Marie of Sachsen-Altenburg (1845–1930)
Marie Gasparine Amalie Antoinette Caroline Charlotte Elisabeth Luise von Sachsen-Altenburg (born June 28, 1845 in Munich ; † July 5, 1930 in the Residenzschloss in Sondershausen ) was born Princess of Sachsen-Altenburg , Duchess of Saxony. She came from the old Wettin line , from the Ernestine line . By marrying Prince Karl Günther , she received the title of Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen .
Childhood and youth
Marie, Princess of Saxony-Altenburg , was the youngest daughter of Prince Eduard of Saxony-Altenburg (1804-1852), the uncle of Duke Ernst of Saxony-Altenburg and his second wife, Princess Luise Reuss zu Greiz (1822-1875), daughter by Prince Heinrich XIX. Reuss to Greiz and Princess Gasparine de Rohan-Rochefort . Like her brother Prince Albert (1843–1902), she was born in Munich in her father's palace on Karlsstrasse.
From your father's first marriage to Princess Amalie von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1815-1841) came your half-sisters Princess Therese (1836-1914), who married Duke August von Dalekarlien from the Swedish royal family in 1864 and Princess Antoinette (1838-1908), who 1854 married Duke Friedrich I of Anhalt . They were in close contact with each other. The two half-brothers Ludwig and Johann died at an early age.
Princess Marie spent the first part of her childhood with her parents and three siblings in Munich, where her father was stationed near his favorite sister Therese , the Queen of Bavaria , as the commander of the Bavarian military. At that time the princess was on friendly terms with Crown Prince Ludwig , who later became King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the sons of Prince Regent Luitpold and the daughters of the ambassadors from England and Prussia, Lady Milbank and Fraulein von Bockelberg. Even in later years, Princess Marie was in close friendly contact with the Silesian Princess Caroline von Schoenaich-Carolath (1845-1896), Countess Mathilde zur Lippe and Princess Friederike von Hannover (1848-1926).
After the early death of the father in 1852, the mother and the children initially moved to the royal court at Nymphenburg Palace for some time . After the mother was newly married to Prince Heinrich IV. Reuss zu Köstritz (1821-1894), the family moved to Thuringia , the Paragiat Reuss-Köstritz . From this marriage came the two half-siblings Heinrich XXIV. Reuss zu Köstritz (1855-1910) and Eleonore (1860-1917).
After the confirmation in April 1860, the princess was sent to the court of Duke Ernst von Sachsen-Altenburg, the cousin on her father's side, in the residential city of Altenburg . During her nine-year stay, the lady-in-waiting, Fraulein von Liederskron, was appointed for upbringing and education. Princess Marie's particular interests were literature and history.
Before Princess Marie met her future husband, the future Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, she traveled a lot in her youth, often accompanying her sisters. The relatives in the Thuringian residences were often visited, Eisenberg was a popular destination, Berlin and Weimar were visited several times as places where important German poets worked. On long journeys through the German countryside, she stayed in Bad Kreuth and spent some time in the Alps . In 1866 the rulers crossed Switzerland and stayed in the Bernese Oberland and St. Moritz . In 1868, the Prince of Hohenzollern invited the princess to the Weinburg on Lake Constance and the Bavarian royal family also received her at Hohenschwangau Castle in the vicinity of Neuschwanstein Castle, which was being built at the time .
Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
In March 1868, Princess Marie first met her future husband, the then Hereditary Prince Karl Günther von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1830–1909) at court in Dessau . The engagement followed shortly afterwards. The wedding was supposed to take place in August of the same year, but had to be postponed to the following year due to Marie's serious illness of diphtheria . The hereditary prince couple finally entered into a marriage bond on June 12, 1869 in the church at Altenburg Castle . Pastor Hilbert led the wedding in the presence of, among others, the Crown Prince of Prussia and later German Emperor Friedrich III. , Prince Heinrich XXII. von Reuss-Greiz , Grand Duchess Alexandra , the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin of Russia and Princess Luise von Anhalt as well as the Hereditary Prince Couple Friedrich and Antoinette von Anhalt , Prince Leopold and Hugo von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. She then followed her husband to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen .
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, the Hereditary Prince Marie showed great commitment to those wounded and sick in the war. She founded a support association that collected funds for soldiers' wives in need and their children, as well as for the wounded, and mobilized women who, among other things, produced bandages and were responsible for the "procurement of refreshment and strengthening materials" for the Schwarzburg soldiers. She also founded a private hospital and supported the deaconesses .
After Prince Günther Friedrich Carl II, who had a serious eye disease, decided to abdicate and to hand over the business of government to his son Karl Günther on July 17, 1880, Marie was raised to the rank of princess of the small Thuringian state of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. The official and solemn entry of the new princely couple into the residential town of Sondershausen was celebrated on September 4th, as the gentlemen had previously spent their summer in Gehren .
In addition to her duties as princess, Marie, who was enthusiastic about culture and history, was interested in the historical and highly significant doll collection “ Mon plaisir ” of the Schwarzburg princess Auguste Dorothea (1666–1751), which was located in Gehren Castle at the time . In its time, however, this had long been forgotten. The princess zealously restored the collection of the detailed reproduction of court life in the 17th and 18th centuries, enlarged it and made it important again. The Doll City has been exhibited in the New Palace in Arnstadt since 1932 .
With the death of her husband, the Schwarzburg-Sondershausen line died out in the male line, so that the principality and title passed to Prince Günther Victor von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1852–1925). A separate court was established for Marie as a princess widow and she stayed mainly in the castles of Sondershausen and Gehren. After the end of the monarchy in 1918, she received the right to live in a wing of her former residential palace, which she shared with the abdicated Prince Günther Victor and his wife Princess Anna Luise von Schwarzburg (1871-1951).
On July 5, 1930, the princess widow Marie died childless at the age of 85 in the Residenzschloss Sondershausen. She was buried in the princely burial chapel of the Trinity Church.
Contemporary effect
At this point, a text passage from the book "Karl Günther Fürst von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and the youth story of Princess Marie von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen" by Herrmann Schrödel, published for the 25th anniversary of the reign in 1905, should be cited:
- “… A character, full of spirit and vitality, a princess in every respect; of delightful amiability, cheerful, with a fine sense of humor. Feeling humanly, she understands people's sorrows and joys, and her doing is a real benefit, a benefit with the heart. At the same time she expresses an excellent practical sense for the welfare of her people in the country everywhere ... "
literature
- Cremer, Annette: Mon Plaisir. The doll town of Auguste Dorothea von Schwarzburg (1666-1751) , Cologne: Böhlau 2015, ISBN 978-3-412-22399-1 .
- Schroedel, Hermann: Karl Günther Fürst von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen along with the youth story of Princess Marie von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen , Leipzig: Fischer & Kürsten 1905.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Schroedel, Hermann: Karl Günther Fürst von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen along with the youth story of Princess Marie von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen , Leipzig: Fischer & Kürsten 1905, p. 41.
- ↑ Schroedel 1905, p. 42 f.
- ↑ Schroedel 1905, p. 43 f.
- ↑ Schroedel 1905, p. 45.
- ↑ Schroedel 1905, p. 43.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Marie of Saxe-Altenburg |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Saxony-Altenburg, Marie Gasparine Amalie Antoinette Caroline Charlotte Elisabeth Luise von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Princess of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 28, 1845 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Munich |
| DATE OF DEATH | 5th July 1930 |
| Place of death | Sondershausen |