Maria Dorothea of ​​Württemberg

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Maria Dorothea von Württemberg (painting by Anton Einsle , 1847)
Maria Dorothea Princess of Württemberg. Lithograph by Gabriel Decker , 1840.
The castle of Ofen around the middle of the 19th century

Maria Dorothea Princess of Württemberg (full name: Maria Dorothea Luise Wilhelmine Karoline von Württemberg ; born November 1, 1797 in Carlsruhe (Pokój) , Silesia ; † March 30, 1855 in Ofen (now Budapest )) was Archduchess of Austria and Palatinessa by marriage of Hungary .

Life

Origin and youth

Maria Dorothea was the first of five children of Duke Ludwig von Württemberg , called Louis, and his second wife Princess Henriette von Nassau-Weilburg , daughter of Prince Karl Christian and Princess Karoline von Oranien-Nassau-Diez . Her paternal grandparents were Duke Friedrich Eugen von Württemberg and the niece of the Prussian King Friedrich II , Princess Friederike Dorothea Sophia von Brandenburg-Schwedt .

The Württemberg princess enjoyed a select and comprehensive upbringing and education. As an extraordinarily linguistically gifted student, she had learned the biblical languages ​​so that she was able to read the Old Testament in the Hebrew and the New Testament in the ancient Greek original language. A considerable theological interest is attested to Maria Dorothea, her piety, influenced by her mother, received important impulses from the Moravian Brethren . Maria Dorothea obviously enjoyed the visits of important humanities scholars and theologians at home and carefully followed their lectures and the resulting discussions. And so she appropriated the tendencies of old Pietist Lutheran piety and Bengels spiritualism at an early age. The father of Swabian Pietism , Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687–1752), is said to have shaped her religious image all her life and she will not abandon his “Württemberger piety” until her death. The Christocentric worldview conveyed to her in this way and the benevolent work of her mother undeviatingly shaped her entire subsequent life.

The young princess also showed great musical talent. This was promoted and shaped by the composer Carl Maria von Weber , whom Duke Louis had hired as private secretary as well as tutor. Before her marriage, she had matured into a highly educated woman, who also enriched her knowledge by reading English and French.

Marriage and offspring

On August 23, 1819, Princess Maria Dorothea married Archduke Joseph Anton Johann of Austria , Palatine of Hungary, seventh son of Emperor Leopold II of the House of Habsburg-Lothringen and Maria Luisa de Borbón , Infanta of Spain in Kirchheim unter Teck . The ecumenical wedding ceremony - unusual for the time - took place in Kirchheim unter Teck Castle. She was by the Catholic Bishop Johann Baptist von Keller (1774-1845), as well as the confirmator of the Duchess, the Evangelical Lutheran. Prelate August Heinrich d'Autel (1779–1835), who was also the Württemberg court preacher, celebrated.

The marriage had five children:

⚭ 1847 Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este
⚭ 1854 Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria
⚭ 1864 Princess Clotilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
⚭ 1853 King Leopold II of Belgium

For Archduke Joseph Anton of Austria it was already the third marriage, because his two wives, first the Russian Orthodox Grand Duchess Alexandra Pawlowna , then the reformed Princess Hermine von Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg , had died in childbirth. The 43-year-old Archduke, widowed twice, found in Maria Dorothea, a cousin of his second wife, a caring stepmother for the children from his second marriage; she gave birth to five children herself. The fact that the Palatine married three women of different denominations hit the conservative Habsburg family hard, although his brother Archduke Karl of Austria was also married to a Reformed princess, Henriette von Nassau-Weilburg , a cousin of the Palatinessa, who was the only Protestant member of the Habsburgs was allowed to be buried in the Vienna Capuchin Crypt.

The first Protestant church (and school house) on Burgberg zu Ofen around the middle of the 19th century (demolished in 1896)

In any case, the Palatin's inclination towards non-Catholic brides fueled the concern that, in the event of a renewed widowhood, he might have married a Jew. This “concern” seems to have been an indication of the anti-Semitic mood in Ofen (and Pest), from which the Palatinessa's interest in Judaism clearly distanced itself.

Hungary

The archducal family resided in the castle of Ofen. In accordance with the position of the palatine, the woman at his side also played an extremely important role. Shortly after the newly married couple arrived at the Burg zu Ofen in October 1819 , the palatinessa was immediately given representative tasks. She got to know her new environment and the public institutions of her new home. Everywhere she was greeted warmly as the "new" palatinessa. However, Maria Dorothea did not speak the Hungarian language. And so she asked Johann Ludwig von Schedius , who was a professor at the university and inspector (church leader) of the ev.-luth. Parish in Pest was to give her Hungarian language lessons. The linguistically gifted Palatinessa learned the language of their new home quickly and easily. Because of her pietistic religious conviction, she began to do charitable work out of Christian responsibility. She offered material help to a wide variety of institutions, set up charitable foundations and took over the patronage of the “Charitable Women's Association”.

The upbringing of children and popular education was particularly important to her, which is why she participated in the promotion of schools, e.g. B. in Leutschau , Preßburg and Pest, but also in other parts of old Hungary with considerable financial donations.

Their special care and affection naturally belonged to their Evangelical Lutheran co-religionists. She supported the Protestant parish of Pest and was also closely connected with the Protestant parish of Pressburg, where she often stayed for long periods of time as her husband's companion during the sessions of the Hungarian state parliaments . The Palatinessa regularly attended church services in the Great German Church on the nunnery in Preßburg and supported the community with generous donations. Of the preachers of the congregation, she particularly preferred Wilhelm Josef Jarius , as he was basically a preacher of the 'old gospel', which came very close to Maria Dorothea's conception of faith. In the annals of the Pressburg parish, Maria Dorotheas is thought of as "an enthusiastic benefactress of Protestantism in Hungary". In gratitude, the congregation of Pressburg offered her a separate, splendid honorary seat in the church.

Dorothea also had an interest in Hebrew literature and believed in the return of the Jews to the Holy Land . She was friends with Rabbi Lazar Horowitz and in 1851, at his request, canceled the expulsion of hundreds of Jewish families from Vienna .

In the spring of 1832 the palatinessa stayed again in Pressburg. It was the time of the Hungarian Parliament again. During a church service she heard the young, educated pastor Georg Bauhofer preach. Maria Dorothea was so enthusiastic about Bauhofer's revival sermon that she sent him a splendid book present. For both of them this was the beginning of a lifelong, deep soul relationship that began in Pressburg and was of beneficial significance not only for the Hungarian Evangelical Church AB, but also for all of Hungarian Protestantism. On her initiative, Bauhofer was repeatedly invited to hold talks on the Burgberg in Ofen. In these conversations the Palatinessa announced its intention that the numerically still very small community in Ofen should become independent; in 1844 the number of Evangelicals in Ofen was only 402 souls. Maria Dorothea wished that Bauhofer would be appointed as the first preacher of this community and at the same time hold the office of court preacher at the Ofen Castle. She underscored this wish with a generous donation of 20,000 guilders. Years of negotiations with the church leadership followed, which were ultimately crowned with success. Bauhofer moved with his family to Ofen and was able to give his inaugural sermon on October 20, 1844 on the Ofener Burgberg.

Alcsút Castle at the time of Maria Dorothea (contemporary engraving from 1832)

In 1846, with the help of the palatine on the Burgberg zu Ofen (on St. Georgsplatz near the gate to the water town), a plot of land for the construction of the first Protestant church in Ofen was acquired. And already in 1847 this property could be built with a small church, school and rectory. This empire- style castle church served the small, initially purely German Protestant parish of Ofen for almost 50 years. In 1896 the community moved to its current domicile, the new church on Wienertor Platz (Bécsi kapu tér), which was built in the late baroque style and built in 1896.

The widow

The evangelical Maria Dorothea was not recognized by the imperial family in Vienna or its members in Hungary, not only because of her religious affiliation. For the Hungarian Protestants, however, the princess was a particular stroke of luck. Archduchess Maria Dorothea introduced the Christmas tree to Hungary in 1819, and the name Dorotheenbaum was in use for a long time .

In 1847, after the death of her husband, she and her children had to leave Hungary. She was deprived of custody of her son Joseph's upbringing. Her nephew, Emperor Ferdinand I , rejected her wish to be allowed to stay in Hungary, contrary to the agreed marriage contract. She was banished to Vienna, so to speak, with an assigned place of residence in the Palais Augarten , probably also because of her evangelical faith that was consciously lived. On January 25th, Georg Bauhofer and the small evangelical community from Ofen said goodbye to the tear-streaked palatinessa. But even in Vienna she remained the "persona lutherana" who read the most important book for her, the Holy Scriptures, every day. With her confidants, but especially with Bauhofer and the first pastor of the Hungarian parish of Pest, founded in 1837, Joseph Székács (1809–1876), she continued to exchange letters. This was followed by visits to Ofen, some incognito, some legal. So it was an extraordinary pleasure for the Palatinessa to be able to take part in the celebrations for the inauguration of the new Evangelical Church of Ofen.

In the last years of her life it became quiet around Maria Dorothea. She devoted herself to her numerous families, after all she had given birth to five children, three of whom reached adulthood. After the Palatinessa went to see her daughter Elisabeth in Ofen in 1855 , she fell ill and died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 30th as a result of a stroke. She was only 58 years old.

The funeral took place on April 4, 1855 with great sympathy. In addition to Georg Bauhofer, the (later) superintendent József Székács and the pastor of the German Protestant community in Pest, Michael Lang, also attended the funeral. Bauhofer gave a moving funeral oration based on the Bible verse from the Proverbs of Solomon (Prov. 20: 6): “Many people praise their goodness; but who can find one who is reliable? "

Memorial plaque for Maria Dorothea in Dorottya utca (Dorothea Gasse) in Budapest

The palatinessa was buried in the Palatine Crypt in the castle of Ofen at the side of her husband, the Imperial Palatine Joseph. The farewell prayer was said by Pastor Michael Lang and the Roman Catholic court provost Scholz gave the blessing while the bells of all Protestant churches were ringing throughout Old Hungary.

In the mirror of history

When the doors of the palatine crypt closed behind Maria Dorothea, the “veil of oblivion” gradually fell over the Protestant Habsburg woman. The years passed, times changed; The 20th century came with two terrible wars, the Hungarian line of the Habsburgs left Hungary, the family archive in the summer residence of Alcsút , which Maria Dorothea loved , was burned. The castle of Ofen was bombed but rebuilt. The Palatine Crypt was the only one in the castle area to keep its original shape, but was not open to the public. In 1973 the crypt was broken into, the coffins were broken open with brute force, the bones of Maria Dorothea and the others resting there, in search of jewelry, scattered throughout the crypt ... a picture of horror ... It is thanks to the tireless commitment of the Hungarian anthropologist István Kiszely that the scattered bones could be put back together and reburied with dignity.

In the mirror of history, Maria Dorothea is without a doubt one of the great female figures of Protestantism. She, the native German, has achieved a lot in her new home, the kingdom of the Hungarian St. Stephen's Crown , through her evangelical faith, which has always been the root of her actions . Thanks to her merits, she undoubtedly deserves a place alongside the most important benefactors of Hungarian Protestantism, such as the great Zsuzsanna Lorántffy (around 1600–1660; wife of the fighter for Protestantism, Georg I. Rákóczi ), Kata Szidónia Petröczy (1662–1708), or Katharina Bethlen (1700–1759).

literature

Web links

Commons : Maria Dorothea von Württemberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl W. Schwarz: Maria Dorothea (1797-1855) - a Württemberg Pietist in Hungary . In: "By Leonhard Stöckel ...", p. 101
  2. ^ A b Anton Klipp: Fragments on the History of Protestantism in Old Hungary . In: Carpathian Yearbook 2006, p. 56
  3. ↑ Hamann, p. 318
  4. ^ Karl W. Schwarz: Maria Dorothea (1797–1855) - a Württemberg Pietist in Hungary , p. 10; see also Jutta Hausmann: Maria Dorottya nádorné kora és a zsidómisszió (The Mission to the Jews in the Time of Paltinessa Maria Dorothea), Fabiny Tibor-emlékkönyv, Budapest 2009
  5. ^ Brigitte Hamann: Die Habsburger, Ein biographisches Lexikon, Vienna 1988
  6. ^ Anton Klipp: Fragments on the History of Protestantism in Old Hungary . In: Carpathian Yearbook 2006, pp. 55 to 61
personal data
SURNAME Württemberg, Maria Dorothea von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Württemberg, Maria Dorothea Luise Wilhelmine Karoline von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archduchess of Austria and Palatinissa of Hungary
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1797
PLACE OF BIRTH Carlsruhe
DATE OF DEATH March 30, 1855
Place of death Budapest