cultural centers in Europe.
The marriage seemed to be happy at first, but Joseph's affairs and the death of their only son, heir Leopold Joseph, hit his wife very hard. Before Joseph's accession to the throne, his fun-loving manner was overlooked because he seemed young and could still father many children. He had his first affairs at the age of 15. His lovers were chambermaids and noble ladies like Dorothea von Daun . In many sources his "depravity" is emphasized. But afterwards the concern for his life increased, as there was no legacy for the Habsburg Empire. Over time, the attitude also changed that the Kaiser could later father children, because Wilhelmine apparently suffered from a sexually transmitted disease that Joseph had attached to her. In the course of his varied sexual life in 1704, Joseph had contracted a sexually transmitted disease, presumably syphilis. The empress consequently suffered from ulcers in the abdomen, which had a negative impact on her fertility. In addition, there was an increasing estrangement between the spouses, which further reduced the chances of having children.
The resulting sterility of the empress had a disastrous effect on the dynasty . She became a widow in 1711 when her husband died of smallpox at the age of 32, and her mother-in-law became regent. With her brother-in-law and her husband's successor, Karl VI. she enforced the recognition of her two daughters in the line of succession, but they were behind his daughter. Initially she supported her son-in-law, Duke Karl Albrecht of Bavaria , who later became Emperor Karl VII, but then withdrew into private life.
After her two daughters were married, she spent her widowing years from 1722 in the Salesian convent on Rennweg in Vienna , which she founded in 1717 , where she died of dropsy in 1742, shortly before her 69th birthday .
According to her instructions, her heart was buried at the feet of her husband's coffin in the Capuchin crypt, but her body was buried on April 13, 1742 in the crypt under the high altar with the Salesian women.
Honors
The so-called Amalientrakt of the Vienna Hofburg is named after her. Today's Hansenstraße in the inner city was called Amaliengasse or Amalienstraße after it until 1894. Today's Amalienstraße in Vienna Ober-St. Veit has been named after her since 1869 and 1922.
progeny
Wilhelmine Amalie and Joseph had three children:
- Maria Josepha (1699–1757)
- Leopold Joseph (1700–1701), Crown Prince
- Maria Amalie (1701–1756)
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Habsburg, Amalie Wilhelmine von Braunschweig-Lüneburg . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 6th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1860, p. 147 f. ( Digitized version ).
Web links
| predecessor | Office | Successor |
|---|---|---|
| Eleonore Magdalene of the Palatinate |
Holy Roman Empress February 24, 1699 to April 17, 1711 |
Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilhelmine Amalie of Braunschweig-Lüneburg |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wilhelmine Amalia of Braunschweig-Lüneburg; Amalia Wilhelmine of Braunschweig-Lüneburg; Amalie Wilhelmine of Braunschweig-Lüneburg; Wilhelmine Amalie von Braunschweig-Calenberg; Amalie Wilhelmine of Braunschweig-Calenberg |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | through marriage of the Roman-German Empress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 21, 1673 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Luneburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 10, 1742 |
| Place of death | Vienna |