Elisabeth Friederike Sophie of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Elisabeth Friederike Sophie von Brandenburg-Bayreuth (born August 30, 1732 in Bayreuth ; † April 6, 1780 ibid) was born Princess of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and Duchess of Württemberg .
Life
Princess Elisabeth Friederike Sophie von Brandenburg-Bayreuth was the first and only child of Princess Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine of Prussia , favorite sister of King Frederick II. Of Prussia and Margrave Friedrich von Brandenburg-Bayreuth in Bayreuth born. Her parents' marriage was still intact when the girl was born. In the years that followed, however, the spouses became estranged, and Margrave Friedrich turned to other women to the pain of his wife. His main mistress was Wilhelmine Dorothee von der Marwitz , the lady in waiting for his wife. The couple hoped for a family owner until the end, but he was not born. Elisabeth Friederike Sophie grew up as the only child at her father's court in Bayreuth.
Elisabeth Friederike Sophie was considered one of the most beautiful princesses of her time. She was praised by Casanova as the most beautiful princess in Germany. As the only child of Margrave Friedrich and Margravine Wilhelmine, she was brought up strictly and prepared for a proper marriage.
In January 1744, the ruling Duke Karl Eugen von Württemberg visited Bayreuth and fell in love with the margrave's daughter. Friedrich II promoted Elisabeth Friederike Sophie's connection with Karl Eugen von Württemberg, who had been educated at the Prussian court since 1741. Although the Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and the King of Denmark also tried to get the princess, Elisabeth Friederike Sophie decided on the Duke of Württemberg. On February 22, 1744, at the age of eleven, she was betrothed to Karl Eugen.
The wedding took place in Bayreuth on September 26, 1748. The wedding of Duke Karl Eugen von Württemberg and the Princess of Brandenburg-Bayreuth went down as the most splendid celebration in the history of the margraviate. As part of the festivities, the Margravial Opera House was opened and commemorative coins with the half-length portrait of the young couple were minted. They contained the saying “If the lit flames go out ten times, they will only burn more violently”. On the occasion of the wedding, the entire Württemberg infantry received Prussian blue instead of white uniforms.
The marriage was happy at first. The sixteen-year-old duchess had no influence on the politics of her duchy. Soon the Duke was no longer careful with conjugal fidelity and was enjoying himself with his mistresses again. This resulted in more and more disputes between the spouses. In addition, instead of the son she had hoped for, Elisabeth Friederike gave birth to a girl, Princess Friederike Wilhelmine Augusta Luisa Charlotte von Württemberg. The couple's only child was born on February 19, 1750 and died on March 12, 1751. The lack of a male heir increased the conflicts between the couple. A trip to Italy in 1753 kept the couple together for a while. But when the Duke continued to keep numerous mistresses after his return home, subjected his wife to humiliation and, in 1756, despotic confidants of the Duchess, including her friend, the chamber singer Marianne Pirker , arrested and imprisoned without trial, the duke and ducal couple finally broke up of Württemberg.
During the Seven Years' War , Karl Eugen joined the alliance of Austria and France against Prussia and England and thus destroyed the friendly relationship with the Prussian king. In autumn 1756 Elisabeth Friederike Sophie visited her mother in Bayreuth. After she attended their funeral in Bayreuth in 1758, she did not return to the Württemberg court in Stuttgart. While her mother was still alive, she made a copy of Voltaire's The Virgin . She treated Voltaire, who was known as Wilhelmine, like her uncle and even traveled to Ferney after him. It was not until 1759 that her father succeeded in reaching an agreement with Karl Eugen. The marriage should not end in divorce and Elisabeth Friederike should remain Duchess of Württemberg. Karl Eugen and the Württemberg estates pledged to pay her 54,000 gulden maintenance annually. In return, Karl Eugen secured the right to choose her servants. This kept him informed about her plans and was able to influence her living conditions.
From July 27, 1759, she lived separately from her husband in Neustadt an der Aisch , where she did not feel particularly comfortable, but led the life of a ruling duchess for almost five years surrounded by her own court staff.
After the death of her father in 1763, she inherited the Fantaisie Palace west of Bayreuth, which was still under construction . In the spring of 1765 the construction of the palace, which had already begun by Margrave Friedrich, was completed. So she could move into it and set it up as a center of high spirituality and stylish celebrations according to her own ideas. She gave the complex the name Schloss Fantaisie, which the castle still bears today.
She died in 1780 in the Old Castle in Bayreuth and was buried as requested in the Bayreuth Castle Church at the side of her parents.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Secret State Archives PK, I. Main Department, Repository 11 files, No. 11805. Retrieved on February 20, 2020 .
- ^ Opera house: Planning 275 years ago in: Nordbayerischer Kurier of February 22, 2019, p. 9.
- ↑ The color probably went back to the Frankish imperial circle in which Elizabeth's home country Bayereuth was located. Cf. Arwed Ulrich Koch: The fashionable change in uniforms in the 18th century, Reich and Württemberg (officer portraits 1730 to 1790 (Part IV.) . In: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Heereskunde eV (Ed.): Zeitschrift für Heereskunde . 334, November– December, 1987, ISSN 0044-2852 , pp. 152 .
- ↑ Max Döllner (1950), p. 329.
- ↑ Max Döllner (1950), p. 330.
- ^ Max Döllner : History of the development of the city of Neustadt an der Aisch up to 1933. Ph. C. W. Schmidt, Neustadt a. d. Aisch 1950, OCLC 42823280 ; New edition to mark the 150th anniversary of the Ph. C. W. Schmidt publishing house, Neustadt an der Aisch 1828–1978. Ibid 1978, ISBN 3-87707-013-2 , pp. 329-331.
- ↑ Max Döllner (1950), p. 329.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Elisabeth Friederike Sophie of Brandenburg-Bayreuth |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Princess of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and Duchess of Württemberg |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 30, 1732 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bayreuth |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 6, 1780 |
| Place of death | Bayreuth |