Amalie Hohenester
Amalie Hohenester (first name also shortened to Mali ) (* October 4, 1827 in Vaterstetten as Amalie Nonnenmacher; † March 24, 1878 in Mariabrunn ) was known as a miracle healer and so-called "doctor farmer". From 1863 until her death, she ran the then famous Mariabrunn spa in the Dachau region . She is often counted among the most dazzling female figures in Bavaria in the 19th century. The story of her person is entwined with numerous legends and anecdotes.
Life
Marshal at Holzkirchen
Amalie Hohenester was the daughter of Bibiana and Michael Nonnenmacher. The mother, a strong-willed and energetic person with a bad reputation, came from Hungary. It was said to be “making weather” and the like. She was also registered with the Miesbach Regional Court for abortion . She knew how to use herbs and the essences obtained from them, which she later passed on to her daughter. The father, "Haberlbauer" zu Marschall bei Holzkirchen , was also a horse dealer. Amalie was the fifth child. Her brothers made a name for themselves in the Bavarian Oberland as members of the "Haberl gang". This was responsible for numerous crimes such as robbery and poaching .
Amalie also came into conflict with the law at the age of 14 when she tore off official seals. After that she was noticed by roaming and theft. At the age of 17, she was arrested for “humiliating lifestyle” and subsequently imposed with official requirements that forbade her to leave her home district for two years. But she didn't do it, so she had to deal with the police again and again. At the age of 23 she worked as a maid in Munich, where she often changed jobs. She learned how to socialize with a Countess Sandizell , who she took with her on trips, which she later benefited from. With the Countess, however, there was also a hasty termination of the employment relationship.
In May 1856 she was picked up in Frankfurt and deported to Munich . Back in Marschall, she and her mother began to treat sick people in the area, thereby gaining naturopathic knowledge and other skills in dealing with people. The 32-year-old was sentenced to two days in police arrest by the Miesbach regional court in 1859 for “botching”. However, back then the term botch was not yet associated with the negative connotation of today, but referred to a healing activity without appropriate medical training, comparable to that of a bathing person . Medical activity without this requirement was not allowed even then according to a paragraph.
Deisenhofen
On October 14, 1861, at the age of 34, Amalie Nonnenmacher married Benedikt Hohenester, who was the same age and whom she had met through one of her brothers. Immediately after moving in , she set up her “practice” on his Wagner farm in Deisenhofen . She made the diagnosis on the basis of questioning the patient, other information she found about him, and the urination . For therapy, she prescribed a strict diet and tinctures , teas and ointments made from herbs . In doing so, she developed a successful business acumen by making the drugs pay dearly. Advice, on the other hand, was mostly free, especially for ordinary people. Rumors soon got around about Amalie Hohenester's methods and the first Munich newspapers dealt with the phenomenon. The authorities reacted with skepticism, including charges of " quackery and quackery ". Nevertheless, their success continued.
Mariabrunn
Towards the end of 1862, the Hohenester couple acquired a property in Mariabrunn, which was previously known as a spa and pilgrimage site, but was no longer of any importance at the time. However, this changed again after the day on January 13, 1863, when Amalie Hohenester and her husband, who probably didn't have much to say, moved to Mariabrunn. In addition to her previously used therapeutic measures, baths and casts were added. With her cures she achieved relief from the complaints of numerous guests and apparently also cures, word of her success spread to the highest social circles and her spa flourished. In 1866 the first major extensions and conversions took place. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolajewitsch , Baron von Rothschild , Prince Woronzoff, Grand Duchess Vera and Empress Elisabeth of Austria are said to have sought advice from Hohenester. Her patients were convinced of her abilities and promised a cure, while she was attacked by the doctors and labeled as a quack. She cleverly turned away the seriously ill on the grounds: "My cure is too strong for you."
In order to avoid conflicts with the authorities, she came up with a few tricks. So she hired a spa doctor who then acted as a straw man . With the enormous economic success, the number of their envious people increased. But since she managed to get patrons among the officials, the official reprisals subsided over time.
After her health had deteriorated significantly in the winter of 1877, Amalie Hohenester died on March 24, 1878 at the age of 50 of heart failure. In the population there was talk of "fatty heart" or an unnatural death because they kept their bad condition hidden from the outside world. In addition to heart disease, she presumably also had breast cancer , which she tried in vain to treat herself for months. After her death, the spa fell into insignificance again, although her niece Ottilie, who worked closely with her and knew her recipes , tried to keep it going.
Since the marriage had remained childless, her husband, who remarried three months after the funeral, inherited all of their property.
Amalie Hohenester found her final resting place in the cemetery of the parish church of St. Peter in Ampermoching .
Appreciations
On March 1, 1956, a street in the Munich district of Aubing was named after Amalie Hohenester. In Deisenhofen there is also a street named after the “doctor farmer”. A street in Marschall bei Holzkirchen is also to be named after her.
Editing of the topic
The eventful life of Amalie Hohenester has often been taken up in literature, film and the performing arts. There are numerous novels, folk plays and two films about them. In the 1974 film Die Kurpfuscherin based on the script by Hans Fitz , Maria Schell plays the main character alongside Walter Sedlmayr , Edda Seippel and others . In 1997 Bayerischer Rundfunk produced the two-part television film Mali with Christine Neubauer .
Hans Fitz also wrote the script for the radio play Madame Hohenester, produced by Bayerischer Rundfunk in 1973 . Directed by Edmund Steinberger , Elfie Pertramer spoke the Amalie High nests.
In 1992 Norbert Göttler published the novel Die Pfuscherin with a historically authentic background.
literature
- Hedi Heres : Of Witches and Drugs . Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, Rosenheim 1995, pages 95-111. ISBN 3-475-52826-6
Web links
- Literature by and about Amalie Hohenester in the catalog of the German National Library
- History ( memento from September 21, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) at www.schlosswirtschaft-mariabrunn.de (with picture by Amalie Hohenester; archive version from September 21, 2009)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hedi Heres: From Witches and Druden . Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, Rosenheim 1995, page 97. ISBN 3-475-52826-6
- ↑ Hans Fitz: Die Kurpfuscherin ( Memento from January 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ https://www.merkur.de/lokales/regionen/auch-kaiserin-sissi-vertraute-wunderheilerin-marschall-248794.html
- ↑ Mariabrunn districts ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Now there is movement in the relocation of the building yard - it already has an address. February 20, 2019, accessed February 20, 2019 .
- ↑ Bayern 2 radio play ( memento from July 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on June 27, 2015
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hohenester, Amalie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Nonnenmacher, Amalie (maiden name); Nunmaker, Mali |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German faith healer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 4, 1827 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vaterstetten |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 24, 1878 |
| Place of death | Röhrmoos |