Anna Victoria of Savoy

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Anna Victoria of Savoy

Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy (born September 13, 1683 in Paris , † October 11, 1763 in Turin ) was the niece and chief heiress of Prince Eugene of Savoy .

Anna Victoria was a daughter of Ludwig Thomas von Savoyen, Count of Soissons (1657–1702), older brother of Prince Eugene . He had married in 1680 far below his class and was subsequently disinherited. Right at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession, he fell into imperial service at Landau in the Palatinate and left his family completely impoverished.

Anna Victoria lived unmarried in a monastery up to the age of 52 and saw herself as one of the richest heirs in Europe when her uncle died. After his main heirs (Anna Victoria's older brother and son) had died, Prince Eugene did not write a new will and so Anna Victoria inherited a fortune of around two million guilders, as well as castles, estates, the famous library and collection of paintings.

Anna Victoria gave up her monastic life and on April 17, 1738, married Prince Joseph Friedrich von Sachsen-Hildburghausen , who was considered to be handsome, in high favor at the Viennese court and 20 years younger , who received 300,000 guilders in cash as a morning gift as well as the Hof Castle in Lower Austria. Joseph Friedrich was considered a big spendthrift and Anna Victoria soon began to auction and squander all of Prince Eugene's estate. However, Victoria did not spend any money on the construction of a worthy tomb for her uncle. He had to share a vault with one of his nephews in the cross chapel of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. His heart is buried in Turin in the tomb of his ancestors.

Empress Maria Theresa bought the library, some castles and goods from the heiress.

Anna Victoria's marriage was cool and the couple divorced in 1752. Eleven years later, she died of a stroke in Turin .

literature

• Max Braubach : Prince Eugene of Savoy . 5 volumes, Vienna 1963–65.
• Heinrich Ferdinand Schoeppl: The dukes of Saxony-Altenburg. Bozen 1917, reprint Altenburg 1992.