Sophie von Coudenhoven
Countess Sophie von Coudenhoven , née von Hatzfeldt (born January 21, 1747 , † May 21, 1825 in Paris ) was a German noblewoman and confidante of Mainz Elector Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal .
Life
Sophie von Coudenhoven was the daughter of Count Karl Ferdinand von Hatzfeldt († 25 August 1766) electoral Cologne court marshal, and Charlotte Sophie von Hatzfeldt, née Freiin von Bettendorf († 9 April 1753). In 1772 she married Georges Louis, Baron de Coudenhove (* 1734; † July 13, 1786), from 1774 Burgmann in Friedberg and later Privy Councilor in Mainz .
Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal was a cousin of her mother. After he became Elector of Mainz in 1774, she moved to his court and lived in the corner pavilion of the Electoral Marstall (corner of Bauhofstrasse and Große Bleiche). One can only speculate about her relationship with Erthal. The interpretation of the relationship ranges from counselor, confidante to gray eminence of the electoral court to the elector's lover. At the elector's court, she belonged to a group of women called femmes électorales à Mayence . In some cases, these had a considerable influence on the elector's decisions, whereby, according to her contemporaries, Sophie von Coudenhoven played the most important role. Eduard Vehse reports that Sophie von Coudenhoven was also called the Aspasia of the Mainz court. Maria Franziska von Venningen (1753–1817), the wife of Johann Nepomuk Franz Octav Maximilian von Pfirt zu Carspach (1750–1818), also belonged to this group.
She supported Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein in his efforts to win the elector for the political goals of Prussia . Emperor Leopold II raised Sophie von Coudenhoven to the rank of count in October 1790 . After the elector's death in 1802, his brother Lothar Franz Michael von Erthal (1717–1805) bequeathed his property to the eldest son, Sophie von Coudenhovens, with the proviso that he would support his mother with the proceeds. She herself received a pension of a thousand guilders a year.
literature
- Emanuel readers : Coudenhoven, Sophie Countess von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 533.
- Jörg Schweigard: Enlightenment and enthusiasm for revolution: The Catholic universities in Mainz, Heidelberg and Würzburg in the age of the French Revolution (1789–1792 / 93–1803). Grin Verlag , 2007, ISBN 978-3-638-86451-0 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Adolf Bach: The Mainz Elector Friedrich Karl von Erthal and the women in: Goethe's "Dechant Dumeiz". A Rhenish prelate of the Enlightenment period. Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1964, p. 324 f.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Coudenhoven, Sophie von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hatzfeldt, Sophie von (name at birth); Coudenhove, Sophie von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German nobles |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 21, 1747 |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 21, 1825 |
| Place of death | Paris |