Wilhelmine von Graevenitz

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Alleged miniature portrait of Wilhelmine von Grävenitz, 1721

Christine Wilhelmine Friederike von Grävenitz , Countess von Würben (born February 4, 1685 in Schilde , † October 21, 1744 in Berlin ) was the mistress of Duke Eberhard Ludwig of Württemberg . With Wilhelmine's placement in Stuttgart, the Grävenitz family hoped to be able to further consolidate their political influence on the Duke. Despite the resistance of the estates and opponents at court (above all the Duchess Johanna Elisabeth von Baden-Durlach ), Wilhelmine managed to stand by Eberhard Ludwig's side for 24 years. She owed her relationship with the duke to her rise to the rank of imperial countess , the acquisition of several rulers and opportunities to influence politics. Nevertheless, her role at the Württemberg court was threatened twice. In 1707 her marriage to the already married Eberhard Ludwig triggered a state affair that could only be overcome with the help of a marriage of convenience. In 1711 she married Count Franz Ferdinand von Würben. In the second crisis, the Duke renounced her in 1731 in order to beget a descendant entitled to the throne with the Duchess and thus avoid the rule of the Catholic branch line Württemberg-Winnental under the later Duke Karl Alexander . After brief imprisonment in Urach and exile from the Duchy of Württemberg , she spent her final years in Berlin under the protection of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I.

Life

origin

Wilhelmine von Grävenitz was born into a small noble family that had extensive connections to the royal courts of the Holy Roman Empire , for example in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (Wilhelmine's father Hans Friedrich von Grävenitz as court marshal ), in the Kingdom of Prussia (Wilhelmine's sister Eleonore von Grävenitz as "confidante" of Queen Sophie Luise ) and in the Duchy of Württemberg (Wilhelmine's brother Friedrich Wilhelm von Grävenitz ). The latter made a career under Duke Eberhard Ludwig as a Privy Councilor, Lord Chamberlain and Prime Minister. Friedrich Wilhelm von Grävenitz, however, did not belong to the Württemberg nobility. This increased his dependence on the Duke of Württemberg. In order to secure the favor of Eberhard Ludwig, he finally positioned his sister Wilhelmine at the court.

Beginning of the relationship with Eberhard Ludwig (1706)

Duke Eberhard Ludwig (1693–1733)

Friedrich Wilhelm's scheming plan found support at the Württemberg court; the court marshal Johann Friedrich von Staffhorst , the mistress Madame de Ruth and the privy councilor von Reischach. Prince Friedrich Wilhelm von Hohenzollern-Hechingen , a friend of the Duke, was also inaugurated. The more detailed motives of the individual persons have not been clarified. What is certain is that Wilhelmine initially contracted smallpox. Your trip to Stuttgart was delayed for a year. In 1706, Court Marshal Staffhorst took her into his home in Stuttgart. There she received the cloakroom required for her stay at court and was prepared to appear in a manner befitting her status in court society. In the beginning, however, the Duke's interest was directed towards another mistress, Madame von Geyling.

In the long term, Wilhelmine was able to prevail against the competing mistress. A love affair developed between the Duke and Wilhelmine. Their ascent was favored by the distant relationship between Eberhard Ludwig and his wife Johanna Elisabeth von Baden-Durlach . According to written sources, the Duke spoke out clearly against the arranged marriage of convenience. He was married to Johanna Elisabeth not because of feelings, personal similarities and sexual desires, but rather to enter into a political alliance with the neighboring margraviate of Baden-Durlach . Eberhard Ludwig saw his voluntary association with Wilhelmine as legitimate, since it was “God's business” for him alone. Still, it wasn't a love affair in the modern sense. Eberhard Ludwig and Wilhelmine conducted their relationship in public at the court. There was no intimate retreat for her. In addition, Eberhard Ludwig always remained in the role of prince and forced Wilhelmine, for example, to respect another brief love affair of the duke. There was no equal position between them.

State affair and exile (1707–1711)

Secret marriage (1707)

Without a marriage to Eberhard Ludwig attested by the courtly public, Wilhelmine's legal and social status remained highly uncertain. She always had the risk of being denied by the Duke in a critical situation. Their rank and economic security were thus in danger. In 1707 she succeeded in convincing Eberhard Ludwig to at least marry in secret on the Neuhaus manor near Bierlingen ( Starzach municipality ). The Duke was doing bigamy because he had already married Johanna Elisabeth von Baden-Durlach in 1697 . The morganatic second marriage still met with resistance from the Württemberg provinces , the population, the emperor, the wife and some imperial princes , both in domestic and foreign policy . Eberhard Ludwig was able to dispel the religious and moral concerns of pastor Johann Jakob Pfähler, who was supposed to give the secret marriage his ecclesiastical blessing and thus legitimacy, with the prospect of richer benefices . The exact course of the marriage ceremony and the date are still unknown.

Announcement of the marriage and promotion to imperial countess (1707)

With the marriage not being made public for the time being, Wilhelmine's uncertain situation had not improved. Although rumors of marriage circulated, court society continued to view her as just a short-term mistress of the Duke who could soon be ousted by another favorite. In order to be recognized as his rightful wife, she presumably threatened Eberhard Ludwig with leaving him if he did not comply with her request. With the so-called Urach Proclamation, the Duke finally announced his marriage to Wilhelmine. In the document he wrongly dated the marriage back by a year. The marriage that has existed for a long time should prevent doubts about its legal validity. In Urach he introduced Wilhelmine von Graevenitz for the first time in the presence of the court and the ministers as his wife. In addition, on November 19, 1707 in Pfullingen, he contractually decreed that she would accept the hereditary title of Countess of Urach, receive 10,000 guilders annually for life, enjoy a right of residence in the Urach residence and that he would confirm all the jewels and movables he had given her. Eberhard Ludwig had been negotiating for months in Vienna for the upgrading of rank , because only the emperor could elevate Wilhelmine to the rank of imperial count incontestably . The fact that the Duke granted her the title of Countess von Urach before the emperor's official confirmation was formally a violation of the law, which was not punished. In December 1707, the Viennese court handed over a diploma that granted the coveted title to both Wilhelmine and her brother.

Expansion to the state affair (1707)

The news of Eberhard Ludwig's double marriage had already reached Durlach on November 15, 1707 . There, Margrave Friedrich Magnus von Baden-Durlach, the father of Johanna Elisabeth, who had been betrayed by the Duke of Württemberg, ruled . The margrave immediately ordered messengers to be sent to befriended and related royal courts to spread the word. The Baden government showed particular interest in how the Imperial Court would position itself in Vienna. Close relatives of the Baden dynasty worked at the Viennese court, and the mood tended to favor Johanna Elisabeth. Before the Marquis acted, he wanted the backing of Emperor Joseph I assure. In fact, a commission was formed in Vienna to persuade Eberhard Ludwig to divorce the Countess von Grävenitz. Although Elector Georg Ludwig I of Hanover rejected the commission's mandate, Duke Anton Ulrich von Braunschweig and Landgrave Karl von Hessen-Kassel advocated the banishment of Wilhelmine from Württemberg. However, all those involved refrained from escalating the state affair by relying on negotiations. Eberhard Ludwig was thus spared from filing a lawsuit with the Reichshofrat .

The Duchy of Württemberg was not only troubled in terms of foreign policy as a result of the Grävenitz affair. The clergy in particular referred to the fact that polygamy was strictly forbidden by law in Württemberg and that adultery was usually punished with severe corporal punishment . The criticism was aimed at the fact that the Duke could not place himself above the law. In doing so, they indirectly questioned the state theory of absolutism claimed by Eberhard Ludwig , according to which the ruler only owes an account to God and his conscience. The clerical and secular state authorities also unanimously demanded that the second marriage be annulled.

Annulment of the marriage (1708)

Eberhard Ludwig reacted to the disobedience of his state institutions by playing with face down cards: Sometimes he agreed to leave the decision on his second marriage to a formal court case and sometimes he insisted on his princely special rights. With this "confusing" strategy, the Duke initially succeeded in leaving his opponents in the dark about his further course of action. In the end, the Duke decided to respond to the external and domestic political pressure with apparent concessions. He was forced to agree to the annulment of his second marriage. The divorce was carried out on June 18, 1708 by a Württemberg marriage court, which was composed of three ecclesiastical and three secular councilors. The court was normally responsible for all subjects, officials and members of the University of Tübingen. The fact that the Duke had to bow to his own rights to a limited extent - especially the Third Württemberg Marriage Code of 1687 - was a great humiliation for Eberhard Ludwig's self-image. But with his courtesy, he signaled to the emperor that he was ready to negotiate. Eberhard Ludwig was ready to make further concessions if Joseph I guaranteed the existence of Wilhelmine's imperial count and advocated a considerable amount of compensation from the estates. On November 16, 1708, Emperor Joseph I ordered in a rescript that Wilhelmine would lose her count's title and rank if she did not leave Württemberg and the adjacent territories. He threatened her with a lawsuit for bigamy, but at the same time called on the Württemberg state estates to show the duke subordination and respect. On December 28, 1708, Wilhelmine von Grävenitz left Württemberg for exile in Switzerland - admittedly with a ducal compensation of 50,000 guilders. With this move, the Duke regained political freedom of action despite the humiliation of his rank, which should enable him in the long term to bring Wilhelmine back to his court.

Stuttgart Conference (1710)

The death of Margrave Friedrich VII of Baden-Durlach , the father of Johanna Elisabeth, on June 25, 1709 contributed to a significant defuse of the Wilhelmine affair. Now Karl Wilhelm , the later founder of Karlsruhe , ascended the throne in Durlach. In view of the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession , which threatened to devastate both Baden-Durlach and Württemberg, Karl Wilhelm was ready to compromise. On March 26, 1710, he met Eberhard Ludwig in Stuttgart. One of the participants in the conference was Gustav von Mardefeld, a representative of the Imperial Commission. Both camps agreed on a draft that guaranteed that Johanna Elisabeth would recognize the mistress if she returned and that Eberhard Ludwig would have to promise his wife a reconciliation in return. The decision of the conference made it impossible for Johanna Elisabeth to intrigue politically against Wilhelmine von Graevenitz. In the spring of 1710, after initial resistance, Johanna Elisabeth agreed to a reconciliation with Eberhard Ludwig. The Duke had thus formally complied with all the demands of the Imperial Commission. Probably the advisor Johann Heinrich von Schütz prepared the fictitious marriage move, which should enable Wilhelmine her return to Württemberg. Schütz was present at the Viennese court during the Graevenitz affair and was involved in negotiations.

Marriage of convenience and return (1711)

The Oberhausen estate, place of the wedding with the Count von Würben and Freudental

The Graevenitz affair was overcome with the construct of a marriage of convenience. Wilhelmine's feigned marriage to Count Johann Franz Ferdinand von Würben and Freudental , an imperial chamberlain, was intended to give the impression that her return in February 1711 had nothing to do with her earlier relationship with the Duke of Württemberg. Since Eberhard Ludwig named Count Johann Franz Ferdinand von Würben and Freudental shortly afterwards as "Landhofmeister", she gained a secure and high position at the court with the position of "Landhofmeisterin". For a time she was at the top of the female ranking, as Johanna Elisabeth stayed away from courtly societies in Ludwigsburg. Only with the arrival of Henriette Marie von Brandenburg-Schwedt , the wife of Eberhard Ludwig's son, was her courtly position surpassed. Wilhelmine did not have to show much consideration for her husband, because the count is said to have undertaken not to consummate the marriage and to stay away from the court. However, this meant that he could not exercise his office, which formally actually predestined him to head the state administration. After his death, the dignity of the court master was not awarded again. Nevertheless, Johann Franz Ferdinand von Würben and Freudental, who was plagued by Viennese gambling debts, benefited from the marriage, which brought him financial advantages.

Portrait of Franz Ferdinand von Würben and presumably Christina Wilhelmina née von Grävenitz

The wedding took place in a secluded chapel in Gut Oberhausen near Hausen am Tann . The documents issued by the pastor in Tieringen were destroyed. Even without biological children, Wilhelmine adopted her niece Wilhelmine Charlotte (1720–1771), the daughter of her brother Karl Ludwig and Maria Anna Claudine nee Schaffalitzky von Muckadell .

High point of the "career" (1711–1731)

Wilhelmine as a political advisor

In the late 17th and 18th centuries, the dukes of Württemberg adopted an absolutist style of government to a limited extent . In this regard, almost all major political, economic, and military decisions were tied to the Duke's personal approval. For Wilhelmine von Grävenitz, this meant that, firstly, with her unhindered access to Eberhard Ludwig and, secondly, as a ducal confidante, she could influence the Duke's opinion. The proximity to the Duke made her the contact person for political petitioners who did not belong to Eberhard Ludwig's exclusive circle. However, although she exercised considerable influence, she was not in a position to sell offices or distribute privileges herself. These privileges were due solely to the duke, not his mistress. Friedrich Wilhelm von Grävenitz and Johann Heinrich von Schütz in particular developed into Wilhelmine's political rivals . In their double function as minister and confidante of the duke, they were able to reverse Wilhelmine's decisions.

For Eberhard Ludwig, the participation of his mistress in political deliberations was beyond doubt. From the beginning she was a member of the Conference Ministry, founded in 1717, the highest government institution in Württemberg. In defense, the Duke said that the French King Louis XIV was also holding cabinet meetings in the presence of his mistress Madame de Maintenon . His will to rule already legitimizes this practice. When Wilhelmine stayed away from a meeting of the committee, the Duke warned her in a letter that had survived that she should "come in the devil's name, everything else is not right". It can be considered certain that Eberhard Ludwig did not make any decisions at times without first hearing the Countess. However, how far she was able to actually influence his decisions is a matter of dispute in research. According to her secretary Krippendorf, she was particularly interested in administration and foreign policy. She was the driving force behind various financial and administrative reforms. However, it must be noted that Krippendorf's writings always aimed to stylize Wilhelmine as mistress in order to enhance his own position. But Austrian and French ambassadors also repeatedly mention the “pouvoir” or the power of the landlady at court. Count von Seckendorff, an imperial envoy, stated that the countess had given him a competent conversation with the reasons that forbade Württemberg to openly oppose France in the War of the Spanish Succession . At the same time, the countess demanded a million livres from the French king in 1711 in order to consider possible intermediary services. It was probably part of a diplomatic ambiguity. The unsatisfactory level of their monetary demand was presumably intended to demonstrate the insincerity of France regarding an alliance. In addition, the Württemberg government was able to gain valuable time through negotiations with France in a phase of power-political vacuum following the death of Emperor Joseph I. This example suggests, according to the historian Sybille Oßwald-Bargende, that Wilhelmine was very familiar with the political processes and worked at least a few hours a day in state files.

Wilhelmine as a scapegoat

Eberhard Ludwig's lavish way of life met with massive criticism in the strictly Lutheran Württemberg. Harvest failures, wars and epidemics were seen as God's punishment for the duke's sinfulness. For fear of reprisals, however, it was not the duke himself who became the target of criticism and ridicule, but his mistress. In this regard, it served as a kind of "lightning rod" for the duke, who was dependent on attracting noble favorites through the allocation of estates and the maintenance of a grand court. Such political measures widened the cultural gap between the Herzogshof and most of the population. In this situation Wilhelmine von Grävenitz offered herself particularly as a scapegoat, as, from the point of view of contemporaries, as mistress, she symbolized the moral depravity of the court. With the premarital relationship with Eberhard Ludwig, she first violated the church's rule of virginity , then with the fictitious marriage violated the principle of being bound to a single (married) man and finally misused the state's resources for her own purposes. However, it must be pointed out that a separation of the state and princely coffers was still unusual at this time. That is why state money actually flowed into the mistress' treasury in the form of princely donations.

A case of denunciation can be proven in 1717: A chamber servant of the Countess von Würben claimed to have heard from a cook that Wilhelmine von Graevenitz was making the Duke dependent on himself by prohibited means. She aborted children and ran "Hurerey". The rumor picked up by the servant probably has a true core: According to Wilhelmine's secretary, she had beauty products made. Many of the literary beauty guides recommended recipes with unusual ingredients such as earthworms or blood. Even incantations were recommended, which often aroused suspicions of sorcery. That Wilhelmine followed the beauty cult corresponded to the baroque zeitgeist and was nothing unusual. In the court's rumor mill, in which one envied the Grävenitz for her high position, such accusations could quickly arise. The chamber servant passed her information on to Johanna Elisabeth, who in turn caused the court preacher Samuel Urlsperger to interrogate the cook. When the Duke heard of the incident, he had the servant and the cook arrested and sued the court preacher by a commission of inquiry.

The former Oberhofmarschall Georg Friedrich Forstner von Dambenoy blamed the Countess von Würben for his fall at court. As from 1708 he was head marshal as well as the court building in Ludwigsburg, so Eberhard Ludwig made him responsible for the "mismanagement" in Ludwigsburg. From the Duke's point of view, the construction of the residential palace was progressing too slowly. As a precaution, Forstner withdrew to his Alsatian country estate at the end of April 1716, from where he never returned to Württemberg. He published a defense document circulating throughout the Duchy of Württemberg, in which he polemically insulted the countess as "dishonorable prostitute". He even threatened to have her portrait burned in the marketplace of his rule in Dambenoy. The Duke reacted to this defamation of his mistress by burning Forstner's writings in Stuttgart with great public sympathy.

An anecdote alludes to the unpopularity of the Countess , the historical truth of which, however, has not been proven. When she asked that her name should be included in prayer, the Tübingen prelate Johannes Osiander allegedly replied that this already happened at every service in the Lord's Prayer (with the words: “Deliver us from evil”).

Wilhelmine as landlady

During her time as the favorite, Wilhelmine von Grävenitz acquired numerous estates and the associated rights of domination.

In 1708 she received the Gomaringen estate , in 1712, in return for its return, the Stetten Castle in Remstal with all rights, the Schafhof zu Rommelshausen, the entitlement to the County of Eberstein , in 1718 the rule of Welzheim , a territory that was once imperial-free territory, which after the extinction of the Limpurg taverns In 1713 it had reverted to the House of Württemberg and in 1728 Wilhelmine's brother Friedrich Wilhelm von Grävenitz made it possible for him to be admitted to the Franconian Imperial Counts College ; also in 1720 Weibelhub and the Oberleimbach fortress, 1723 the lordships of Horburg and Reichenweier in Alsace, 1726 to 1729 Sontheim an der Brenz and the knightly estate Freudental , 1727 the ducal castle Brenz with its estate and the market town of Brenz an der Brenz , 1728/29 the lordship Gochsheim , the Heimsheim estates (1729–1733 for the brother Friedrich Wilhelm), Bochingen , Marschalkenzimmern , Albeck, Pflummer and Winzerhausen, 1729 the county of Eberstein with all rights as a woman and kunkellee. She succeeded in gaining the approval of the Hereditary Prince and the landscape, as well as Prussian and imperial umbrella letters .

Geographically, the widely scattered estates did not form a coherent area, but ensured the imperial countess a supply appropriate to her rank. The estates reduced their dependence on Eberhard Ludwig's arbitrariness, both economically and politically, because the acquisition of imperial knighthood manors made them subject to the protection of the emperor (see imperial directness ). For this reason, Eberhard Ludwig was unable to obtain a permanent arrest of the imperial countess in 1731. In part, Wilhelmine's land holdings had a symbolic significance that should not be underestimated: Stetten was part of the widow's estate of the former Duchess Magdalena Sibylla . Traditionally, Johanna Elisabeth or Eberhard Ludwig's wife would have conceded it. With the award to his mistress, however, the duke underlined that Wilhelmine was his actual wife - a clear sign of favor.

During the “reign” of her imperial knighthood, Wilhelmine orientated herself on the absolutist government style of Eberhard Ludwig. She ordered the appointment of secular and clerical officials, was informed about conflicts and the state of their property, enacted ordinances and set days of judgment. Like the Duke in Württemberg, she built up a tightly managed administration during her rule. From 1730, the local officials had a central office in Ludwigsburg. The two top officials of the institution were summoned to speak to her twice a week. Wilhelmine obliged her officials to send her quarterly reports. In order to increase the yield, Wilhelmine ordered her officials to regularly inspect the vineyards, orchards, brickyards and livestock. When a major fire destroyed almost all of Welzheim, she ordered a detailed reconstruction using the ducal-Württemberg building code as a template. To prevent future fire disasters, roofs should be covered with tiles instead of straw or shingles. Fire protection walls should be erected and barns should be built not next to but behind the houses.

Capture and exile from Württemberg (1731–1744)

Ruins of the Hohenurach fortress

Just as an intrigue had promoted her rise at the Württemberg court, an intrigue heralded her fall. The background was the fact that Eberhard Ludwig's only son and intended successor, Friedrich Ludwig , was severely ill from the mid-1720s. If the Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ludwig died without heirs or the duke had no other legitimate son, his Catholic cousin Karl Alexander should succeed him on the throne and rule the Lutheran Württemberg. The duke feared that Württemberg would become re-Catholic after his death. Finally, he gave in to pressure from his environment and publicly announced on April 24, 1731 that he wanted to part with Wilhelmina von Grävenitz. On May 11, 1731, he ordered her to leave the Ludwigsburg court. The timing was well chosen, because on the same day Eberhard Ludwig left with a large entourage on a state visit to Berlin. For Wilhelmine von Graevenitz he was no longer available personally, which deprived her of any opportunity to change his mind. Behind the intrigue was a court party around Friedrich Wilhelm von Graevenitz, Louis von Fürstenberg and the gentlemen von Röder, von Geyer and Spiznas. Wilhelmine withdrew into her Imperial Knighthood Freudental or into the castle there. The denominational problem of succession to the throne persisted: Since Eberhard Ludwig did not get married again, he was contractually reconciled on June 30, 1731 with the Duchess Johanna Elisabeth . Wilhelmine was now a disruptive factor, because the duke had to go into the appropriate relationship, unencumbered by old ties. Wilhelmine's network of relationships also showed breaks: with the ailing Eberhard Ludwig and the death of Friedrich Ludwig on November 23, 1731, a change of government was already announced, which meant that the courtiers had to win the favor of their successor Karl Alexander. The Grävenitz faction and with it the support for Wilhelmine lost support.

captivity

In connection with the banishment of his mistresses from the court, sources point to an extreme emotional state of the duke. Eberhard Ludwig let Friedrich Karl von Schönborn know that he was suffering from fear and sweating. Probably guilt or a psychosomatic disorder were behind these health problems . However, the Duke was more likely to believe that the Countess had bewitched his body. Anger eventually grew out of his fearfulness. So he ordered his soldiers to march into the imperial county of his former mistress. On October 14, 1731, Wilhelmine von Würben was forcibly seized on her Imperial Knights' Estate Freudental and brought to Urach , where she was held prisoner partly in the castle and partly in the Hohenurach fortress until spring 1733 .

When Wilhelmine was arrested, Eberhard Ludwig committed a serious breach of the law: The imperial county of Freudental was not part of the Duchy of Württemberg, but, like all imperial knighthoods, was subject to the protection of the emperor . Since Württemberg troops had disregarded this legal protection, the Imperial Knights saw their political sovereignty fundamentally in question and the Emperor ignored his claim to a higher judicial function. For these two reasons, the emperor and imperial knighthood intervened in the matter. Due to this resistance, Eberhard Ludwig was unable to enforce the countess's permanent imprisonment or the confiscation of her property without replacement.

Despite the guard and control in Urach, Wilhelmine maintained contact with her manors and was also able to exchange letters with lawyers at the Vienna Imperial Court and Ludwigsburg courtiers. Since the Duke refused to make a public statement to her, she tried to manipulate the information situation at court with the help of rumors, to unsettle opponents and to change Eberhard Ludwig's mind. In her letters she affirmed that the Duke had not rejected her in any way and that bad advisers were responsible for her arrest. In fact, ministers and advisers initially kept a low profile on the Graevenitz question, fearing a change in ducal opinion. Your own career was in jeopardy if you angered Eberhard Ludwig in this regard. Wilhelmina's aim was not to object to the Duke's reconciliation with Johanna Elisabeth, but to return to the court.

Berlin exile

A balance between Kaiser, Eberhard Ludwig and Wilhelmine von Würben was only reached in the Urach Recess of December 19, 1732. Wilhelmine had to return valuables and documents to the duke. She had to undertake never to set foot on Württemberg soil again. The ducal fiefdom of Welzheim became the property of their brothers Friedrich Wilhelm von Graevenitz and Karl Ludwig von Graevenitz. Gochsheim, Stetten and Brenz became ducal property after a compensation payment of 125,000 guilders. This fortune enabled Wilhelmine to lead a befitting life in Berlin under the protection of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I until her death in 1744 .

Her adoptive daughter and niece Charlotte Wilhelmine Baronesse von Grävenitz came to Berlin with her and on February 4, 1735 married the Prussian major general of the cavalry, Georg Konrad von der Goltz . A degrading power struggle broke out over the assets of the Countess von Würben, in which Goltz, the royal minister Johann Moritz von Viebahn and King Friedrich Wilhelm I were personally involved. The Countess was not allowed to leave Prussia because those involved were afraid that she might move her fortune out of the country. She was forced to tie up her capital in Berlin by buying a house on Berlin's Burgstrasse. Only then did she regain her freedom of movement and reach a settlement with the Goltz couple. The relationship with her adopted daughter was then broken.

Death (1744)

Christina Wilhelmine von Würben died on October 21, 1744 and was buried in the vault of the Nikolaikirche in Berlin . During excavation work on the occasion of the restoration of the church in 1879, its gilded coffin tablet was recovered from the rubble. The inscription reads: "Christina / Wilhelmina Gräffin / von Wirben gebohrne / Countess von Gräveniz / is born: [ren] February 4th 1685 / died blissfully: [en] October 21: / 1744 / Here lies a God reconciled child / in Christ's blood bound / All his sins given to God / Through Christ's death and wounds / The soul is pure in heaven / Your God preserves its bones / Let it be resurrected with joy. "

Coffin table of the Countess von Würben, Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin

literature

  • Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and the power. Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society (= history and genders. Volume 32). Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 .
  • Gerhard Raff : Hie good Wirtemberg all the way. Volume 4: The House of Württemberg from Duke Eberhard Ludwig to Duke Carl Alexander. With the Stuttgart and Winnental lines. Landhege, Schwaigern 2015, ISBN 978-3-943066-39-5 , pp. 136–331.
  • Paul Sauer : Wilhelmine von Graevenitz, the Swabian Pompadour . Pedagogical-Cultural Center Former Synagogue Freudental, Freudental 2009, ISBN 978-3-9809962-4-2 .
  • Daniel Schulz: The very rich heir aunt. Countess Christina Wilhelmina von Würben in Berlin. In: Ludwigsburg history sheets. 68/2014, ISSN  0179-1842 , pp. 59-84; PDF download at Academia.edu article
  • Daniel Schulz: Joy and Sorrow. Countess Christina Wilhelmina von Würben (née von Grävenitz) and Freudental. In: Ludwigsburger Geschichtsblätter 72/2018, pp. 75-100. Download at Academia.edu article

Web links

Commons : Wilhelmine von Grävenitz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Wilhelmine von Grävenitz  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the court society , Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, pp. 82–83
  2. ↑ Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power, Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the court society , Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, pp. 88-89
  3. ^ Albert Sting: History of the city of Ludwigsburg: Volume 1: From the prehistory to the year 1816. Ungeheuer + Ulmer. Ludwigsburg 2000. p. 508.
  4. ↑ Sybille Osswald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and the power of Christina Wilhelmina Grävenitz and court society , Campus, Frankfurt 2000, p 152nd
  5. ↑ Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power, Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the court society , Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, p. 153.
  6. ↑ a b c Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 154-155 .
  7. ↑ a b c Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 156 .
  8. ↑ The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . S. 157 .
  9. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, p. 189 .
  10. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 171 .
  11. ↑ a b c Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 172 .
  12. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 174 .
  13. ^ Paul Sauer: Muses, power play and mistresses: Eberhard Ludwig - Duke of Württemberg and founder of Ludwigsburg . Silberburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-87407-798-9 , p. 84 .
  14. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 196 .
  15. ↑ a b c Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 9-10, 105 .
  16. ^ Ernst Wintergerst: Fictitious marriage 1711.
  17. ↑ Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power. Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society (= history and genders. Volume 32). Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 (digitized version)
  18. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 66-67 .
  19. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 113 .
  20. ^ A b Paul Sauer: Muses, power play and mistresses: Eberhard Ludwig - Duke of Württemberg and founder of Ludwigsburg . Silberburg, Tübingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-87407-798-9 , p. 110 .
  21. ↑ a b c Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 114-117 .
  22. ↑ Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The inexplicable ducal love . In: Hofgeschichten: The Ludwigsburg residence and its inhabitants . State Gazette, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-929981-50-5 , p. 14 .
  23. ↑ a b c Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 108-110 .
  24. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 106 .
  25. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 85 .
  26. ↑ Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and the power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 224 .
  27. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 123 .
  28. ↑ see Schulz, Freud und Leid 2018
  29. ↑ Main State Archives Stuttgart, sub-inventory A 48/05: possessions of the Grävenitz
  30. ↑ a b The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Frankfurt am Main, S. 124 .
  31. ↑ a b The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society: The mistress, the prince and the power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 134-135 .
  32. ↑ a b c Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 89-90 .
  33. ^ Paul Sauer: Muses, mistresses and power games: Eberhard Ludwig-Württemberg duke and founder of Ludwigsburg . S. 227 .
  34. ↑ Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and the power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 76 .
  35. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 182 .
  36. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 133 .
  37. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 183 .
  38. ↑ a b Sybille Oßwald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz and the courtly society . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-593-36637-1 , p. 187 .
  39. ^ Johann Samuel Heinsius: Genealogical-historical news of the very latest occurrences, which happened at European courts. Volume 33, Leipzig 1748, p. 741 (digitized version)
  40. ↑ Daniel Schulz: The very rich heiress. P. 75 f.
  41. ↑ Daniel Schulz: The very rich heiress. P. 77 ff. The board is in the Berlin City Museum: Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, inventory no. VI 6358, gilded copper, 50 × 32 cm. Illustration by Daniel Schulz: The richly wealthy Erbtante p. 79. The entry of her death can be found in St. Nikolai's book of the dead.
personal data
SURNAME Graevenitz, Wilhelmine von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grävenitz, Christine Wilhelmine Friederike von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mistress of Duke Eberhard Ludwig von Württemberg (1676–1733)
DATE OF BIRTH February 4, 1685
PLACE OF BIRTH Shields (sages)
DATE OF DEATH October 21, 1744
Place of death Berlin