Amalie of Oldenburg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Queen Amalie of Greece (painting by Joseph Karl Stieler )

Amalie Marie Friederike Duchess of Oldenburg (* December 21, 1818 in Oldenburg ; † May 20, 1875 in Bamberg ) became Princess of Bavaria and Queen of Greece by marriage .

Life

Amalie was the daughter of Grand Duke Paul Friedrich August von Oldenburg and his first wife, Princess Adelheid von Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym . Amalie married King Otto I of Greece on November 22, 1836 in Oldenburg , the son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen . The marriage remained childless. Queen Amalie initiated the planning and laying out of the palace garden in Athens (since 1974 national garden ), but her main interest was directed to agriculture, where she advocated a restriction of the power of Turkish landowners. It supported the increase in agricultural production, among other things, by promoting the use of modern cultivation methods. Allegedly she also designed the uniform of the Evzones .

Political resistance forced Amalie and her husband to leave Greece in 1862 and go into exile in Otto's homeland.

Amalie died in Bamberg in 1875 at the age of 56. She made her sister Friederike von Washington the heir to her considerable fortune. Amalie was buried in the crypt of the Theatine Church in Munich .

Commemoration

During her lifetime her offensive influence on political and social life in Greece was seen by women as an act of emancipation . In areas that still belonged to the Ottoman Empire, Greek women provoked by imitating Amalie's revealing clothing style. In Greece she was nicknamed “beautiful Amalie” and the myth that Amalie was the most beautiful queen in the country continues to this day.

The botanist Theodor von Heldreich , who worked in Greece, named the following species after her:

  • Abies Reginae Amaliae (hero.)
  • Abies apollinis var.reginae-amaliae (hero.)
  • Abies cephalonica var.reginae-amaliae (Heldr.)
  • Sempervivum marmoreum subsp. reginae-amaliae (Heldr. & Sarnth.)

A municipality in the Peloponnese that was created in 1885 through the amalgamation of two localities bears the name Amaliada in her memory , another is Amaliapoli . A main thoroughfare in the center of Athens, the Leofóros Basilísis Amalías (German: Königin-Amalie-Allee) is named after her, it is located on the national garden that she has created .

In Oldenburg, the Amalienbrücke over the Hunte and the Amalienstraße that surrounds it bear their name. There are further Amalienstrasse in Würzburg and Bamberg .

literature

  • Hermann Lübbing:  Amalie Marie Friederike. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 237 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Amelie Marie Friederike , in: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe . Vol. 1. Munich 1974, p. 64
  • Anita Eichholz: The Greek Court of Bamberg, pp. 149-184 in: From Athens to Bamberg: King Otto of Greece. Booklet accompanying the exhibition in the New Residence in Bamberg from June 21 to November 3, 2002. Ed .: Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung. Munich 2002.
  • Anita Eichholz: Queen Amalie's years of exile and widowhood in Bamberg (1863–1875), pp. 161–176 in: Amalie 1818–1875, Duchess of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece, accompanying volume for the exhibition "Amalie - Duchess of Oldenburg - Queen of Greece "from August 29th to October 24th, 2004 in the Palais Rastede. Ed .: Kunst- und Kulturkreis Rastede eV, Rastede 2004.
  • Gisela Niemöller: The angels in the castle; an approach to Cäcilie, Amalie and Friederike von Oldenburg . Isensee, Oldenburg 1997, ISBN 3-89598-463-9 .
  • Art and culture group Rastede e. V. (Ed.): Amalie 1818–1875. Duchess of Oldenburg - Queen of Greece . Isensee, Oldenburg 2004, ISBN 3-89995-122-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thomas Memminger: Würzburgs streets and buildings. A contribution to local history. 2nd Edition. Würzburg 1921, p. 24 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Amalie von Oldenburg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office Successor
--- Queen of Greece
1836–1862 		Olga of Russia
personal data
SURNAME Amalie of Oldenburg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Amalie Marie Friederike von Oldenburg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Queen of Greece, Duchess of Oldenburg
DATE OF BIRTH December 21, 1818
PLACE OF BIRTH Oldenburg
DATE OF DEATH May 20, 1875
Place of death Bamberg