Maria Theresa of Austria-Tuscany (1801–1855)
Maria Theresia Franziska Josefa Johanna Benedigte of Austria-Tuscany (born March 21, 1801 in Vienna ; † January 12, 1855 in Turin ) was Queen of Sardinia-Piedmont from 1831 to 1849.
Life
Maria Theresa was born in 1801 as the daughter of Grand Duke Ferdinand III. born of Tuscany and his first wife Luisa Maria of Naples-Sicily (1773–1802). She lost her mother at the age of one. She spent her childhood in Vienna and Würzburg .
On September 30, 1817, she was married to the 19-year-old Duke Karl Albert of Savoy-Carignan in Florence Cathedral .
The couple had three children:
- Viktor Emanuel (March 14, 1820 - January 9, 1878), first king of united Italy
- Fernando Maria (born November 15, 1822 - † February 10, 1855), first Duke of Genoa
- Maria Christina (July 2, 1826 - July 15, 1827), Princess of Sardinia-Piedmont
Maria Theresa, portrayed as a beautiful woman and a loving mother, developed more and more into an enthusiastic Italian and translated some “moral stories” from German into French for her children. However, Karl Albert is said not always to have been loyal to his wife.
Due to an attempted rebellion, the old King Victor Emanuel I of Sardinia-Piedmont abdicated on March 13, 1821 in favor of his brother Karl Felix , but appointed his nephew Karl Albert as regent due to his temporary absence. The uprising was quickly suppressed and Karl Felix remained king until his death (1831). Now Karl Albert ascended the throne and his wife Maria Theresa became Queen of Sardinia-Piedmont. Imbued with deep piety, she tried in vain to prevent legislation that was contrary to the Catholic Church.
In the course of national Italian unification movements, Karl Albert tried to break the supremacy of Austria on the Apennine peninsula in 1848/49, but ultimately failed due to his defeat in the Battle of Novara (March 23, 1849) against the Austrian field marshal Josef Graf Radetzky . His eldest son then took over the government as Victor Emanuel II, while Karl Albert passed away in exile in Porto on July 28, 1849 .
Maria Theresa hardly appeared in public anymore, retired to Tuscany in 1851 and died in Turin in early 1855. She was buried in the Basilica di Superga in Turin.
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Habsburg, Maria Theresia von Toscana . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 7th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing House, Vienna 1861, p. 82 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Maria Theresia , in: Brigitte Hamann (ed.), Die Habsburger , 1988, p. 346.
| predecessor | Office | Successor |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Christina of Naples and Sicily | Queen of Sardinia-Piedmont 1831–1849 |
Adelheid of Austria |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Maria Theresa of Austria-Tuscany |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Maria Theresia Franziska Josefa Johanna Benedigte of Austria-Tuscany |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Queen of Sardinia-Piedmont |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 21, 1801 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 12, 1855 |
| Place of death | Turin |