Maria Anna of Pfalz-Zweibrücken

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Maria Anna von Pfalz-Zweibrücken (painting by Heinrich Carl Brandt )

Maria Anna von Pfalz-Zweibrücken (born July 18, 1753 in Schwetzingen , † February 4, 1824 in Bamberg ) was Countess Palatine von Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen and, through her marriage to Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria, duchess in Bavaria . Maria Anna was the great-grandmother of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary .

Life

Maria Anna was born on July 18, 1753 in Schwetzingen as the fourth child and second daughter of Count Palatine Friedrich Michael von Pfalz-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (1724–1767) and his wife, Count Palatine Maria Franziska von Pfalz-Sulzbach (1724–1794) born. Her eldest brother, Karl II. August (1746–1795) was Duke of Pfalz-Zweibrücken from 1775 to 1795 , her older sister Amalie (1752–1828) was the last Electress and first Queen of Saxony. Her younger brother Maximilian Joseph (1756-1825) became the first king of Bavaria in 1806.

Maria Anna von Pfalz-Zweibrücken (painting by Johann Georg Ziesenis the Younger )

In 1760 Maria Anna's mother was banished from court by her brother-in-law, Duke Christian IV. , Because she was having an affair with an actor from whom she was expecting a child. While Maria Anna's brothers Karl August and Maximilian Joseph were subsequently taken in by their uncle Christian IV and his wife Countess Forbach , she herself was brought up in a nunnery in Nancy . After the death of her father in 1767, she came into the care of her grandmother Karoline von Nassau-Saarbrücken , the widowed Duchess of Pfalz-Zweibrücken , who had lived in Bergzabern Castle since 1744 . When she died in 1774, Maria Anna was taken in by her aunt, Electress Elisabeth Auguste von Pfalz-Sulzbach (1721–1794), and lived at the Palatinate court in Mannheim .

On January 30, 1780, she married Duke Wilhelm in Mannheim, a son of Johann, Count Palatine von Gelnhausen (1698–1780) and his wife Sophie Charlotte von Salm-Dhaun (1719–1770). Shortly after the wedding, Duke Wilhelm was appointed to Bavaria by Elector Karl Theodor , which is why the couple moved to the city ​​residence in Landshut in the spring of 1780 . On this occasion, Karl Theodor had the city residence rebuilt, so the façade facing the old town was redesigned in a classical style, which is still indicated today by a frieze inscription in the courtyard of the residence:

Inner courtyard of the Landshut city residence with an inscription in memory of Maria Anna and Wilhelm in Bavaria

"RENOVATVM SVB AVSPICIIS CAROLI THEODORI ELECT. PALAT. HAEREDIS BAVARIAE DVM WILHELMVS COM. PALAT. RHEN. BAVARIAE DVX CVM MARIA ANNA BIPONTINA CONIVGE HAS INHABITABAT AEDES MDCCLXXXI "

"Renewed under the government of Carl Theodor, Elector Palatinate and heir of Bavaria, while Wilhelm, Count Palatine near Rhine, Duke in Bavaria, lived in this house with his wife Maria Anna von Zweibrücken, 1781"

In Landshut, Maria Anna gave birth to her first child on May 6, 1782, a son who, however, did not survive. Two years later, on May 5, 1784, their daughter Maria Elisabeth Amalie Franziska was born, another two years later, on August 1, 1786, their son Pius August , who later became Duke of Bavaria and grandfather of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary.

When Maria Anna's brother Maximilian succeeded Karl Theodor as Elector of Bavaria in 1799 , on February 16, 1799, he awarded her husband Wilhelm the newly created title “ Duke in Bavaria ”. This made Maria Anna the first duchess in Bavaria. In contrast to the title “Duke of Bavaria”, it was not linked to any dominion.

Bamberg rose garden

During the second coalition war , Maria followed her husband, who was the commander of the electoral troops, first to Amberg , later to Bayreuth and finally, after the Treaty of Lunéville , to Munich . After three years, the family settled in the Duchy of Berg , which Wilhelm in Bavaria had received from Maria's brother Maximilian Joseph as apanage in 1803 . When Maximilian Joseph ceded the Duchy of Berg to Napoleon three years later, on March 15, 1806, Wilhelm received financial compensation and moved with his family to the residence in Bamberg , where Maria Anna lived until the end of her life. The Bamberg rose garden behind the residence goes back to her initiative: Maria Anna had 500 rose bushes and other flowers planted at her own expense in what was then the episcopal courtyard garden, creating the first rose garden in Franconia.

At the end of January 1824, Maria Anna fell ill with an "inflammatory fever", to which she succumbed on the afternoon of February 4, 1824. She was buried in the ducal family crypt of Schloss Banz , the family's summer residence.

progeny

⚭ 1808 Louis-Alexandre Berthier , Marshal of France, Prince of Wagram, Duke of Neufchâtel (1753–1815)
⚭ 1807 Princess Amalie Luise von Arenberg (1789–1823)

ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Christian II of Pfalz-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1637–1717)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Christian III of Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1674–1735)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Katharina Agathe von Rappoltstein (1648–1683)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Friedrich Michael of Pfalz-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (1724–1767)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ludwig Kraft of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1663–1713)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1704–1774)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Philippine Henriette zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1679–1751)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maria Anna of Pfalz-Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Theodor Eustach of Pfalz-Sulzbach (1659–1732)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Joseph Karl von Pfalz-Sulzbach (1694–1729)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Marie Eleonore of Hessen-Rotenburg (1675-1720)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maria Franziska von Pfalz-Sulzbach (1724–1794)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Charles III Philipp Elector Palatinate (1661–1742)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Elisabeth Auguste of the Palatinate (1693–1728)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ludwika Karolina Charlotte von Radziwiłł-Birze (1667–1695)
 
 
 
 
 
 

Web links

Commons : Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Maria Anna. In: German biography . Retrieved December 16, 2019 .
  2. ^ A b c d Friedrich August Schmidt, Bernhardt Friedrich Voigt (Ed.): New Nekrolog der Deutschen . Second year 1824. Volume 2 , no. 2 . Ilmenau 1826, p. 1066-1068 ( MDZ ).
  3. ↑ Martha Schad: Bavaria's queens . Piper, 2008, ISBN 978-3-492-25298-0 .
  4. ↑ Marcus Junkelmann: Montgelas: "The most capable statesman who has ever directed the fortunes of Bavaria" . Pustet, 2015, ISBN 978-3-7917-2687-8 .
  5. ↑ a b Friedrich August Schmidt, Bernhardt Friedrich Voigt (Ed.): New Nekrolog der Deutschen . Fifteenth year 1837. Volume 15 , no. 1 . Weimar 1839, p. 61-63 ( MDZ ).
  6. ↑ History of the sights - Residenz. In: landshut.de. Retrieved December 20, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Stroll in the scent like the princes once did. In: nordbayern.de. August 14, 2010, accessed December 20, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Maria Anna of Pfalz-Zweibrücken
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Maria Anna of Pfalz-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld; Maria Anna Duchess in Bavaria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duchess in Bavaria
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1753
PLACE OF BIRTH Schwetzingen
DATE OF DEATH February 4, 1824
Place of death Bamberg