Caroline Augusta of Bavaria

Karoline Charlotte Auguste of Bavaria ( born February 8, 1792 in Mannheim, † February 9, 1873 in Vienna), the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria was and his wife Auguste Wilhelmine of Hesse- Darmstadt and by her two marriages only by Crown Princess Württemberg and eventually Empress of Austria.

First marriage

Princess Charlotte Augusta married on June 8, 1808, according to the Protestant and Catholic rite, in the Green Gallery of the Royal Castle in Munich, the Crown Prince William of Württemberg. For this marriage was only a protective marriage. He had been to avoid having to enter into a political marriage with a woman the grace of Napoleon. Throughout the ceremony, Wilhelm behaved freezing cold and had put on an indifferent face. Afterwards was the first to his wife what he said in French: We are victims of politics. For the wedding, the opera Adelasia ed Aleramo by the Bavarian composer Johann Simon Mayr took place in Cuvillies theater. On departure from Munich, he refused to take a seat in the carriage of his wife. In Stuttgart, he went his own way and avoided the vicinity of his wife. The marriage was never consummated and Charlotte Auguste housed in a wing of the royal palace in Stuttgart, which was as far as possible location of the apartments of William away, so he does not hit as possible. The two saw each other only at the table, where he spoke with his wife only the bare necessities, she treated ungallant and sometimes even hurtful. The young wife found solace in her chatelaine, dame Andlau Camilla and her confessor, Sebastian Franz job and also in the letters of her favorite brother Louis, whom she trusted completely. They whiled away their time with the refreshing their knowledge of Italian, learned English, went for walks, reading (preferably Goethe ) and painted what was their favorite pastimes. After the overthrow of Napoleon, this first marriage was divorced in August 1814. The appointed by the King of Württemberg Protestant Consistory declared the marriage on August 31, 1814 to be invalid. Karoline Auguste resigned generous financial and moved to an aunt who lived in Neuburg an der Donau, from which it was received kindly. To be footloose and fancy free again for a possible new marriage, but had to cancel the connection, which was done after a lengthy procedure, the Catholic Church. Pope Pius VII she gave birth on January 12, 1816 by her marriage vow.

Second Marriage

Her brother, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, tried behind the back of his father remarries Karoline Auguste threading. Discussions to that he had with the widowed brother of Emperor Francis I of Austria, with Grand Duke Ferdinand III. Tuscany. The young woman was aware of these plans and the Emperor Francis was informed by his brother about it. Prince Metternich, however, had other plans and then finally the two brothers for the hand of the same woman, the father of the idolized had been set out by the emperor's interest in knowledge competed, it was nevertheless by Ludwig conceal the arbitrary alignment for marriage. Now Karoline Auguste had to decide for one of them, and they finally decided to go for state political considerations that have been suggested to her by Metternich and Montgelas, for Franz. Ferdinand had become more or less voluntarily withdrawn his application for her hand, what you made ​​the decision easy. On October 29, 1816, the wedding ceremony by procurationem took place in the Munich Court Orchestra. The groom was represented by their brother Ludwig.

After their trip over the Altötting to Braunau, where the handover took place, continue on Ried, Enns and St. Pölten she reached on November 9, 1816 Schönbrunn, where she was welcomed by her husband and the entire family.

On November 10 1816 she married in the parish church of the imperial court to three times widowed Emperor Francis I of Austria, whose first wife was the way William's aunt and became empress. They changed the order of their first names Karoline Auguste to consciously distinguish themselves from the Württemberg time. There were no great celebrations after the wedding, as before in Munich, as the Emperor as always practiced thrift.

Childless and in politics no role playing, she devoted herself to charitable activities. Through their efforts more child -care institutions were built, hospitals, and housing for workers ( Carolinäum in Vienna V., Arbeitergasse ).

She lived after the death of her husband (1835 ) in Salzburg, so as not to get her half-sister Sophie of Bavaria, 1824 Archduke Franz Karl got married in the way. Franz Karl would be in the revolutionary year of 1848 after the resignation of Ferdinand I, according to the rules of the dynasty, automatically become Emperor, but abandoned on the advice of Sophie political reasons in favor of both then 18 - year-old son, Franz Joseph I, who is now the future of the dynasty should embody.

Understood Initially, both good, but later it came again and again to friction. However Karolina Augusta had a good relationship with Sophie's children, including Franz Joseph. She was one of the few members of the Imperial House, the Empress Elizabeth also understood amicable.

High Mature died the ever popular Empress Dowager a day after her 81st birthday. She was buried in the Imperial Crypt in addition to her husband and his first three wives.

Personality and appearance

Contemporaries described as modest, noble, sympathetic, intelligent and religious. At the age of two years, she contracted smallpox, which ugly, enstellende scars left behind. At the first meeting with her first husband, she told him her concern with regard to their unsightly appearance. Wilhelm said that this was not a concern for him, but then the reality looked different.

Honors

In 1844 in Vienna Wieden ( 4th District ) was named Karolinengasse after her. In Salzburg, the bridge Karoline Karoline and the height on the mountain monk that name and before 2007 it is with the Salzburg Museum Carolino Augusteum. In the Rosenheim Caroline High School is named after her, in Stuttgart Charlotte Square and Charlotte Street that was created in their lifetime. In Prague, the district Karlin bears ( German: Karlin ) its name.

Bibliography

• Constantin von Wurzbach: Habsburg, Karolina Augusta. In: Biographical Dictionary of the Empire of Austria. Volume 6, published by L. C. Zamarski, Vienna 1860, pp. 397 f
• Karoline Auguste. In: Austrian Biographical Encyclopaedia 1815-1950 ( ÖBL). Volume 3 Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1965, p 245
• Celestine Wolfsgruber: Carolina Auguste the " Dowager Empress ". Vienna 1893.
• Friedrich Steiner Weiss: Dear heavens and hells marriage. Munich 1999.
• Martha Schad: Bavaria queens. Munich 2000.
• Hans Martin Decker -Hauff: Women in home Württemberg. Leinfelden 1997, ISBN 3-87181-390-7.
• Susanne Elisabeth Hauser: Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, the fourth wife of Emperor Franz'I. of Austria. 3 Bde, phil.Diss, Vienna 1991.
• Elisabeth Katharina Rath: Empress Caroline Auguste at Salzburg. A contribution to the social history of Salzburg in the second half of the 19th century. phil.Diss, Salzburg 1988.
• Karl Ehrenfellner: Caroline Auguste ( 1792-1873 ). Namesake of the Salzburg Museum imperial benefactress in Salzburg. Exhibition. Salzburg Provincial Museum Carolino Augusteum, 1993.
• Thomas Kuster: The Italian travel diary Kaiser Franz'I. of Austria in the year 1819. A Critical Edition. phil.Diss, Innsbruck 2004.
• Thomas Kuster: The Italy Travel Emperor Franz I of Austria in 1819. In: Roman Historical Releases, vol 46, Rome, Vienna 2004, pp. 305-334.
• Manfred Berger: Karoline Auguste of Bavaria. In: Biographic- bibliographic church encyclopedia ( BBKL ). Volume 24, Bautz, Nordhausen 2005, ISBN 3-88309-247-9, 392-400 Sp. (Articles / Articles beginning possibly in the Internet Archive )