Dorothea of Courland
Dorothea von Kurland , born as Countess Anna Charlotte Dorothea von Medem (born February 3, 1761 in Mesothen , † August 20, 1821 in Löbichau ), was a Duchess of Kurland , diplomat and salonnière .
Life
Her parents were Count Johann Friedrich von Medem from the old Courland nobility and Louise Charlotte von Manteuffel . On November 6, 1779, she married Peter von Biron , 37 years older than her , Duke of Courland and Semgallia from the house of Biron von Curland . The marriage resulted in six children, two of whom died in childhood.
Due to her beauty and her position as Duchess of Courland, Dorothea had access to the highest social circles. Because of political difficulties with the Courland nobility and the feudal lord, the King of Poland, Dorothea spent many months on a diplomatic mission in Warsaw on behalf of the Duke, but also made trips to Berlin, Saint Petersburg and Karlsbad, where in 1791 Count Christian Clam- Gallas had the temple of Dorothe built in her honor. At the same time, the nearby Säuerling was named as the Dorotheenquelle.
The long absences resulted in an estrangement from Duke Peter. After the birth of the youngest daughter Dorothea (1793), the Duchess lived mainly in the Palais Kurland in Berlin, where she ran an aristocratic salon. In 1794 she acquired the Löbichau estate in Altenburg . She spent the summer months on the newly built castle and made it the focus of her life. At the invitation of poets, philosophers, relatives and friends, Löbichau was soon referred to as the court of muses of the Duchess of Courland . Her older stepsister Elisa von der Recke also stayed several times in Löbichau with Christoph August Tiedge . Tsar Alexander I of Russia , Friedrich Wilhelm III. , Napoleon I , Talleyrand , Metternich , Goethe , Schiller and other personalities of the time knew the Duchess personally.
After her youngest daughter Dorothea - probably an illegitimate daughter of Count Alexander Batowski, who Duke Peter had recognized as his child - in 1809 married Count Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord , a nephew of Foreign Minister Talleyrand, Dorothea von Kurland lived regularly in Paris and had an intense relationship with Talleyrand. Under his influence, their initial enthusiasm for Napoleon turned into determined opposition. In 1814 she traveled to the Congress of Vienna , where she met Talleyrand again.
Dorothea von Kurland died on August 20, 1821 in Löbichau. A few years later, her body was transferred to the family crypt in Sagan , where Duke Peter von Biron was also buried in 1800.
Descendants
Dorothea von Kurland and Peter von Biron had five children:
- Wilhelmine von Biron (1781–1839), Princess of Courland, Duchess of Sagan (1800–1839) ∞ I. Prince Louis von Rohan (1768–1836), ∞ II. Prince Wassili Trubetzkoi (1776–1841), ∞ III. Count Carl Rudolf von der Schulenburg (1788–1856); Beloved of Klemens Wenzel Lothar von Metternich
- Pauline von Biron (1782–1845), Princess of Courland, Duchess of Sagan (1839–1845) ∞ Prince Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Hechingen
- Johanna Katharina (1783–1876) ∞ Francesco Pignatelli, Duke of Acerenza, Prince of Belmonte
- Peter (1787–1790)
- another child who died young
Presumably from the extramarital relationship with Alexander Batowski
- Dorothea von Biron (1793–1862), who, however, was recognized by Peter von Biron as her own child. 1817 Duchess of Dino, 1845 Duchess of Sagan (acquired by her sister Pauline in 1842), 1838 Duchess of Talleyrand; ∞ Count Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord , from 1838 Duke of Talleyrand. The Duchy of Sagan fell to her son Napoléon-Louis (1811–1898) in 1862
literature
- Heinrich Diederichs: Dorothea Anna Charlotte, Duchess of Courland . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 357 f.
- Christoph August Tiedge: Anna Charlotte Dorothea. Last Duchess of Courland . FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1823 ( digitized version )
- Emilie von Binzer: Three summers in Löbichau 1819–21 . Stuttgart 1877
- Clemens Brühl: The Sagan . Berlin 1941
- Irene Neander: Dorothea. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 83 ( digitized version ).
- Philip Ziegler: The Duchess of Dino, Talleyrand's last confidante . Munich 1965
- Elisa von der Recke: Diaries and personal reports . Leipzig 1984
- Sabine and Klaus Hofmann: Between Metternich and Talleyrand. The court of muses of the Duchess of Courland in the castle of Löbichau . Museum Burg Posterstein, 2004
- Sabine and Klaus Hofmann: Where I once resided, where I was princess of the country ... Stations in the life of the Duchess of Courland . Museum Burg Posterstein, 2007
- Klaus Hofmann (ed.): The Duchess of Courland in the mirror of her contemporaries. European salon culture around 1800. For the 250th birthday of the Duchess of Courland . Museum Burg Posterstein, 2011
Web links
- Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on Dorothea von Kurland. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dorothea of Courland |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Anna Charlotte Dorothea von Medem (full name); Dorothea of Medem |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duchess of Courland |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 3, 1761 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mesoths |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 20, 1821 |
| Place of death | Löbichau |