Helene in Bavaria

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Duchess Helene in Bavaria, Hereditary Princess of Thurn and Taxis
Princess Helene in her wedding dress, 1858
Erich Correns : Helene von Thurn and Taxis 1859, oil on canvas

Helene Caroline Therese Duchess in Bavaria , called Néné (born April 4, 1834 in Munich ; † May 16, 1890 in Regensburg ) came from the line of the dukes in Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach and became Hereditary Princess of Thurn and Taxis by marriage .

Life

Origin and marriage

Helene was the eldest daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria .

In 1853 she traveled to Ischl for the birthday of Emperor Franz Joseph with her mother and sister Elisabeth , where she was also to become his bride and thus Empress of Austria. But Franz Joseph decided on her younger sister Elisabeth. Helene was considered particularly pious and unpunctual, so she missed trains several times. After the unsuccessful marriage, her depressed mood steadily increased, and Duchess Ludovika began to look around for a bridegroom, since there was a risk that the beautiful daughter could take off the veil and go to a convent.

Helene had almost resigned herself to staying single. At the age of 22 she was already considered an “old maid”, but through her mother she got to know the rich Hereditary Prince Maximilian Anton von Thurn und Taxis . Duke Max in Bavaria, Helene's father, invited the Thurn and Taxis family to go hunting in Possenhofen . Hereditary Prince Maximilian was immediately impressed by Helene.

When the Hereditary Prince left, he presented his plans to marry the Bavarian princess to his parents, who immediately agreed. King Maximilian of Bavaria as the head of the Wittelsbach family was not satisfied with a marriage for dynastic reasons, as the Thurn und Taxis as Standesherren the sovereign Wittelsbachern were not fully equal; but due to Empress Elisabeth's influence on the king, the wedding could still take place. The wedding took place on August 24, 1858 in Possenhofen. On this occasion, the bride received a necklace worth 160,000 guilders from her in-laws. Helene had the only happy marriage of the Bavarian siblings, while her younger sisters repeatedly attracted attention with their extravagant private lives.

Shortly after the birth of her second child in 1860, she traveled to Corfu to see her sister Elisabeth, who was seriously ill at the time . After her return, she reported to Emperor Franz Joseph in Vienna about the poor condition of his wife.

In 1862 she gave birth to the longed-for Hereditary Prince Maximilian Maria . In 1867 the second son Albert was born. The happy marriage was overshadowed by her husband Maximilian's severe kidney disease. Neither a cure in Karlsbad nor the best doctors could save him. He died in 1867 at the age of only thirty-five.

Widowhood

Helene distracted herself with charitable activities. She had been given the guardianship of her children by the Austrian Emperor, and her father-in-law began to initiate her into the business affairs of the Thurn und Taxis family, since he saw her as a support and successor. Until her first son came of age, she was the head of the Thurn und Taxis family .

In 1877 their younger daughter Elisabeth married Prince Miguel of Braganza . But after the birth of her first child (1878) Elisabeth's health deteriorated and she died in 1881. After the death of her daughter, Helene withdrew from public life.

In 1883 the Hereditary Prince, Maximilian Maria , took over the management of the family business. But the highly educated young man also fell ill and suffered severe heart attacks at the age of almost 23. He died of a pulmonary infarction in 1885 . Again Helene became head of the family until her second son Albert came of age in 1888 and took over the management of the family business. Then Helene withdrew completely into her belief.

In 1890, Helene fell seriously ill with an abdominal disorder. She developed a fever and unexpected chills. Her son Albert then informed Helene's sister Elisabeth, who then arrived as soon as possible. Her younger sister Elisabeth was also the last to speak to Néné. Elisabeth's daughter Archduchess Marie Valerie noted the dialogue in her diary, which was in English:

"'We two have had hard puffs in our lives," said mom. 'Yes but we had hearts', replied Aunt Nene. "

On May 16, 1890, Helene died in Bavaria at the age of 56.

Helene's death room was later converted into a chapel by her son, where he married on July 15, 1890.

progeny

Helene in Bavaria and Maximilian von Thurn und Taxis had four children:

Movie

Sisi's famous siblings, BR documentation by Bernhard Graf , 2016

literature

Web links

Commons : Duchess Helene in Bavaria  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Helene. (No longer available online.) In: www.kaiserinelisabeth.de. Archived from the original on December 16, 2004 ; accessed on November 8, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Empress Elisabeth and the historical truth in the Google book search
  3. ↑ Martha Schad, Horst Heinrich Schad (Ed.): The diary of Empress Elisabeth's favorite daughter, 1880–1899 . Entry from May 19, 1890. Langen Müller, Munich 1998, p. 222 : "We both had hard blows in our lives." - "Yes, but we had feelings."
personal data
SURNAME Helene in Bavaria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nene
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German nobleman, daughter of Duke Max Joseph in Bavaria
DATE OF BIRTH April 4, 1834
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH May 16, 1890
Place of death regensburg