Constantia von Cosel

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Portrait Anna Constantia Countess of Cosel (first half of the 18th century)

Anna Constantia Countess of Cosel , b. von Brockdorff (born October 17, 1680 in Depenau , † March 31, 1765 in Stolpen ) was next to Aurora von Königsmarck the most famous mistress of Augustus the Strong .

Life

Anna Constantia grew up on Gut Depenau as the daughter of the knight Joachim von Brockdorff and his wife Anna Margarethe, daughter of the rich Hamburg-born Leonhard Marselis . The marriage of Brockdorff, who comes from one of the oldest noble families of Holstein , with the bourgeois merchant's daughter was considered improper. Anna Constantia received an unusually extensive education for a girl from the Baroque era: she learned several languages, received lessons in mathematics and classical education, rode in men's and women's saddles and had a passion for hunting. She was considered impetuous and stubborn. It was said that she smoked a pipe and was very good at handling guns.

Anna Constantia was sent in 1694 by her parents to the court of Duke Christian Albrecht in Gottorf Castle near Schleswig , where she was to receive court training. The 14-year-old served the duke's daughter, Sophie Amalie, as a maid of honor. When the duke's daughter went to Wolfenbüttel to the residence of the art-loving Duke Anton Ulrich , Anna Constantia accompanied her to the Guelph residence. Difficulties arose here when she became pregnant - possibly by Prince Ludwig Rudolf , the younger brother of the Hereditary Prince. After the birth of her child in 1702, she was banished from the farm and sent back to her parents in Depenau. The whereabouts of her child is not known.

Portrait of Anna Constantia Imperial Countess von Cosel (1705)

In 1699, Anna Constantia met Adolph Magnus von Hoym , the director of the Saxon General Excise College, who was twelve years her senior , in Wolfenbüttel, who asked for her hand. After a long engagement period and marriage on June 2, 1703, the couple lived at Burgscheidungen Castle . But just a year later, Hoym sought a separation from his wife, whom he now described as "domineering and devious". In January 1705 he filed for divorce, in 1706 the marriage was divorced. Another reason for the separation could also have been that Anna Constantia had concealed the existence of her child from her husband.

On December 7, 1704, August the Strong became aware of the attractive Anna Constantia during a fire in the Hoym house and brought her to the court, although at that time he was still in a relationship with Princess Teschen . Baron von Hoym warned August the Strong against Anna Constantia, whom he considered completely unsuitable to take on the office of official maitresse en titre . August's lawful wife, Christiane Eberhardine von Brandenburg-Bayreuth , had long since withdrawn from the court and lived at Pretzsch Castle . In December 1705, August gave Anna Constantia a written promise of marriage which, in the event of the Electress's death, she declared as his “wife on the left”, i.e. his morganatic wife , and legitimized any children. Anna Constantia had insisted on this written promise, because after the secret birth of an illegitimate child and her divorce, she probably didn't want to pursue a career as a mistress without at least the prospect of the honor of a wife. In this momentous document, her supply was also regulated: She was to receive 100,000 thalers annually as a pension and the Pillnitz manor .

In February 1706 Anna Constantia was appointed Countess of Cosel by the Emperor at August's request . Around 1706, the elector commissioned his master builder Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann to redesign the Turkish House , which is now the central building of the Taschenbergpalais , as the residence and representative seat for Countess Cosel. Anna Constantia was now the focus of the Saxon court and was considered beautiful, ambitious and intelligent, but also quick-tempered, haughty and arrogant. It made some enemies by exposing the intrigues and misconduct of the ministers.

Anna Constantia and August had three children:

In the opinion of the court, Anna Constantia became increasingly involved in politics. Especially her attempt to bring August’s ambitions to the Polish crown to the Emperor Charles VI. To influence committed politics met with considerable resistance from the ministers, in particular the minister in charge, Jacob Heinrich von Flemming . This went so far that she passed copies of documents from the Secret Cabinet on to the Imperial Envoy in Saxony and was promised the title of Imperial Duchess of Görlitz. The coat of arms had already been designed and can still be admired in the Saxon State Archives. The elector in the Protestant heartland of Saxony fought stubbornly to regain the title of king in Catholic Poland, which he had lost after the defeat by the Swedes in the Great Northern War . August had converted to Catholicism for purely political reasons ; the Protestant Anna Constantia, however, disapproved of his ambitions. She warned August urgently against getting involved in the power games of Polish royal houses only to be able to become King of Poland again. Thanks to her extensive education and political experience, she foresaw the debacle that August ultimately suffered. It offended August in his pride that a woman had assessed the situation more realistically than he himself. August's pursuit of the Polish crown was also intended to give the Electorate of Saxony more power and importance in the empire, as the neighboring state of Prussia became increasingly powerful.

The choice of a Catholic mistress from Poland also seemed opportune to show the Polish aristocracy accommodating. August finally decided in favor of Countess Maria Magdalena von Dönhoff . The concessions that August had to make to the Polish nobility diminished the desired importance of regained royal dignity. Under August III. Saxony finally lost the Polish crown and the attempt to transform the traditional electoral monarchy into a hereditary monarchy had failed. Poland was later divided several times between Prussia, Russia and Austria and disappeared from the map as a sovereign state for 200 years.

Memorial plaque at the place of her arrest in Halle (Saale), then Prussian
Anna Constantia during her exile at Stolpen Castle
Grave of Countess Cosel (1903)

Anna Constantia's jealousy and her attempts to fight the prince's new mistress finally prompted August to turn away from Countess Cosel entirely. Since every effort to achieve an amicable separation from the countess was rejected, the elector decided on drastic means. 1713 August banished Anna Constantia from the Dresden court to Pillnitz Castle ; she refused to move to Zabeltitz .

On December 12, 1715, she traveled to Berlin to obtain the marriage contract that August had requested. However, since she was not allowed to leave Pillnitz, this trip was considered an escape. In doing so she had created a situation that the elector could not accept. That written marriage vows that August had made out for her at the time now became her undoing. If such a document had become public, especially in Prussia, it would have embarrassed the Saxon Elector and King of Poland across Europe . August was therefore forced to act and offered the Prussian deserters fled Prussian deserters in exchange for the countess's extradition to Saxony .

Usually deserters were executed in Prussia, which is why the elector hesitated at first. The feared disgrace, however, left him no choice. After the Prussian king had also assured that the returned soldiers would not be executed, August agreed to this deal. The Cosel came back to Dresden on November 21, 1716 via Halle and Nossen . She was placed under arrest by the king and transferred to Stolpen Castle on December 24, 1716 , where she lived for the remaining 49 years until her death.

August the Cosel left all their possessions. She continued to draw income from her estates (e.g. the Spitzhaus in Radebeul with vineyards). According to records at the time, her fortune amounted to more than 500,000 thalers . Countess Cosel even held court in the armory that was specially built for her and in which she lived until 1743.

After this was burned down by a lightning strike, she moved to the local Johannisturm. In the same year the Dresden court lifted the trustee , but the countess preferred to stay at the Stolpen fortress. To this day it is not clear why she did not leave the fortress. Her children were brought up excellently at the Dresden court, like all of August's children, were well looked after and later married appropriately. It is also clear from the correspondence that the Countess conducted with Ministers Wackerbarth , Löwendhal and Watzdorf from 1728 onwards that a return to the Dresden court would have meant a lot to her.

Anna Constantia von Cosel died on March 31, 1765 at the age of 84 at Stolpen Castle .

- See also : Butterfly thaler (series of coins by Friedrich August from the time of Countess Cosel)

Film adaptations

literature

historical novels that deal with the life of Countess Cosel

Web links

Wikisource: Constantia von Cosel  - Sources and full texts
Commons : Anna Constantia Gräfin von Cosel  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. The Cosel's heirs