Elisabeth of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1854–1908)

Elisabeth of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Duchess of Mecklenburg

Elisabeth von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach , named in the Elsi family circle , (* February 28, 1854 in Weimar ; † July 10, 1908 at Wiligrad Castle near Lübstorf ; full name: Elisabeth Sybille Marie Dorothea Luise Anne Amalie ) was Princess of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach and Duchess of Saxony as well as by marriage Duchess of Mecklenburg .

Life

Elisabeth of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Duchess of Mecklenburg

Elisabeth was the youngest daughter of Grand Duke Karl Alexander of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and his wife Sophie of Orange-Nassau .

She married Duke Johann Albrecht zu Mecklenburg [-Schwerin] (1857–1920) on November 6, 1886 in Weimar . From 1898 both lived in the newly built Wiligrad Castle, whose park they had designed based on the model of the local Weimar Castle Park .

Like her father and her husband, she devoted herself to the colonial areas of the German Empire in Africa. So she founded the women's association of the colonial society , the German women's association for nursing in the colonies and the colonial women's school in Witzenhausen .

At the age of only 54, Duchess Elisabeth died in the early morning of July 10, 1908 after a long illness at Wiligrad Castle . She was buried on July 15, 1908 in the Doberaner Münster .

Interest in music

The duchess had been an avid music lover since her youth, and was talented in singing and playing the piano. She was friends with Franz Liszt , with whom she played in a singing duet or playing the piano for four hands during his visits to Belvedere Palace in Weimar. Even later at Wiligrad Castle, she liked to surround herself with musicians of the time, such as the American composer Ernest Schelling . He composed the piano piece Au Château de Wiligrad in her honor .

Musical evenings at the imperial court, such as on October 22, 1893, were very popular with the Duchess. The music evenings also led to all sorts of conversations, such as with Philipp Fürst zu Eulenburg , who immediately reported to the emperor about the content.

Elisabethheim Foundation in Rostock

In the spring of 1899, Duchess Elisabeth suggested the establishment of an institution for the upbringing and education of crippled, crippled children . A few months later, on July 8, 1899, a specially created committee paved the way for the establishment of such an institution in Rostock . After donations totaling 17,000 marks had been received, a cripple institute was set up on May 1, 1900 in an apartment at Friedrichstrasse 33 . The board of the institution, also belonged to Lieutenant General von Haeseler, paid tribute to the Duchess on 23 February 1901 the establishment of the Foundation country crippled institution Elisabethheim to Rostock . The facility was called Elisabethheim until it was converted into a specialist orthopedic clinic in 1946.

Awards

• Ladies decoration (in diamonds) of the house order of the Wendish Crown
• Grand Ducal Saxon Decoration for Notable Work during the War of 1870/71
• Sachsen-Weimar marriage anniversary medal in gold
• Memorial medal Friedrich Franz III.
• Prussian Red Cross Medal, 1st class
• South West Africa commemorative coin in steel
• Grand Ducal Baden anniversary and marriage anniversary medals
• Royal Dutch Wedding Medal
• Commemorative medal for the silver wedding anniversary of the Swedish Crown Prince couple
• Royal Romanian Jubilee Medal
• Russian Order of Saint Catherine I. Class
• Grand Turkish Nişan-ı Şefkat I. Class

Literature and Sources

literature

• Angelika Pöthe: Carl Alexander. Patron in Weimar's ›Silver Era‹. Böhlau, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-412-00498-7 .
• Lothar Ehrlich, Justus H. Ulbricht: Carl Alexander von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach: heir, patron and politician. Böhlau. Cologne 2004, ISBN 978-3-412-09203-0 .
• Grete Grewolls: Who was who in Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania. The dictionary of persons . Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2011, ISBN 978-3-356-01301-6 , p. 2460 .

Unprinted sources

• State Main Archive Schwerin
  • LHAS 2.26-3 Grand Ducal Marstallamt No. 975.
• State Church Archive Schwerin
  • Landessuperintendentur Rostock-Land, Specialia, 04 Bad Doberan, No. 109 Kirchhofkapelle, from Oertzen Adam Kapelle.

Web links

Commons : Elisabeth von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature on Elisabeth von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1854–1908) in the state bibliography MV

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bernd Kasten , Matthias Manke, René Wiese: The Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Hinstorff Verlag GmbH, Rostock 2015, ISBN 978-3-356-01986-5 , p. 120.
2. ^ Tomb of Duke Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 19, 2018.  
3. ↑ LKAS inventory: Landessuperintendentur Rostock, No. 109 Bad Doberan. In it, the funeral of Duchess Elisabeth, wife of Duke Johann Albrecht, July 15, 1908.
4. ↑ LHAS inventory: 2.26-3 Grand Ducal Marstallamt. Provision of horses and carriages for funerals, No. 975, Duchess Elisabeth, wife of Duke Johann Albrechts, running time: July 1908.
5. ^ Letter from "Elsie" (Princess Elisabeth of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach) at Belvedere Palace, on July 1, 1878 on two double pages - To her sister Marie (1849–1922), About the upcoming “anniversary campaign” in honor of the 25-year-old Her father's jubilee in government and meeting with Franz Liszt.
6. ^ Ernest Schelling: Au Château de Wiligrad , played by Mary Louise Boehm (Youtube). Retrieved March 18, 2018.
7. ↑ Correspondence No. 831, Eulenburg to Kaiser Wilhelm II. Cf. JGC Röhl: Philipp Eulenburg's political correspondence. At the focus of the government crisis: 1892–1895. Volume 2. Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1979, ISBN 978-3-7646-1705-9 , p. 1118 f.
8. ^ Paul Heller: From the state cripple institute to the orthopedic university clinic. LIT Verlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-643-1010-5-1 , p. 181 ff.
9. ^ Paul Heller: From the state cripple institute to the orthopedic university clinic. LIT Verlag, Berlin 2009, p. 45 f.
10. ^ Grand Ducal Statistical Office (ed.): Großherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalender 1908. Bärensprung'sche Hofbuchdruckerei, p. 10.
11. ↑ List of orders according to: Grand Ducal Statistical Office (Ed.): Großherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinscher Staatskalender 1908. Bärensprung'sche Hofbuchdruckerei, p. 4.