Maria Louise Alexandrina Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach ( German: Maria Luise Alexandrina von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach ; , - , ) - Princess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, married - Princess of Prussia, granddaughter of Emperor Paul I.
| Maria Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | ||||
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| him. Maria von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach | ||||
 Mary in 1838 | ||||
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| Kind | Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Hohenzollerns | |||
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Life
Princess Maria was born into the family of the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Karl Friedrich, and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna , daughter of Emperor Paul I and Empress Maria Fedorovna . Maria was a niece to emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I , as well as a cousin to Alexander II . Her sister was the German Empress Augustus , wife of Emperor Wilhelm I.
The country at that time was ruled by their grandfather Carl Augustus . According to the decision of the Vienna Congress in 1815, the Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Duchy significantly expanded its territories and received the status of a Grand Duchy. Mary, after that, received the right to the title of Her Royal Highness .
The Weimar court, at which the young princess grew up, was one of the most liberal in the then Germany. Already in 1816 the country adopted the Constitution, which, among other things, granted freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Weimar, still under the influence of the enlightening spirit of the Duchess Anna Amalia , strove for art and literature. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a frequent visitor to the royal palace.
Mary's father was a shy person, led a reclusive lifestyle. Mother, continuing the work of her predecessor, in every possible way encouraged the cultural and scientific development of the duchy.
Together with her younger sister, Maria received a comprehensive education, mainly aimed at further performing ceremonial duties. The training included drawing lessons given to the girls by the court artist Louise Zaydler and music classes that were entrusted to the court bandmaster Johann Nepomuk Gummel .
In 1824, the princess first saw her future husband - Karl of Prussia . Maria Pavlovna and her daughters went to Russia, where her brother Nicholas I ruled. He and his wife were to meet them at the border, in Frankfurt an der Oder. In Frankfurt, the Crown Princess Mary and her daughters, on behalf of the Prussian king, were welcomed by princes Karl and William . During this meeting, Karl fell in love with Mary.
King Frederick William III supported the choice of a son and immediately contacted the courts of Weimar and St. Petersburg to arrange a marriage. However, Mary's mother and grandmother hoped that she would marry the heir to the throne, and offered her an alliance with William, while Karl was to marry Maria Augusta's sister. The situation was complicated by the love of William to Eliza Radziwill . Maria Pavlovna secretly hoped for an organic marriage between them, as a result of which the children of Karl and Mary would inherit the Prussian throne.
The case dragged on for more than two years, while Maria Fyodorovna managed to persuade her daughter to agree to the marriage of Karl and Mary, without setting the conditions for William.
At the age of 19, Maria married Karl in Charlottenburg . The wedding took place on May 26, 1827. The union turned out to be harmonious and happy. The couple had three children:
- Friedrich Karl Nicholas (1828–1885) - married Princess Maria Anna Anhalt-Dessau , had five children, ancestor of the current king of Sweden;
- Maria Louise (1829-1901) - married Alexis, a landgraf of Hesse-Philippe , and had no children;
- Maria Anna (1836-1918) - married Prince Friedrich of Hesse of Kassel , had six children.
From 1829, a young family lived in Berlin at the Palace of Prince Karl in Wilhelm Square, which was rebuilt according to the design of Karl Friedrich Schinkel . The summer residence, which quickly became a favorite, was the Glienicke suburban palace near Potsdam .
In 1829, Augusta married Prince William. After that, she began to be considered a higher rank than her sister. The subordinate position revolted Mary and her husband. The couple were constantly indignant at their position at the court, and the fact that they had to obey Augusta. Maria competed with her sister for gifts, clothes, jewelry, surroundings, friends. In addition to Augusta, Maria did not like Victoria , the next Crown Princess of Prussia for her English origin.
The house of Karl and Mary was also the center of the anti-British sentiment of the Prussian royal court and was in opposition to the Crown Princess of Victoria .
Karl loved history, travel and art. A lot of works of art and rare things were collected in their palace [2] . The prince had huge financial assets [3] , which contributed to the fact that the family had enough money.
On December 7, 1865, Maria became the chief of the 1st Westphalian Field Artillery Regiment.
The princess died before her 69th birthday on January 18, 1877 in Berlin . They buried her in a crypt under the church of Saints Peter and Paul in Wannsee. Her husband survived her for six years. Buried next to her.
Pedigree
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 The Peerage
- ↑ Prince Karl of Prussia [1] Archived copy of January 5, 2011 on the Wayback Machine (German)
- ↑ An article in The New York Times dated June 19, 1882 [2] Archived August 8, 2014 on the Wayback Machine .