Elisabeth Alexejewna

Grand Duchess Elisabeth Alexejewna 1795, Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun , Wolfsgarten Castle . Elisabeth gave this picture to her mother Amalie von Baden

Elisabeth Alexejewna (Russian: Elizabeth Alexejewna * 24. January 1779 as Luise Marie Auguste Princess of Baden in Karlsruhe , † May 4. ^{. Jul} / 16th May  1826 ^greg. In Belyov ) was since 1793 Grand Duchess of Russia and on the side of Emperor Alexander I from 1801 to 1825 Empress of Russia.

Childhood and youth

Luise was the third of eight children of Hereditary Prince Karl Ludwig von Baden and his wife Amalie von Hessen-Darmstadt . One of her siblings was Friederike Dorothea von Baden , the wife of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden . When she was born, Luise was small and frail and the doctors feared that she would not survive.

Luise grew up in a warm and familiar environment and was particularly fond of her mother, with whom she was to maintain confidential correspondence until the end of her life. She was carefully brought up at the Baden court. She mastered German and French and received lessons in history, geography, philosophy, as well as French and German literature. Because of Baden's close proximity to France, she was familiar with French culture. Because her grandfather Karl Friedrich , the ruling Margrave of Baden, was not particularly rich, the family lived in rather modest circumstances - measured by princely standards.

When Luise was only 13 years old, her future was already being decided. Empress Catherine the Great was looking for a wife for her eldest grandson, the future Emperor Alexander I, and turned her attention to the Princesses of Baden, the nieces of the late Grand Duchess Natalia Alexejewna ( Wilhelmine von Hessen-Darmstadt ), the first wife of Katharina's son and later Emperor Paul , were. At Katharina's invitation, Luise traveled with her younger sister Friederike Dorothea to Saint Petersburg in autumn 1792 , where she was introduced to Alexander. The Empress was impressed by Luise's beauty, grace and charm. Luise, in turn, took a liking to Alexander, who was tall and handsome. However, the inexperienced and shy Alexander, who was only 15 years old, did not know how to behave correctly towards Luise, which she interpreted as a rejection. However, the young couple soon became closer, and in May 1793 they were engaged to be married.

Before the wedding, Luise learned Russian, converted to the Russian Orthodox faith and from then on bore the title and name of Grand Duchess Elisabeth Alexejewna . The wedding finally took place on September 28th ^July / October 9, 1793 ^greg. held in Saint Petersburg. Katharina wrote about it in a letter to Charles Joseph de Ligne that it was like "a marriage between Cupid and Psyche ". Elisabeth and Alexander were only 14 and 15 years old, respectively. After marrying Alexander's parents, they retired to Gatchina Castle .

Grand Duchess of Russia

Elisabeth Alexejewna as a young empress, a painting by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun

Elisabeth Alexejewna was still very young, shy and naive when she got married, and on the whole poorly prepared for her new role. She was overwhelmed by the splendor of the Russian court, but appalled by the coldly calculated intrigues there. She was particularly shocked by the dissolute love life of Tsarina Katharina. One of their lovers, Plato Alexandrovich Subov , tried to seduce Elisabeth.

Elisabeth felt lonely and homesick, especially after her sister Friederike returned to Baden. She felt abandoned in a strange environment in which she could never be herself, not even among her servants and ladies-in-waiting. Just being close to Alexander gave her hold. Only six months after the wedding, she wrote to her mother: "Without my husband, who is the only one who makes me happy, I would have died a thousand deaths."

The first few years of marriage were relatively happy. The Empress Katharina was disappointed that until her death on November 17th ^July. / November 28, 1796 ^greg. - after three years of marriage - no male heir to the throne was born to the young couple. With Katharina's death, her son ascended the throne as Emperor Paul I. During his reign, Elisabeth tried to spend as little time as possible at Paul's court. She felt a great dislike for her father-in-law, his unjust politics and his dull character.

The first crises in the marriage soon arose. Elisabeth felt neglected by her husband. She initially found consolation in her friendship with Countess Varwara Golowina (1766-1819). She was later said to have had a relationship with the Polish prince Adam Czartoryski , who was the Russian foreign minister and a friend of her husband. The relationship allegedly lasted three years.

After more than five childless years of marriage, July 18 came ^. / May 29, 1799 ^greg. finally the couple's first daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna. Rumors circulated at court that the child was from Czartoryski. At the baptism, Emperor Paul could not hide his concerns about fatherhood either: Elisabeth and Alexander were blond and blue-eyed, while the child's hair and eyes were dark. Shortly afterwards, Czartoryski was transferred abroad. The child died in July 1800 shortly after his first birthday. From letters to her mother we can see that Elisabeth was very upset by the death of her daughter.

personality

Elisabeth was known for her beauty and her melodious voice. Her oval face, her fine features and blue almond eyes corresponded to the ideal of beauty of that time. She mostly wore her curly blond hair loose. She also had a graceful and graceful posture.

She was considered shy, friendly, lovable and generous, read with enthusiasm and was interested in art. She took music lessons from Ludwig-Wilhelm Tepper de Ferguson . Despite her strong character, she lived a rather withdrawn life, only surrounded by her closest friends. Her reserved and introverted demeanor did not make her very popular at the Russian court, and she was not happy herself in her later position as Tsarina.

Elisabeth loved Alexander and supported him as much as possible in personal and political crises, but was neglected by him. Their marriage was balanced; emotionally, however, the couple did not feel too much for each other. Both had extramarital relations, albeit with mutual consent.

Russian empress

Relationship during Alexander's first reign

Empress Elisabeth Alexejewna 1807, painting by Jean-Laurent Mosnier

Emperor Paul I was also extremely suspicious of his daughter-in-law and threatened to put her in a monastery. At the beginning of March 1801 Elisabeth was forced to follow her husband behind the walls of the Mikhailov Palace in Saint Petersburg and at least indirectly witnessed the plot to which the emperor fell victim because of his eccentric politics. Some nobles murdered him on March 12th ^jul. / March 24, 1801 ^greg. . Heir to the throne Alexander was horrified and was supported by Elisabeth in this difficult situation. She helped him get over the shock and focus on his new role as Emperor Alexander I and the tasks and duties that came with it.

Elisabeth also took on the representative duties of an empress, although the first woman at court was still her mother-in-law, Maria Feodorovna . She walked next to the emperor, while Elisabeth had to walk behind them alone. At the coronation ceremony held in Moscow in September 1801, Elisabeth and her husband observed precisely the traditional ritual; so they made a pilgrimage to the grave of St. Sergius in the Troiza monastery . At the end of October 1801 the imperial couple returned to Saint Petersburg and were happy to be able to rest after their exertions.

Alexander I began to turn away from his wife some time later and to treat her dismissively. At that time he was resuming a love affair with the Polish Princess Maria Naryschkina , which had already started in 1799 but had been temporarily interrupted. In 1803, Maria Naryshkina was expecting a child from the emperor, exhibited her pregnancy openly at court and boasted about her relationship with Alexander I. This liaison was to last approximately 19 years. Elisabeth, who saw herself being pushed into the background at court and even in relation to her husband by her mother-in-law Maria Feodorovna, thought Alexander's mistress was a common prostitute who wanted to ruin her marriage. Nevertheless, she tried to get along well with Maria Naryshkina and mourned with her husband when his little daughter, whom he had with his mistress, died. When the emperor returned to Saint Petersburg after the Austro-Russian defeat in the Battle of Austerlitz against Napoleon (December 2, 1805), a government crisis broke out. Alexander was depressed and Elisabeth tried to bring his state of mind back into balance. The Russian monarch turned to his lover Naryshkina again and the French newspapers scoffed that the empress showed little ambition to win back the love of her husband.

Elisabeth, for her part, is said to have first found consolation in her relationship with Adam Czartoryski, who had since returned to Russia on the occasion of Alexander's accession to the throne. However, she ended this affair shortly afterwards and entered into a relationship with Chief of Staff Alexis Okhotnikov , who died in an assassination attempt in 1807. At that time it was assumed that either Alexander I or his brother had given Grand Duke Constantine the commission. At the behest of Emperor Nikolaus I, all evidence of this relationship, such as letters and diaries, were destroyed after Elisabeth's death.

Emperor Alexander I confessed to his close friend King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia that this marriage had probably not brought fulfillment for either of them.

On November 3rd ^jul. / November 15, 1806 ^greg. Elisabeth gave birth to another daughter, Grand Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrovna, in the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. She wrote to her mother: "I am fine, my dearest mother, and my little Elise is also healthy, and she asks forgiveness for becoming a girl and not a boy." As with the birth of the first daughter, they circulated rumors about paternity again this time. It was speculated that this time Okhotnikov was the father. After his death, Elisabeth devoted herself all the more to her little daughter, whom she called "Elise" or "Lisinka".

The peace of Tilsit concluded by Alexander I with Napoleon in July 1807 was rejected by the Russian nobility, and Maria Fyodorovna also opposed her son's foreign policy. Elisabeth, however, defended her husband and bitterly remarked in a letter that Maria Feodorovna had become the leader of the rebels instead of defending her son; all relatives would have betrayed the emperor.

April 30th ^July / May 12th 1808 ^greg. Elisabeth's second daughter also died when she was only 18 months old from an infection that she probably contracted while teething, and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery . Elisabeth then fell into a deep depression. The event brought Elisabeth and Alexander closer together for a time. However, in the meantime both had given up hope of a family. After the death of the second child, Alexander announced that he and Elisabeth could not have any more children because it was God's will.

Empress Elisabeth Alexejewna 1814, painted by Vladimir Borowikowski

During Napoleon's Russian campaign in 1812 , Elisabeth was an important moral support for her husband, as the French advance became more and more unsettling in the early stages. In this situation the Empress wrote to her mother that she had feelings for Russia as for a beloved child who was sick; but God will not forsake it. Elisabeth also influenced Alexander, who was prone to mysticism , that he devoted himself to intense religious edification during this time of crisis. After the French withdrew from Russia and Napoleon was almost completely defeated, Alexander entered Paris on March 31, 1814 at the head of the Allies ; Napoleon abdicated shortly afterwards and went into exile in Elba . During the return trip from Paris, the Russian emperor met his wife Elisabeth again in Bruchsal , the residence of the margrave family from Baden. The ruling couple then returned to Saint Petersburg and prohibited the holding of victory parades.

Participation in the Congress of Vienna; Role during Alexander's later reign

Elisabeth accompanied her husband when, after preparations for the Congress of Vienna on September 20, 1814, he and numerous advisers set out for the Austrian capital. While for months drifting political negotiations at the Congress of Vienna played Elisabeth its social part and supported the interests of their in Vienna located sisters Anna , Catherine and Maria , of which the first two, with William of Orange-Nassau and the Württemberg Crown Prince Wilhelm should be married . The Russian Empress had to put up with the fact that Alexander also paid his attention to Maria Naryschkina, who had also traveled to Vienna, as well as two political courtesans, the Russian aristocrat Katharina Bagration and the Duchess Wilhelmine von Sagan . Elisabeth, for her part, met Adam Czartoryski again, the old passion between them briefly flared up again.

Napoleon's return from Elba in early March 1815 accelerated negotiations at the Congress of Vienna. While Alexander stayed in Vienna until the end of May 1815, his wife traveled to Bavaria , where the couple met again in Munich . After spending a few days together, Elisabeth stayed in Munich for the time being; her husband, however, traveled on to Heilbronn and met the enthusiastic penitential preacher Juliane von Krüdener , who strengthened his mystical belief in his European mission and worked on his draft treaty for the Holy Alliance . After that, however, Frau von Krüdener lost her influence on the emperor.

After the peace agreement with France, Elisabeth founded a care center for young war orphans. As Alexander's strength waned over the next few years, she had to appear in public alongside the aging Maria Feodorovna more than before. Alexander ended his long-term relationship with Maria Naryshkina in 1818. Since then, the imperial couple began to spend more time together again. Elisabeth gave her husband spiritual support when his daughter Sophia, whom he loved very much, died.

In 1816 Alexander's sisters Anna and Katharina married the Dutch heir to the throne Wilhelm of Orange and the Württemberg crown prince Wilhelm, and in 1817 Alexander's brother Nikolaus married the Prussian princess Charlotte . In the months that followed, Elisabeth visited relatives in Baden, Stuttgart, Weimar and Berlin at the side of her husband and mother-in-law. After returning to Russia, Alexander was restless and dissatisfied and then devastated by the sudden death of his sister Katharina († January 9, 1819). Elisabeth, who remained behind in Baden, followed this development of her husband with great concern.

Last cohabitation with Alexander and death

Sculpture, erected on May 27, 2008 in Baden-Baden

When Alexander's youngest brother Michail married Princess Charlotte of Württemberg in 1824 , both Elisabeth and her husband were very fond of this young woman. Charlotte's friendly manner contributed to a further rapprochement of the imperial couple. At that time Alexander became seriously ill and was cared for by his wife with great devotion. But in 1825 Elisabeth's health also began to deteriorate, which manifested itself in the form of a lung disease and a nervous disease. The doctors advised her to stay longer in the southern city of Taganrog on the Sea of ​​Azov , where the climate was milder. So that she could take it easy, Elisabeth traveled more slowly to Taganrog separately from her husband and met Jul there ten days after him on September 23 ^. / October 5, 1825 ^greg. a. Since Taganrog did not have a palace, the imperial couple quartered in a simpler house. However, it enjoyed the modest and intimate atmosphere, and Elisabeth was happy to be able to live with her husband for once, carefree and free from conventions. On November 5th, ^Jul. / November 17, 1825 ^greg. Alexander returned to Taganrog from a trip to the Crimea . He had caught a cold there that soon turned into typhus . Elisabeth did her best to look after her husband with the help of the doctors. On November 19th ^jul. / December 1, 1825 ^greg. However, he succumbed to the disease and died in the presence of Elizabeth, who was deeply shaken by his death.

Elisabeth, now an imperial widow, spent the next month and a half praying at the deceased's coffin. She wrote to her mother that she wished to follow her husband, who had been her purpose in life, to death soon. Because of her poor health, she was unable to take charge of the preparations for the transfer of her husband to St. Petersburg, where the body was on March 13th ^July. / March 25, 1826 ^greg. arrived. Elisabeth did not feel able to leave Taganrog until the beginning of May 1826. She felt so bad on the way that she had to take a break in the town of Belyov . She was soon to meet Maria Feodorovna, who was traveling to meet her, but before this meeting took place, a maid found her on the early morning of May 4th ^. / May 16, 1826 ^greg. Elisabeth dead in her bed. She must have died of heart failure.

The Stanitsa Yelisawetinskaja near Krasnodar is named after Elisabeth Alexejewna .

progeny

Alexander I and Elisabeth Alexejewna had two daughters, both of whom died in early childhood:

• Maria Alexandrovna (. * May 18 ^jul. / May 29, 1799 ^greg. In St. Petersburg; † June 26 ^jul. / 8 July 1800 ^greg. Ibid)
• Elisabeth Alexandrovna (* 3rd November ^July / 15 November 1806 ^reg. In Saint Petersburg; † 30 April ^July / 12 May 1808 ^reg. Ibid)

ancestors

Friedrich Hereditary Prince of Baden (1703–1732)

Karl Friedrich Grand Duke of Baden (1728–1811)

Anna of Nassau-Dietz-Oranien (1710–1777)

Karl Ludwig von Baden (1755–1801)

Ludwig VIII Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1691–1768)

Karoline Luise of Hessen-Darmstadt (1723–1783)

Charlotte von Hanau-Lichtenberg (1700–1726)

Luise of Baden

Ludwig VIII Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1691–1768)

Louis IX Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1719–1790)

Charlotte von Hanau-Lichtenberg (1700–1726)

Amalie of Hessen-Darmstadt (1754–1832)

Christian III of Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1674–1735)

Caroline of Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1721–1774)

Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1704–1774)

Note: Due to inter-family marriages, Landgrave Ludwig VIII of Hessen-Darmstadt and his wife Charlotte are two-time great-grandparents of Luise.

literature

• John D. Bergamini, The Tragic Dynasty: A History of The Romanovs , New York 1969, ISBN 1-56852-160-X
• Henri Troyat, Catherine le Grande , Paris 1977 - Dt. Translation: Munich, List, 1980
• W. Bruce Lincoln, The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias , London 1981, ISBN 0-385-27908-6 .
• Henri Troyat, Alexander of Russia , New York, EP Dutton, 1982, ISBN 0-525-24144-2 - Dt. Translation: Frankfurt / M. 1991
• Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Rußlands , Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7917-1652-2 , pp. 233-255.
• Sofia Privalikhina, The Russian Fate of a Princess of Baden. The Empress Elisabeth Alexiewna 1779-1826 , Tomsk 2006, ISBN 5-9528-0047-5

Web links

Commons : Elisabeth Alexejewna (Louise von Baden)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ^ Marie-Pierre Rey: Alexander I: The Tsar Who Defeated Napoleon , 2012, ISBN 0875804667 , p. 50.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} W. Bruce Lincoln, The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias , 1981, ISBN 0-385-27908-6 , p. 385.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Rußlands , Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1999, ISBN 3-7917-1652-2 , p. 235.
4. ^ W. Bruce Lincoln, The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias , 1981, p. 386.
5. ^ W. Bruce Lincoln, The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias , 1981, p. 237.
6. ^ Henri Troyat: Alexander of Russia , ISBN 0-525-24144-2 , 1982, p. 45.
7. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, p. 235 f.
8. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, p. 236 f.
9. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, p. 237 f. and 239 f.
10. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, p. 240.
11. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, p. 241 f.
12. ^ Henri Troyat: Alexander of Russia: Napoleon's conqueror , ISBN 0-8021-3949-3 , 1982, p. 110 f.
13. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, pp. 245–248.
14. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, p. 248 f.
15. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, p. 250 f.
16. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, p. 252 f.
17. ↑ Detlef Jena: Die Zarinnen Russlands , 1999, p. 253 ff.
18. ^ M. Marek: Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov family , on genealogy.euweb.cz.

predecessor	Office	Successor
Maria Feodorovna	Empress of Russia 1801–1825	Alexandra Feodorovna