Elisabeth zu Wied

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Princess Elisabeth zu Wied, later Queen of Romania, around 1890
Elisaveta of Romania - signature.png

Princess Elisabeth Pauline Ottilie Luise zu Wied VA (born December 29, 1843 at Monrepos Castle near Neuwied am Rhein; †  March 2,  1916 in Bucharest ) was Queen of Romania by marriage and a writer under the pseudonym Carmen Sylva .

Childhood and youth

Elisabeth Pauline Ottilie Luise zu Wied came as the first child of Prince Hermann zu Wied and his wife Marie , nee. from Nassau-Weilburg , to the world. Georg Sauerwein was her tutor from 1857 to 1860 , with whom she kept in correspondence until his death. Her pseudonym Carmen Sylva goes back to this time (Sauerwein called himself Sylvaticus). Even as a young girl she wrote little poems. Occasionally she expressed the desire to become a teacher, but that was not appropriate for her at the time. However, her parents encouraged her enthusiasm for music, so that she even took piano lessons from Clara Schumann , who gave a concert in her parents' castle.

Life

At the age of 25, she met the officer Prince Karl Eitel Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , later King of Romania, at court in Berlin and married him in 1869. They had a daughter, Maria, who was only three years old in 1874 , died. The pain of her death, which she could not cope with for a lifetime, was expressed in many of her songs and poems:

“How often, unfortunately, do I look at your closed door. How often do I say to myself: it will open soon, and like before I will see my rosy child who comes to me dancing with small jumps! "
Elisabeth, Queen of Romania around 1899

During the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877–1878 , she devoted herself to caring for the wounded, and her husband donated the Elisabeth Cross (a gold cross on a blue ribbon) to honor similar assistance. In 1880 Elisabeth was awarded the Württemberg Olga Order .

In 1869 she went to Romania with her husband, where he was crowned king as Charles I in 1881 . She had already started to write before and soon became known as the “poet queen” under her pseudonym Carmen Sylva . In a very early poem she explains this as follows:

Carmen the song and Sylva the forest.
Sung by himself the forest song resounds.
And if I hadn't been born in the forest,
then I would no longer sing the songs myself.
I
have eavesdropped on the birds, the forest has murmured them to me, I add
the beat from my heart
, the forest and the song sing to me!

Portrait of the Queen of Romania in the National Museum of the History of Romania in Bucharest

In addition to her own works, such as poems, stories, fairy tales and novels, she also translated from French into German (e.g. Pierre Loti ). On April 28, 1910, she took part in a charity concert in Wiesbaden , at which five songs she had composed were performed, including two of her own poems and one each by Goethe and von Eichendorff .

In Bucharest she soon made friends with Mite Kremnitz and in 1881 appointed her lady-in-waiting and reader. With her she wrote tragedies as well as novels and children's books, of which her Pelesch fairy tales were best known. These dealt with mysterious myths of the Romanian people. From 1885 to 1886, Carmen Sylva met the writer Bruno Wille in the Kremnitz house . Together with Kremnitz she created several works under the pseudonym "Dito und Idem", including a historical tragedy about Anne Boleyn . Carmen Sylva attached great importance to the equipment of the books when publishing her works. The literary criticism judged this, if at all, very cautious. One of her books of poetry was awarded by the Académie française .

From 1884 she maintained a friendship with Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary . She visited Westerland in 1888 and made bathing on the North Sea "acceptable" in aristocratic circles. When one of her ladies-in-waiting was exiled by the king for political reasons, she felt this was an injustice, fell apart with the king and traveled with the lady-in-waiting to be exiled to Italy . In order to cover up the scandal, she was then officially presented as deranged. In Pegli she made the acquaintance of the composer August Bungert , to whom she remained artistically connected throughout her life. Bungert set many of her poems to music. In 1893 she visited her homeland from Pegli. Following the advice of Pastor Ludwig Schneller , she sought contact with her husband again and returned to Bucharest in the autumn of 1894. Her return, along with her wedding anniversary, marked a nationwide ceremony. When her nephew Wilhelm Prinz zu Wied became Prince of Albania in 1914, she dedicated a newspaper article to him, which began with the words "Märchenland wants to have its Prince ...".

As the Romanian queen, she was socially and culturally active - quite typical of her time - while maintaining a connection to Germany. She also contributed to a better understanding of her country through her translations from Romanian. She founded schools and hospitals and started a handicraft school where the art of the world-famous Romanian embroidery was taught. She herself appeared as often as possible in splendidly embroidered Romanian costumes. In 1878 she brought Dora Hitz to Bucharest as a court artist, who stayed there until 1882. Dora Hitz designed books for the queen and created the wall paintings for the music hall of the Peleș Castle near Sinaia in the Carpathians on her behalf and based on her poetic models . In 1905 Elisabeth took over the patronage of the newly founded Berlin Lyceum Club to promote women artists and scientists.

Elisabeth zu Wied is buried in Curtea de Argeș (Romania). Between the First and Second World Wars , Eforie Sud , a health resort on the Black Sea , was named after her; his name was Carmen Sylva . Erich-Weinert-Straße in the Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg was called Carmen-Sylva-Straße from 1904 to 1954. There is also a forest path above Opatija in Croatia in her honor .

In Neuwied district Niederbieber a secondary school named after her, as a small park in the center of the city.

Works (in selection)

  • Sappho . Versepos, 1880
  • Hammerstein . Versepos, 1880
  • Storms . Versepen, 1880
  • Passion on earth. A fairy tale circle . 1882
  • Jehovah . Versepos, 1882
  • From Carmen Sylva's kingdom
    • Volume 1: Pelesch fairy tales . 1883
    • Volume 2: Through the Centuries . 1885
  • My rest . Poems, 1884
  • Hand drawings. Short stories and sketches, 1884
  • My Rhine . Poems, 1884
  • World wisdom . Poems, 1885
  • My book . 1886
  • Deficit . Roman, 1890
  • Women courage . Plays, 1890
  • Craftsman songs . Poems, 1890
  • From the anvil . Aphorisms, 1890
  • Home . Poems, 1891
  • Sea songs . Poems, 1891
  • Christmas candles from Pallanza . Poems, 1891
  • Master Manole . Drama, 1892
  • For a pair of boots . Drama, 1893
  • Monsieur Jumping Jack . Children's book, 1898
  • Thau . Poems, 1900
  • Fairy tale of a queen , Bonn, Emil Strauss publishing house, [1901]
  • Under the flower . Poems, 1903
  • In der Lunca , Romanian Idyll, Regensburg, Verlag W. Wunderling, 1906
  • Whispered words . Essays and Poetry, 5 volumes, 1903–1920
  • My Penatenwinkel . Memoirs, 1908
  • From life. Narratives . 1912
  • Letters from a lonely queen. Published by Lina Sommer, 1916.

Joint works with Mite Kremnitz

  • From two worlds . Epistle novel, 1884
  • Astra . Epistle novel, 1886
  • Anna Boleyn . Historic tragedy, 1886
  • Field post . Epistle novel, 1887
  • Astray . Novellas, 1888
  • Revenge and other short stories . Novellas, 1888

Translations

  • Romanian seals . 1881
  • Pierre Loti: Icelandic fishermen . 1885
  • Paul de Saint-Victor : The two masks . 1899-1900

Current issues (selection)

  • Thoughts of a queen . Selected aphorisms by Queen Elisabeth of Romania, née Princess zu Wied (1843–1916). Edited and with a foreword by Silvia Irina Zimmermann . ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-8382-0375-1 .
  • A Queen's Thoughts - Les pensées d'une pure. Collected aphorisms in German and French and epigrams of Queen Elisabeth of Romania, née Princess zu Wied (1843–1916) . Edited and with a foreword by Silvia Irina Zimmermann. ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-8382-0385-0 (study edition).
  • From Carmen Sylva's kingdom . (Study edition) Collected fairy tales and stories for children and young people by Carmen Sylva (Queen Elisabeth of Romania, née Princess zu Wied, 1843–1916). Edited and with a foreword by Silvia Irina Zimmermann. 2 volumes, ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-8382-0495-6
  • Pelesch fairy tale . Edited and with an afterword by Silvia Irina Zimmermann. ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-8382-0465-9 .

Letters

  • In tender love your Elisabeth - Always your faithful Carl. The correspondence between Elisabeth zu Wied (Carmen Sylva) and her husband Carol I of Romania from the Romanian National Archives in Bucharest. 1869-1913 . Historical-critical edition. Edited, commented on and introduced by Silvia Irina Zimmermann . [Series of publications by the Carmen Sylva Research Center - Fürstlich Wiedisches Archiv Volumes 6 and 7], Stuttgart: ibidem-Verlag, 2018, ISBN 978-3-8382-1221-0 .
    • Volume 1: 1869-1890. Early years in Romania. War of Independence. Kingdom of Romania [FSCSFWA Volume 6], ISBN 978-3-8382-0906-7 .
    • Volume 2: 1891-1913. Exile of the queen. Return to the Romanian throne [FSCSFWA Series Volume 7], ISBN 978-3-8382-1220-3 .

literature

  • Gabriel Badea-Paun: Carmen Sylva. Queen Elisabeth of Romania - a Rhenish princess on Romania's throne , with a foreword by SD Carl Fürst zu Wied, translated into German and with an afterword by Silvia Irina Zimmermann, Ibidem Verlag, Stuttgart, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8382-0245- 7 .
  • Georges Bengesco: Carmen Sylva. (Sa Majesté la Reine Elisabeth du Roumanie). Bibliography et extraits de ses oeuvres. Le Soudier et al., Paris 1904.
  • Benno Diederich : Queen Elisabeth of Romania (Carmen Sylva). A picture of life. R. Voigtländer, Leipzig 1898.
  • Uwe Eckardt: Carmen Sylva (1843-1916). In: Rheinische Lebensbilder, Volume 8. Ed. By Bernhard Poll . Rheinland Verlag, Cologne 1980, pp. 285-304.
  • Elisabeth Heimpel:  Carmen Sylva. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 149 ( digitized version ).
  • With Kremnitz: Carmen Sylva. A biography. Thamm, Halle 1903 and E. Haberland, Leipzig 1903.
  • Roger Merle: Carmen Sylva. L'extravagante Reine Elizabeth de Roumaine (1843-1916) . Ittah, Colombiers 1999, ISBN 2-9510754-2-1
  • Karl Peters: Carmen Sylva as a lyric poet. Volkskraft-Verlag, Konstanz i. B. 1925.
  • Annemarie Podlipny-Hehn: Carmen Sylva . Ed. Solness, Timișoara 2001, ISBN 973-8145-28-7
  • Hildegard Emille Schmidt: Elisabeth, Queen of Romania, Princess zu Wied, "Carmen Sylva". Your contribution to the Romanian musical culture from 1880 to 1916 in the cultural exchange between Romania and Western Europe. Bonn, 1991, OCLC 256093587 (Dissertation University of Bonn 1991, 488 pages).
  • Karin Schuller-Procopovici: Carmen Sylva - muse, artist and patron. Queen Elisabeth of Romania, b. Princess zu Wied (1843–1916) . In: Bodo von Dewitz , Wolfgang Horbert (Hrsg.): Treasure houses of photography. The collection of Prince zu Wied, Steidl, Göttingen 1998, pp. 161–173.
  • Léopold Stern: Pierre Loti et Carmen Sylva. 21st edition, Grasset, Paris 1931.
  • Eugen Wolbe: Carmen Sylva. The life path of a lonely queen. Koehler and Amelang, Leipzig 1933.
  • Silvia Irina Zimmermann: The magic of the distant kingdom. Carmen Sylvas “Pelesch fairy tale” , with a foreword by University Professor Wilhelm Solms, Ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8382-0195-5 (Master's thesis University of Marburg 1996, 328 pages).
  • Silvia Irina Zimmermann: The poetic queen. Elisabeth, Princess of Wied, Queen of Romania, Carmen Sylva (1843–1916). Self-mythization and prodynastic public relations through literature , Ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8382-0185-6 ( dissertation University of Marburg 2003 ).
  • Silvia Irina Zimmermann: Different paths, the same ideal: The picture of the king in Carmen Sylva's work and in photographs of the Fürstlich Wiedisches Archiv , with a foreword by Hans-Jürgen Krüger, Ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2014, (series of the research center Carmen Sylva - Fürstlich Wiedisches Archiv , Volume 1), ISBN 978-3-8382-0655-4 .
  • Silvia Irina Zimmermann / Edda Binder-Iijima (eds.): I will initiate a lot more. Carmen Sylva, the writer and first Queen of Romania in the context of her time , Ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart 2015, (series of the research center Carmen Sylva - Fürstlich Wiedisches Archiv , Volume 2), ISBN 978-3-8382-0564-9 .
  • Homesickness is youthfulness. Childhood and youth memories of Elisabeth zu Wied (Carmen Sylva) . Edited, commented on and introduced by Silvia Irina Zimmermann and Bernd Willscheid. With a foreword ID Isabelle Fürstin zu Wied, Ibidem-Verlag, Stuttgart, 2016, (series of the research center Carmen Sylva - Fürstlich Wiedisches Archiv, Volume 4), ISBN 978-3-8382-0814-5 .
  • Silvia Irina Zimmermann: With the pen in my hand, I am a completely different person. Carmen Sylva (1843-1916). Life and work . Preface by ID Isabelle Fürstin zu Wied. Stuttgart: ibidem-Verlag, 2019, 434 pages, 370 images, (series of publications by the Carmen Sylva Research Center / Fürstlich Wiedisches Archiv, Volume 8), ISBN 978-3-8382-0815-2 .

Web links

Wikiquote: Carmen Sylva  - Quotes
Commons : Elisabeth zu Wied, Queen of Romania, Carmen Sylva  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Family tree of the mediatized house Wied , 1884, p. 5 .: She was the granddaughter of Wilhelm I of Nassau and the niece of Adolph , the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1885 she visited the city of Königstein im Taunus , where Adolph had a castle.
  2. ↑ Court and State Manual of the Kingdom of Württemberg 1901, p. 160
  3. ↑ D. Ludwig Schneller: King's memories. HG Wallmann, Leipzig 1926, pp. 56-58
  4. ↑ D. Ludwig Schneller: King's memories. HG Wallmann, Leipzig 1926, pp. 79-82
  5. ^ Wilhelm II .: Events and Figures 1878-1918. Publishing house KF Koehler, Leipzig / Berlin, 1922, p. 137
  6. ↑ Ladies and gentlemen, wealthy women founded the Lyceum Club on Potsdamer Strasse in 1905. The women's association aims to promote the careers of women artists and scientists, in: Tagesspiegel, March 2, 2015, https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/fraktur-berlin-bilder-aus-der-kaiserzeit-damen-und-herrenmenschen/ 11437292.html .
predecessor Office Successor
--- Queen of Romania
1881–1914 		Marie of Edinburgh
personal data
SURNAME Wied, Elisabeth too
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wied, Princess Elisabeth too; Wied, Elisabeth Pauline Ottilie Luise too
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German noblewoman, Queen of Romania and writer
DATE OF BIRTH December 29, 1843
PLACE OF BIRTH Monrepos Castle near Neuwied
DATE OF DEATH March 2, 1916
Place of death Bucharest