Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge
Auguste Charlotte Countess von Kielmannsegge , b. von Schönberg , used. von Lynar , (born May 18, 1777 in Hermsdorf near Dresden ; † April 26, 1863 in Plauen near Dresden) was a Saxon noblewoman and Napoleon's secret agent .
Life
Childhood and youth
The only daughter of the Saxon house marshal Peter August von Schönberg (* November 7, 1732 - September 24, 1791) and his wife Charlotte Dorothea Countess von Hoym (* January 5, 1743 - November 6, 1789) grew up at Hermsdorf Castle near Dresden up, the family mostly spent the winter months in Dresden. Legend has it that her biological father was the Italian Marchese d'Agdolo, adjutant general of Prince Franz Xaver of Saxony , who was imprisoned at Königstein fortress from 1776 because of his involvement in a conspiracy against Elector Friedrich August I of Saxony .
Auguste Charlotte married on May 13, 1796 Count Rochus August von Lynar (born April 17, 1773), owner of the Lübbenau registry . The marriage was considered unhappy and ended with the early death of her husband on August 1, 1800. This gave rise to the rumor that she should have poisoned him, which she never denied. According to this, she is said to have poisoned her husband with fresh cherry cake out of love for Napoleon and was then condemned by the remote community to constantly wear a chain and rope around her neck. In reality, the black collar was a gift from Napoleon.
Second marriage and return to Dresden
After the death of her first husband, she returned to Dresden. Through an inheritance, she also came into the possession of the Oberlausitz manors Schmochtitz , Neusalza , Spremberg and Dürrhennersdorf , which helped her to a financially secure life. Here she married on October 10, 1802 Count Ferdinand Hans Ludolph von Kielmannsegge (* February 14, 1777, † August 19, 1856), who was the Hanoverian ambassador in Saxony . Due to the paternal inheritance of the above-mentioned properties in Upper Lusatia, Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge was the landlady and judge and church patroness of the small Saxon town of Neusalza and the neighboring village of Spremberg, today Neusalza-Spremberg, from 1791 to 1822 . The couple moved to Hanover a little later. Personal and political differences (the count was a staunch opponent of Napoleon) led to separation as early as 1809, and a divorce nine years later. After the separation, Auguste Charlotte von Kielmansegge lived in Dresden again.
Relations with Napoleon Bonaparte
The beginning of her enthusiasm for Napoleon dates back to 1797, when the Countess traveled to Italy with the painter Josef Mathias Grassi . Later she specifically sought contact and visited the Kaiser in St. Cloud . At times she also lived in Paris. She was also in contact with the French Police Minister Joseph Fouché and is said to have worked as an agent for the French secret police herself.
Because of her social contacts with the Talleyrand family , Auguste von Kielmannsegge proved to be Napoleon's most important informant. Over time the spying became conspicuous there and warnings were given about “this great hulking woman from Kielmannsegge”, who often instigated intrigues in order to obtain further information about Napoleon's opponents.
After the fall of Napoleon, she campaigned for his return from exile and, according to later statements by a chambermaid, is said to have visited him on Elba. From Saxon government files it emerges that Countess Kielmannsegge was under surveillance by the authorities for a long time and was considered a politically dangerous person. A private trip to make contact with the Napoleon family was prevented in 1818 at the instigation of the Saxon ambassador in Vienna, Friedrich Albrecht von der Schulenburg . In 1822 she converted to the Catholic faith.
It is part of the realm of legend that the countess is said to have had an illegitimate son with Napoleon. The "Dresdner Findling", a later wage clerk by the name of Ernst Graf, had given himself the name Napoleon Bonaparte and tried to prove his alleged ancestry by means of a brochure and memos. Desperate because his alleged mother did not recognize him, he drowned himself in the Elbe in 1864/65 .
Stay in Bavaria
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In 1829, Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge acquired the estate of Ober- and Niederpöring and on April 20, 1830, she and her daughter Natalie were accepted into the count's class of the Bavarian aristocratic registers. Natalie von Kielmansegge became lady of honor of the Order of Theresa in 1832 .
Last years of life in Dresden
From 1833 Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge lived in Dresden again. In 1840 she moved into the so-called Wasserschlösschen in the Reisewitz Garden on the Weißeritz in Plauenschen Grund . Here she dealt with literature, natural history and collecting works of art as well as fortune telling using a "mirror of the earth". She also converted her home into a private memorial for Napoleon with numerous paintings and relics. In 1848 she played a mysterious political role again and made contact with Robert Blum's widow . She received financial support from her and also visited her in her Dresden house.
She spent the last years of her life, withdrawn and shrouded in mystery in the little water castle. On her death she left behind three legitimate children and a son Heinrich, who was judged to be her but not recognized by her. She was buried in the Old Catholic Cemetery , the grave has been preserved to this day.
progeny
Children from first marriage with Rochus August Graf zu Lynar :
- Rochus Carl (February 4, 1797 - September 4, 1801)
- Rochus Hermann (February 4, 1797 - December 31, 1878)
- ⚭ 1821 Countess Mathilde Sophie Friederike Wilhelmine Henriette von Voss (* December 1, 1803; † January 19, 1838)
- ⚭ Marie Charlotte von der Marwitz (* March 5, 1821 - † January 27, 1895)
- Luise Alexandra (born November 3, 1799 - † January 12, 1804)
Children from second marriage to Ferdinand Hans Ludolph von Kielmannsegge :
- Natalie Charlotte (June 25, 1803 - November 12, 1883). She converted to the Catholic Church and entered the order of the English Misses in 1841 .
- Alfred (born September 24, 1804 - † June 7, 1862)
- ⚭ Luise Zimmermann (born October 29, 1818 - † August 26, 1887)
Works
- Gertrude Aretz (Ed.): Memoirs of Countess Kielmannsegge on Napoleon I. P. Aretz, Dresden 1927
literature
chronologically. Newest first.
- Lutz Reike: The mysterious Countess Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge. In: Dresden history book. Volume 18, ed. v. Stadtmuseum Dresden , 2013, pp. 73–89
- Gunther Leupolt : The Spremberger landlady, Countess Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge-Schönberg and her strange, questionable and adventurous life . In: History and stories from Neusalza-Spremberg , Volume 1. Ed .: Kultur- und Heimatfreunde Neusalza-Spremberg e. V. 1999, pp. 53-65
- Oscar Wilsdorf: Countess Charlotte v. Kielmannsegge. A picture of life from the romantic era . Minden, Dresden and Leipzig 1889; Reprint: Siegfried Kohlschmidt (editor): Auguste Charlotte Countess von Kielmannsegge. The life story of an extraordinary woman (= treasures, Museum Schloss Lübben, No. 1). Regia-Verlag, Cottbus 2003, ISBN 3-936092-84-2
- Discussion of the lectures on Countess Kielmannsegge by Oscar Wilsdorf, given on November 21, 1885 and January 22, 1886 in: Über Berg und Tal. 1886, No. 1/2, p. 6f. and 13f. ( View of the work @ slub-dresden.de)
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Kielmannsegge (Countess) . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 11th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1864, p. 244 ( digitized version ).
- Article A dark story . In: Illustrirte Zeitung , Vol. 40 (1863), pp. 371–374.
- Severus: Light into the darkness of the obscuration: The true picture of life and character of the Countess von Kielmannsegge-Schönberg: With prints of letters she wrote herself. Dresden: Wolf 1863, ( digitized version , Bavarian State Library )
Web links
- The Countess Kielmansegge . In: Johann Georg Theodor Grasse: The treasure trove of legends of the Kingdom of Saxony . Volume 2, Dresden 1874, pp. 164-168.
- Literature by and about Auguste Charlotte von Kielmannsegge in the catalog of the German National Library
- Family von Schönberg and Kielmannsegge ( Memento from September 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Auguste von Kielmannsegge - A Napoleon's Spy? at geschichtsforum.de, accessed on March 1, 2015.
- ^ Government sheet for the Kingdom of Bavaria 1830, p. 799 digitized
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kielmannsegge, Auguste Charlotte von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kielmannsegge, Auguste Charlotte Countess von; Schönberg, Auguste Charlotte von; Lynar, Auguste Charlotte of |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German agent of Napoleon |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 18, 1777 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hermsdorf near Dresden |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 26, 1863 |
| Place of death | Plauen near Dresden |