Lubomirskaya, Ursula Catherine

Ursula Catherine von Altenbockum ( Ursula Katharina von Altenbockum ), first married Princess Lubomyrska ( November 25, 1680 , Warsaw (?) - May 4, 1743 , Dresden ) - official favorite of Augustus the Strong in 1700-05, mother of Chevalier de Sachs .

Daughter of Johann Heinrich von Altenbokum, a native of the Westphalian nobility, and his Polish wife Constance Branicki. At age 15, she conquered the heart of tycoon Jerzy Dominic Lubomirsky and became his wife. She lived in the center of Warsaw in the magnificent Lubomirski residence, nicknamed the “ palace under the badge ”.

The Polish-Lithuanian monarch, borrowing the receptions and institutions of the Versailles court of Louis XIV , borrowed, among other things, the institute of the official favorite . His chosen one was supposed to shine openly in front of the entire court, take part in official ceremonies until the reception of ambassadors and meetings of the royal council. It was something unheard of in Catholic Poland. In the eyes of the gentry, the monarch was justified by the fact that he actually broke up with his wife, who refused to accept Catholicism with him and who was secluded in the castle of Pretch on Elbe .

In 1700, Princess Lyubomirskaya, who had at the time divorced her husband, replaced another beauty next to the king - Countess Estherle . In order to add brilliance to her position, the Holy Roman Emperor endows her with the loud title of Princess Teschen ( Reichsfürstin von Teschen ), although in reality it was not Teshen , but the city of Hoyersverda , that was assigned to Ursula Catherine. Her brother Jan Casimir was offered a bishop's chair.

In 1705, the king began a gradual rapprochement with a new favorite - Countess Kozelskaya . Princess Teshenskaya received generous farewell gifts and retired in honorable retirement in Breslau . When Augustus cooled to the countess, her predecessor was allowed to return to the court. Thanks to her wealth, she again took a prominent place among the Saxon courtiers and became involved in some political intrigues, although there was no question of renewing relations with the king.

Princess Teschen Palace in Dresden

In 1722, 42-year-old Ursula Katarina secretly married the 32-year-old commander Friedrich Ludwig Württemberg-Vinental , the representative of the Württemberg sovereign house . According to the courtiers, the groom was attracted to Ursula not so much by traces of her former beauty as by the considerable size of her condition.

After the death of Augustus II, his son and successor took away the rights to Hoyersverda from Ursula Catherine, agreeing in return to pay 18 thousand thalers annually. Under the pretext of poor health, she stopped appearing at the court and shut herself up in her Dresden palace , built by Nauman . She was buried in Litomerice , in the Sudetenland.