Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken

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Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken

Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken (born August 12, 1704 in Saarbrücken Castle , Saarbrücken , † March 25, 1774 in Darmstadt ) was the wife of Christian III. from 1719 Countess Palatinate and from 1731, after the death of her husband's cousin, Duke Gustav Samuel Leopold , who died childless , the new Duchess or Princess of Palatinate-Zweibrücken .

biography

Saarbrücken Castle

Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken grew up as the daughter of Count Ludwig Kraft von Nassau-Saarbrücken (1663-1713) and his wife, Countess Philippine Henriette von Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1679-1751) in Saarbrücken.

Grave monument of Karoline's parents in the Saarbrücken Castle Church

On September 21, 1719, the 15-year-old Karoline was born with her godfather, Christian III, 29 years her senior. von Pfalz-Zweibrücken, married. The wedding took place at Lorenzen Castle near what is now the Saar Union in Crooked Alsace .

Lorenzen Castle

There are four children from this connection:

Bad Bergzabern, castle

In February 1735, the 30-year-old Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken and Palatinate-Zweibrücken with the death of her husband Christian III. Widow. The guardianship for her underage children was Karoline of Emperor Karl VI. transfer. The French King Louis XV. confirmed the duchess all rights of rule in her possessions in Alsace, which were under French suzerainty. The family maintained good contacts with the French court in Versailles and several representatives of the Birkenfeld-Bischweiler line served in the French army. During her reign , Karoline was supported by a secret cabinet conference as the highest state authority. Leading politicians on the committee were privy councilor Heinrich Wilhelm von Wrede and privy councilor Ludwig de Savigny. During the reign of Karoline, numerous lawsuits with relatives of the Gelnhausen line or with the barons of Schnorrenburg were settled. The greatest problem of the rule was the disrupted state finances, which resulted from the costs of keeping the court and the financing of new buildings of Duke Gustav Samuel Leopold . During the War of the Polish Succession , the territory of Karoline suffered from the marching through of French and imperial troops who demanded forage and quarters. In this way, Caroline's government incurred costs of 697,937 guilders between 1734 and 1736. The financial situation became so precarious that Karoline reported in a petition to the Reichstag that she could no longer pay imperial and district taxes and that she would be exempted from paying the taxes until the financial situation of her territory recovered. All in all, Karoline was only able to pay off part of the country's accumulated debts during her five-year reign, which ended when her son Christian IV took office in Zweibrücken in 1740. After her son took office, Karoline ruled unofficially for another five years.

In 1741 Karoline succeeded in bringing her daughters Christiane with Friedrich Karl August von Waldeck-Pyrmont and Caroline with Landgrave Ludwig IX. of Hessen-Darmstadt to marry.

Karoline lived with her unmarried older sister Henriette (* 1702, † 1769) together. Both mother, Philippine Henriette von Hohenlohe, took up residence as a widow in the castle of Lorenzen in the county of Saar Werden since 1713. Since 1719 Philippine Henriette lived mostly with her two daughters Henriette and Karoline in Rappoltsweiler . After Caroline's husband took over the rule of Zweibrücken, the family moved to Zweibrücken in 1734. When Christian III. von Pfalz-Zweibrücken died in 1735, the three women moved into the castle in Bergzabern , Karolines Wittumsgut, as their residence in 1744 . Bergzabern Castle was renovated by Jonas Erikson Sundahl between 1720 and 1725 after it was destroyed during the Dutch War in 1676 . Philippine Henriette died here in 1751 and was buried there. Privy Councilor Wrede tried to reduce the expenses of Karoline's court in Bergzabern, which angered Karoline immensely. She then moved her ruling son Christian IV to provide for the Wittumsgut Bergzabern financially to the extent that it was at the time of her marriage to Christian III. had been contractually agreed in 1719. Since this matter, the relationship between Karoline and Privy Councilor von Wrede was considered broken.

Karoline's court in Bergzabern was largely of the Lutheran denomination. Karoline grew up Lutheran in her home town of Saarbrücken and only wanted people of this denomination in her area, although the principle of religious freedom had been in effect in the Duchy of Zweibrücken since 1719. Her court preacher Georg Petersen (1708–1783), who advised her on canon law and religious-political matters, was also strictly Lutheran. Duchess Karoline particularly supported the Lutheran congregation in Bergzabern and financed a large part of the construction costs of the Bergzabern mountain church . Here Karoline's mother Philippine Henriette von Hohenlohe was buried in the princely crypt after her death in 1751. The sister Henriette, who lived with Karoline, was also buried here in 1769. Karoline maintained a feeding for the poor in Bergzabern Castle and set up a poor foundation in her will that was supposed to benefit the "true poor of Protestant religion". Despite her strictly Lutheran orientation, Karoline could not prevent her son Friedrich from accepting the Catholic denomination of his bride on November 27, 1746 on the occasion of his marriage to Maria Franziska Dorothea Christina von Pfalz-Sulzbach , the daughter of Count Palatine Joseph Karl von Pfalz-Sulzbach . When he was confirmed by Pope Benedict XIV in 1751, Frederick was given the nickname "Michael", the name of the Archangel Michael , who has been implored as the heavenly helper of the Catholic Church against Protestantism since the time of the Counter Reformation . Karoline was also shocked by the Catholic conversion of her son Christian at the court of Versailles, which had been undertaken in the hope that France would accept Zweibrücken's claim to the Electoral Palatinate and Bavaria. The dispute over the Catholic denomination spread widely and was the subject of several polemicals. Karoline's sister Henriette was able to reconcile the Duchess with the behavior of her son Christian. However, Karoline did not approve of Christian's morganatic connection with Marianne Camasse, Countess von Forbach , a former dancer.

Karoline's personal physician was Johann Ludwig Leuchsenring, a brother of Franz Michael Leuchsenring . The Saxon-Weimar privy councilor Jakob Julius von Kaulbars acted as Karoline's chief steward, and the chief magistrate Karl Philipp von Dungern as administrative specialist. Caroline's ladies-in-waiting came mostly from Nassau and two-bridge landed gentry. Court lady Sophie Henriette von Roussillon (called Urania), who was the model of Goethe's "Fräulein von B." applies in his work Werther , was often with Karoline on her travels.

After the early death of her son Friedrich Michael in 1767, Karoline took care of his children. Her granddaughter Maria Anna von Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1753-1824) took on Karoline in Bergzabern. Her grandson Max Josef , who grew up in Schwetzingen and later became the first Bavarian king, spent his holidays with his grandmother Karoline in Bergzabern.

Karoline's extensive correspondence, especially with her daughters Christiane and Caroline, whom she often visited, but also with domestic and foreign dignitaries of her time, is currently stored in the Secret House Archives in Munich.

City church Darmstadt with town hall

In March 1774, Duchess Karoline came to Darmstadt to visit her sick daughter Henriette Karoline Christine. Karoline died here on March 25, 1774 at the age of 69. Only five days later, the daughter Henriette died on March 30, 1774. According to Karoline's request, she had already arranged a burial at the place of her death at the age of 47, the Duchess was buried in Darmstadt without any splendid funeral ceremonies. Her grave is in the Darmstadt City Church .

In her will, with the consent of her sons Christian and Michael, Karoline had appointed her two daughters Caroline Henriette and Christiane or their descendants as heirs. She bequeathed 2000 guilders to the evangelical poor of Bergzabern.

The granddaughters Karolines, Marie Amalie von Baden and Karoline Luise von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach , designed the inscription on their grave slab: Here rests / in the sleep of immortality / the corpse / the most noble princess and wife / Carolinen / her life was a bright light , / Your image the imprint of your philanthropic heart, / Your whole soul meekness, your spirit full of truth and religion. / Your memory is a blessing for (sic!) Those who follow your heavenly example.

More offspring

Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken is the grandmother of the first Bavarian King Maximilian I Joseph and the great-grandmother of his wife Karoline . Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken is the great-grandmother of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and his sister, the Austrian Empress Karoline Auguste , the wife of the last Roman-German Emperor and first Austrian Emperor Franz .

Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken is the great-great-grandmother of King Maximilian II. Joseph and his brothers Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria and King Otto of Greece as well as the great-great-grandmother of the Bavarian King Ludwig II , his brother King Otto I and the last Bavarian King Ludwig III .

With regard to the Austrian imperial family, she is the great-great-grandmother of the Austrian Emperor and Hungarian King Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary . Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken is also the great-great-grandmother of the Mexican Emperor Maximilian I , the brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I.

With regard to the Prussian royal family, she is the grandmother of the Prussian Queen Friederike Luise , the great-grandmother of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. and the great-great-grandmother of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV and his brother Wilhelm I , the first Emperor of the German Empire . She is also the great-great-grandmother of the Prussian Queen and first German Empress Augusta , the wife of Wilhelm I.

With regard to the Russian tsarist house, she is the grandmother of the Russian heir to the throne Natalia Alexejewna, who died young, and the great-grandmother of the Russian tsarina Elisabeth Alexejewna , wife of tsar Alexander I. She is also the great-great-grandmother of the Russian tsarina Marija Alexandrovna , the wife of tsar Alexander II.

Regarding the Swedish royal family, Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken is the great-grandmother of the Swedish Queen Friederike .

Regarding the Saxon royal family, Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken is the grandmother of the first Saxon Queen Amalie , the sister of the first Bavarian King Maximilian I Joseph.

Regarding the Grand Duchy of Hesse , Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken is the grandmother of Grand Duke Ludwig I and his sister Luise , the Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach .

Assuming that Kaspar Hauser had been the son of the Baden Grand Duke Karl Ludwig Friedrich , Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken would have been his great-great-grandmother. Regarding the Badisch-Hohenzollern descendants of Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken, the siblings Stephanie von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , the Queen of Portugal, Karl , the King of Romania , Leopold von Hohenzollern , who by his planned Spanish succession to the throne Bismarck as the "trigger" of German -French war served, as well as Maria Luise von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , Princess of Belgium, her great-great-grandson. Via Maria Luise, the great-great-grandmother of the current Belgian King Philippe , Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken is also the ancestor of the current ruling Belgian royal family.

With regard to the Monegasque princely family, she is the great, great, great grandmother of Prince Louis II of Monaco.

Regarding the English royal family , Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken is the great, great, great, great grandmother of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , the husband of Queen Elizabeth II.

literature

  • Günther Volz: Karoline von Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1704–1774), "Head Guardian and Regent of the Duchy", in: The Cradle of Kings, 600 Years of the Duchy of Pfalz-Zweibrücken, ed. by Charlotte Glück-Christmann with the assistance of Thomas Wiercinski and Bernhard Becker, Zweibrücken 2010, pp. 182–185.

Web links

Commons : Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johann Georg Lehmann: Complete history of the Duchy of Zweibrücken and its princes, their ancestors and ancestors of the K. Baierisches Haus (sic!), Munich 1867, reprint Osnabrück 1974, passim.
  2. ^ Ludwig Molitor: History of a German princely city, complete history of the former Palatinate-Bavarian royal seat of Zweibrücken with the Bavarian Crown, Zweibrücken 1885, reprint Zweibrücken 1989, passim.
  3. ^ Johann Georg Lehmann: Complete history of the Duchy of Zweibrücken and its princes, their ancestors and ancestors (sic!) Of the K. Baierischen (sic!) House, Munich 1867, new print Osnabrück 1974, p. 490.
  4. ^ Richard Count Du Moulin-Eckart: Zweibrücken and Versailles, in: Neue Heidelberger Jahrbücher, 5, 1895, pp. 229–280.
  5. ^ Hans Ammerich: Landesherr und Landesverwaltung, contributions to the government of Pfalz-Zweibrücken at the end of the Old Reich, dissertation, Munich 1979, Saarbrücken 1981, p. 79ff.
  6. ↑ Letter from your Hochfürstl. Durchleuch: The widowed Frau Pfaltz-Countess zu Zweybrügg etc. etc. Head guardian and regent of this duchy / to a highly commendable general imperial assembly, Zweybrügg, September 10th. 1736. (sic!)
  7. ↑ Birgit Kümmel: Fürstin Christiane zu Waldeck-Pyrmont (1725-1816), in: German women of the early modern times, ed. by Kerstin Merkel, Darmstadt 2000.
  8. ^ Marita A. Panzer: The Great Landgrave Caroline of Hessen-Darmstadt (1721–1774), Regensburg 2005.
  9. ↑ Hans Ammerich: The Palatinate-Zweibrückischen widow residences Bergzabern and Meisenheim, in: Mitteilungen des Historisches Verein der Pfalz, 101, 2003, pp. 159–171.
  10. ↑ Landesarchiv Speyer, B, No. 1553 on Wittumshof; Johann Heinrich Bachmann, Palatinate-Zweibrückisches Staats-Recht, Tübingen 1784, p. 84f.
  11. ↑ In 1574 the County of Nassau-Saarbrücken fell to Count Philip III by inheritance . who introduced the Reformation according to the Lutheran creed .
  12. ↑ Richard Hummel and Clemens Jöckle: On the building history of the mountain church, in: Der Turmhahn, 34, 1990, pp. 26–28.
  13. ^ Bavarian Main State Archives, Secret House Archives, House Documents 5276.
  14. ^ Georg Wilhelm Hopf: Bavarian history in time tables, Schmid, 1865, p. 151.
  15. ^ Richard Count Du Moulin-Eckart: Count Palatine Friedrich Michael von Zweibrücken, in: Supplement to the Allgemeine Zeitung, No. 208, Munich, September 6, 1892.
  16. ↑ Adalbert Prince of Bavaria, The Duke and the Dancer, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse 1966, p. 23 f.
  17. ↑ Günther Volz: Fatherly Admonitions of Georg Petersen (1708–1783), in: Blätter für Palatine Church History and Religious Folklore, 75, 2008, pp. 95–114.
  18. ↑ Günther Volz: Karoline von Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1704–1774), "Ober-Vormünderin and Regentin des Duchy", in: The Cradle of Kings, 600 years of the Duchy of Pfalz-Zweibrücken, ed. by Charlotte Glück-Christmann with the assistance of Thomas Wiercinski and Bernhard Becker, Zweibrücken 2010, pp. 182–185, here p. 183.
  19. ↑ Günther Volz: Sophie Henriette von Roussillon (1727–1773), lady-in-waiting in Bergzabern - "Urania" of the Darmstadt sensitive - "Fräulein von B." in Goethe's "Werther", in: Mitteilungen des Historisches Verein der Pfalz, 91, 1993, pp. 249–260.
  20. ↑ Georg Weber: Youth impressions and experiences, Leipzig 1887, p. 37f.
  21. ↑ Bavarian Main State Archives, blue box, 403/16, 403/19, 404/19, 404/10, 404/21, 404/22, 404/24, 404/36
  22. ↑ August 20, 1751, Bergzabern, paper, double sheet, 24 × 37 cm, with seal and handwritten signature, Bavarian Main State Archives, Secret House Archives, house documents 5276.
  23. ^ Albert Ruppersberg : History of the former County of Saarbrücken, revised and expanded after Friedrich and Adolf Köllner, Part II, From the introduction of the Reformation to the unification with Prussia 1574–1815, 2nd, improved edition, Saarbrücken 1910, p. 192– 194.
  24. ↑ Patriotic Archives for Germany, Volume 2, Frankfurt and Leipzig 1785, pp. 480f.
  25. ^ Line: Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken, Karoline von Pfalz-Zweibrücken , Karoline von Hessen-Darmstadt (1746-1821) , Maria Anna Amalie von Hessen-Homburg , Elisabeth of Prussia , Ludwig IV. (Hessen-Darmstadt) , Viktoria von Hessen -Darmstadt , Alice von Battenberg
personal data
SURNAME Nassau-Saarbrücken, Karoline von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION by marriage, Countess Palatine and Duchess of Palatinate-Zweibrücken
DATE OF BIRTH August 12, 1704
PLACE OF BIRTH Saarbrücken
DATE OF DEATH March 25, 1774
Place of death Darmstadt