Anna Luise von Schwarzburg
Anna Luise von Schwarzburg (born February 19, 1871 at Hermsdorf Castle near Dresden ; † November 7, 1951 in Sondershausen Castle ) was princess until the abdication of her husband, Prince Günther Victor, and thus until the end of the monarchy in Germany on November 23, 1918 von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and until November 25th, Princess von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen . As an important amateur photographer, she documented the turmoil of her time and preserved the valuable photographs for future generations. After the Second World War , the princess decided to live in the GDR and stayed in Sondershausen until her death .
biography
Childhood and youth
On February 19, 1871 Anna Luise was born at Hermsdorf Castle as the only daughter and youngest child of Prince Georg von Schönburg-Waldenburg (1828–1900) and Princess Luise (1844–1922), daughter of Prince Adolf von Bentheim-Tecklenburg . Together with her brothers Hermann (1865–1943) and Ulrich (1869–1939) she spent her childhood in Hermsdorf and Schneeberg.
She was only allowed to have her own room from the age of eight, as she was previously under the strict supervision of a nanny. At the age of six she was taught for the first time together with her brother Ulrich and the children of Rittmeister von Hoffmann and the chief forester von Obereigner. One of their teachers was Pastor Arnold Braue, who was later appointed General Superintendent in Rudolstadt. Her training also included music and drawing lessons. Anna Luise learned the violin and from 1879 learned the piano from her mother. The landscape painter Oskar Schütz and portrait painter Heinrich Schönchen gave her painting and drawing lessons. Since her father bred horses, she learned the art of riding as a child.
In order to acquire the correct demeanor and behavior in aristocratic circles, the mother took control of her upbringing, so that Anna Luise was able to prepare as best as possible for her future role as a representative of princely society. She accompanied her mother to courtesy visits, tea hours, cultural and charitable events.
Her first love was Count Pückler , a college friend of her brother Hermann. But since she had to marry appropriately as the princess, the count was denied her.
Princess of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
On November 8, 1891, Anna Luise got engaged to her cousin Günther Victor von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt , who was 19 years her senior , after his engagement to Luise von Sachsen-Altenburg had been broken by both parties. The marriage arranged in the family association was concluded on December 9, 1891 in Rudolstadt . While the civil wedding took place in the red rooms in Heidecksburg Castle , the church wedding took place afterwards in the castle church (today: porcelain gallery). 130 guests attended the festivities.
Six months after the wedding, the pregnancy was happily announced. This seemed to secure the succession to the throne. However, complications arose in the 7th month, and on September 1, 1892, a boy was stillborn. He was strong and theoretically viable, but through an ominous detachment, the child died in the womb. The princess then fell into puerperal fever , coupled with pleurisy and abdominal inflammation as well as partial cardiac paralysis. Long-term consequences prevented future pregnancies, which was a dynastic catastrophe for the Princely House.
The miscarriage was marked by Anna Luise, which was also reflected in her appearance. Contrary to the fashion of the time, she had her hair cut short, and her clothes often did not correspond to the prevailing taste. Harry Graf Kessler described her as "... the Princess of Schwarzburg, a fabulously inelegant woman in a white blouse and with short-cropped hair who looks like Maximilian Harden ...".
Politically, the princess held back as far as possible, knowing full well about current political affairs. Only after 1914 would their role change radically.
Since her marriage to Günther Victor, she inevitably took on the role of “mother of the country”. She was responsible for the patronage of various non-profit institutions and associations. For example, in 1893 she promoted the establishment of a welfare for the elderly and poor in Quittelsdorf and in 1901 that of the "Anna Luisen Stift" in Bad Blankenburg . She was also present at numerous war club, community or rifle festivals and inaugurations of public buildings, as well as the Kyffhäuser monument near Bad Frankenhausen .
In 1906 Anna Luise met Henry van de Velde , the founder of the School of Applied Arts in Weimar , at Schwarzburg Castle , and he has been a welcome guest of the princely family ever since. They even gave him a refuge in the pheasantry near Schwarzburg, which he furnished according to his own designs. Although the princess had a rather conservative taste in art, she was very open to the work of van de Velde. In May 1907 she went to Weimar for the first time to visit this extraordinary artist. At the invitation of the prince to his solemn takeover of government in the principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Henry van de Velde followed the prince couple in 1909 to the royal seat of Sondershausen .
Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
After the death of Prince Karl Günther von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and the associated extinction of the special houses part line in the male line, Günther Victor also took over the government for this principality in 1909. Thus Anna Luise also received the title of Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.
From then on, the royal couple had six different residences, which they had to change regularly about every two months.
In order to ensure the continued existence of the Schwarzburg family, Prince Sizzo von Leutenberg was appointed as his successor by law of June 1, 1896 and recognized as a member of the Schwarzburg male tribe. Since then he has been able to call himself the "Prince of Schwarzburg". But over time, the relationship between the great cousins Sizzo and Günther Victor deteriorated. Sizzo felt constantly deprived for no valid reason. A dispute even in the press caused the prince to refuse Sizzo to stay in the castles of Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg, and in 1910 he was only allowed to call himself “Prince of Schwarzburg” by decree. In 1918 the conflict came to a head to such an extent that they only came to an understanding through lawyers.
Due to the unstable nervous system of her husband and his circulatory and heart problems, Anna Luise had to adjust her daily routine as much as possible to her husband's state of health. She often traveled with Günther Victor to cures prescribed by a doctor. In quiet minutes when her husband was out hunting, she took the time to write, read and her favorite activity, photography.
The end of the monarchy
As part of the November Revolution of 1918, Günther Victor abdicated as the last Federal Prince on November 23 as Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and on November 25 as Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. Thereafter, the princely couple kept the castles Schwarzburg and Rathsfeld with the associated lands and right of residence in the residential castles of Heidecksburg and Sondershausen. The state of Thuringia secured them a reasonable annual allowance. A large part of the assets and the art goods were transferred to the “Fürst Günther Foundation”, which had already been established on November 22, 1918.
Anna Luise was only able to accept the forced loss of meaning after a long time with a heavy heart. According to her, the current rulers only wanted to keep them as "historical rarities". The question of the compensation from the Princely House that the State of Thuringia was supposed to pay was ultimately never resolved.
On April 16, 1925, Günther Victor died in Sondershausen Castle after a long illness . Her husband had made her sole heir, so she had to continue the legal battle with Sizzo. Even after his death in 1926, Anna Luise ruled out the adoption of his only son Friedrich Günther von Schwarzburg , as he continued his father's legal battle against her. In 1942, the last princess of Schwarzburg decided to adopt Prince Wilhelm von Schönburg-Waldenburg , the youngest son of her brother Ulrich.
In 1945, however, it was expropriated and most of the Schwarzburg property was transferred to public ownership. However, until her death in 1951 she was allowed to stay in the residential palace. She was one of three members of former ruling houses who became citizens of the GDR in 1949, alongside Duke Ernst II of Saxony-Altenburg , the only one of the German federal princes who ruled until 1918, and the former Duchess Adelheid of Saxony-Altenburg .
literature
- Gerlinde Countess von Westphalen: Anna Luise von Schwarzburg. The last princess. Jenzig, Golmsdorf, 2nd edition 2011, ISBN 978-3-910141-79-7 .
- Jens Henkel: Anna Luise von Schwarzburg 1871–1951. A life in pictures from her photographic estate. Thuringian State Museum Heidecksburg Rudolstadt, Rudolstadt 2005, ISBN 978-3-910013-54-4 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schwarzburg, Anna Luise von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schönburg-Waldenburg, Anna Luise von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German nobles, Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 19, 1871 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hermsdorf Castle |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 7, 1951 |
| Place of death | Sondershausen Castle |