Eleonore Magdalene of Pfalz-Neuburg

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Eleonore Magdalene of Pfalz-Neuburg

Eleonore Magdalene Therese von Pfalz-Neuburg (born January 6, 1655 in Düsseldorf , † January 19, 1720 in Vienna ) was a Countess Palatine of Neuburg and by marriage Empress of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation .

Life

Eleonore Magdalene was the eldest daughter of Elector Philipp Wilhelm von der Pfalz (1615–1690) from his second marriage to Elisabeth Amalie (1635–1709), daughter of Landgrave Georg II of Hesse-Darmstadt . Eleanor was trained very carefully, she was versed in several languages ​​and practiced in music, composition and poetry. Treated coldly by her mother, the princess developed a deep religious seclusion from an early age and cherished the desire to spend her life in the monastery, which she tried. But the project was foiled. Therefore, she initially rejected all applicants for her hand. She is said to have said to King James II of England that she would say no to him at the altar.

Eleonore marries Emperor Leopold I, historicizing painting from 1890 in the Passau town hall

She married the Roman-German Emperor Leopold I (1640–1705) in Passau on December 14, 1676 . Since both of his former wives, Margarita Teresa of Spain and Claudia Felizitas of Tyrol, had not given birth to a (surviving) heir to the throne , male offspring was expected from her. Already after the death of Leopold's first wife, Eleanor was under discussion as a possible bride of the emperor. The criterion was that the Neuburg princesses were considered fertile; Eleonore had 16 siblings, almost all of whom had reached adulthood. Eleonore fulfilled the expectations and gave birth to her husband not only a few daughters but also three sons, thus preventing the Habsburg dynasty from going out prematurely.

Eleonore was crowned Empress in 1689 and a year later in Augsburg on January 19, 1690 by the abbot of Fulda Placidus von Droste , a week before her eldest son was also crowned German king in Augsburg. In 1688 Eleanor renewed the statutes of the Star Cross Order founded twenty years earlier .

The close ties between the Wittelsbachers in Düsseldorf and the Habsburgs in Vienna were not only underlined again in the marriage of Eleonore's brother, Elector Johann Wilhelm, with Emperor Leopold's half-sister Maria Anna , but two Austrian court chancellors also came from the Palatinate-Neuburgian service. In the absence of own members of the Habsburg house at the time of Emperor Leopold, the newly won brothers-in-law of the Wittelsbach line Palatinate-Neuburg gained in importance. Eleonore's younger brothers began brilliant careers in the Imperial Church; her sisters came to the first thrones of Europe through their marriages. In 1685 the Viennese court supported the Palatinate-Neuburger in their succession to the Palatinate electoral dignity .

Eleanor was loyal to her husband and looked after him devotedly in his last illness until death. Since the emperor did not want to read anything in French, she translated government documents that she considered important for his knowledge. After the death of her eldest son in 1711, she took over the affairs of state for her younger son, who followed him as emperor and was at that time in Spain, until his return, with the support of her daughters. In that year, Eleanor appointed the future Count Alexander Károlyi to the top general and ended the rebellion of Prince Franz II Rákóczi in the Peace of Szatmar .

Bronze coffin of Empress Eleonora Magdalena in the Capuchin Crypt

personality

Eleanor was described as a strict and pious woman who was intensely involved in religious matters. It is reported that before they married, she lay in the sun until she got sunburn, so that the emperor would not please her and he would not marry her. She also provided her precious bracelets with tips pointing inwards so that they also act as instruments of penance. After the death of her husband, the empress never took off her mourning clothes. A contemporary witness said: “ She is constantly grieving and truly, nothing can be more sad here than grief. You don't see the slightest little bit of white linen, everything just black crepe; The neck, ears, and cheeks are covered with a crinkled piece of the same material, and the face that looks out in the middle looks as if it should be in the pillory. “Even when, for the sake of Leopold, she went to the opera, she had a prayer book with her, which she read from time to time, because she had nothing to do with such frivolities. When her confessor wanted to praise her virtues in an essay, she asked for his notes and threw them into the fire. Eleonore Magdalene wrote a devotional book herself, which was also published. Thanks to the efforts of Empress Eleonore, the famous miraculous image of the Weeping Madonna von Pötsch came to St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. The canonized Capuchin Marco d'Aviano was one of their counselors and pastors.

Eleanor also became a patron of religion outside Vienna: In May 1711, Eleanor clearly instructed the imperial governor in Munich , Prince Löwenstein , to support the plan to found the Discalced Carmelite Monastery consecrated to the Holy Trinity and the Trinity Church to be built in every way . The administration then took over all the costs for the building materials. Thus, besides the memorial column in Hadersdorf, there is the only stone testimony to the piety of the Empress in Munich.

The empress died after a " blow river " received in a chapel during prayer . According to her own request, Eleonore Magdalene was buried in a very simple wooden coffin in the robe of the Order of the Slaves of Mary, which bore the inscription "Eleonora Magdalena Theresia, poor sinner" . It was not until her granddaughter Maria Theresa had Eleonore Magdalene's remains transferred to a magnificent coffin. Her heart was buried separately and is in the heart crypt of the Habsburgs in the Loreto Chapel of the Augustinian Church in Vienna .

In 1980 a gold medal of the Order of the Slaves of Virtue was found in the grave .

progeny

Eleonore Magdalene had the following children with her husband:

  • Joseph I (1678–1711), Holy Roman Emperor
⚭ 1699 Princess Wilhelmine Amalie (1673–1742)
⚭ 1708 King John V of Portugal (1689–1750)
  • Maria Theresa (August 22, 1684– September 28, 1696) died of smallpox
  • Charles VI (1685–1740), Holy Roman Emperor
⚭ 1708 Princess Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1691–1750)
  • Maria Josepha (March 6, 1687– April 14, 1703) died of smallpox
  • Maria Magdalena (1689–1743)
  • Maria Margaretha (July 22, 1690–1691)

ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Philipp Ludwig (Pfalz-Neuburg) (1547-1614)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wolfgang Wilhelm (Pfalz-Neuburg) (1578–1653)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Anna von Jülich-Kleve-Berg (1552–1632)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Philipp Wilhelm (Palatinate) (1615–1690)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wilhelm V (Bavaria) (1548–1626)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Magdalene of Bavaria (1587–1628)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Renata of Lorraine (1544–1602)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Eleonore Magdalena of Pfalz-Neuburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ludwig V (Hessen-Darmstadt) (1577–1626)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 George II (Hessen-Darmstadt) (1605–1661)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Magdalena of Brandenburg (1582–1616)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Elisabeth Amalia of Hessen-Darmstadt (1635–1709)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Johann Georg I (Saxony) (1585–1656)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sophie Eleonore of Saxony (1609–1671)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Magdalena Sibylle of Prussia (1586–1659)
 
 
 
 
 
 

literature

Web links

Commons : Eleonor Magdalene of the Palatinate  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Linda Maria Koldau : Frauen-Musik-Kultur: a handbook on the German-speaking area of ​​the early modern period , p. 100.
  2. ^ Friedrich Carl Moser: Patriotic Archive for Germany , Volume 2, CF Schwan, 1785, p. 232.
  3. ↑ Thomas L. Zotz: The German royal palaces. Göttingen, 1983 p. 605 Partially digitized
  4. ↑ Constant von Wurzbach: Biographical Lexicon of the Kaiserthums Oesterreich , Volume 11, kk Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1864, p. 2.
  5. ^ Karl August Schimmer: The resting places of the Austrian princes from the Babenberg'schen, Habsburg'schen and Habsburgischlothringen'schen tribe , printed by JP Sollinger, 1841, p. 36
predecessor Office Successor
Claudia Felizitas from Austria-Tyrol Roman-German Empress
Empress by marriage: December 14, 1676 (coronation on January 19, 1690) until 1705/1711 again representative 		Wilhelmine Amalie of Braunschweig-Lüneburg
personal data
SURNAME Eleonore Magdalene of Pfalz-Neuburg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eleonore Magdalene Therese of Pfalz-Neuburg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Countess Palatine of Neuburg, by marriage Empress of the Holy Roman Empire
DATE OF BIRTH January 6, 1655
PLACE OF BIRTH Dusseldorf
DATE OF DEATH January 19, 1720
Place of death Vienna