Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg -Bayreuth ( born December 29, 1671 at Bayreuth, † September 4, 1727 in Pretzsch (Elbe ) ) was Electress of Saxony and from 1697 Titularkönigin of Poland.
Negotiations Dresden -Bayreuth
As of 1690 led the Saxon Elector Johann Georg III. Negotiations with the parents of the Brandenburg Princess Christiane Eberhardine because of a marriage of his second son Frederick August. The Princess came from a branch of the Hohenzollern and was Magdalena Sibylle of Brandenburg- Bayreuth, the mother of John George III. , Related to the Wettin dynasty. As the sister of the Margrave of Brandenburg- Bayreuth Erdmann August, the grandfather of the bride, this was also grandmother of the groom. The bride and groom were thus cousins 2nd degree. The Elector of Saxony and later his successor Johann Georg IV, the elder brother of the groom, wanted to strengthen the position of Saxony and sought allies to strengthen the bonds between the Wettin and Hohenzollern.
The bride's father, the reigning Margrave Christian Ernst of Brandenburg- Bayreuth, hesitated, a response because he and especially the mother of the princess, Sophie Luise of Wurttemberg, had reservations about the candidate. With the dubious reputation of being a fickle playboy Friedrich August was not a very worthy candidate. His four letters remained unanswered. Only when the negotiations of the parents failed with two attractive candidates for them, the Wettin had a chance. The desire for a befitting supply the now 21- year-old daughter - at an advanced age for the time ideas - gained the upper hand: On November 27, 1692 Margrave Christian Ernst finally declared his consent to the marriage alliance.
Wedding in Bayreuth and a short time in Dresden
The marriage of the couple was held on January 20, 1693 in Bayreuth, the hometown of the bride in place. Over the four weeks of festivities has been little reported. A libretto ( opera libretto ) by Antonio di Nepita in the State Library of Dresden is one of the rare memories. It shows that at the Brandenburg- of Bayreuth court at that time, the Italian opera and the French ballet had established: The three Italian sung files between Prolog and ballets were given.
After the festivities, the newlyweds traveled to Dresden. A few weeks later, Friedrich took part of August, along with his brother on a passage of arms against Ratzeburg, his wife was left alone. Shortly after his return, he moved in Lent a Karnelval to Venice, which he extended trip to Rome and Naples, did not speak for his loyalty. On February 11, 1694 lonely and unhappy Christiane Eberhardine wrote of their hope for a happier married life and her concern for his health to her mother a letter in which their infatuation is felt to her husband:
In the fourth year of marriage Christiane Eberhardine gave birth on October 17, 1696 in Dresden Elector Friedrich August. On the occasion of the birth of the heir to the throne gave her the Elector Pretzschendorf the castle on the Elbe. In the same month, the mistress of Augustus Aurora by Königsmarck also gave birth to a son. Christiane Eberhardine that had fulfilled their dynastic duty, soon withdrew from court life in her castle after Pretzschendorf back.
Career and change of faith of the husband
Friedrich August fought soon after, to the Polish crown, but he converted on 2 June 1697 Catholicism and was eventually crowned as King of Poland in September 1697. However, a goal he did not achieve: The wife Christiane Eberhardine not converted. She remained faithful to their Protestant faith and never entered Polish soil. Because of their opposition to the plans of her husband, the Elector and King of Poland, the maternal custody rights were curtailed over her son, the Crown Prince. The education of the young heir to the throne was entrusting it with her mother, Anna Sophie. The spatial separation deepened the marital alienation to the electors and resulted in a gap with the only Son. Its conversion to Catholicism at a young age was engineered by his father and loaded Christiane Eberhard Ines motherhood. Popularly Christiane Eberhardine was nicknamed " the Betsäule Saxony " by Protestants as a title of honor and by Catholics as a mockery. So she left for fear of the Saxons recatholicization Print Protestant prayer books and distribute free of charge. In the eyes of their subjects, they became the preserver of the Lutheran faith.
Pretzschendorf
Christiane Eberhardine lived mainly on Pretzschendorf castle on the Elbe, at times, she moved to the castle rock hard in Torgau. She took only occasionally participate in certain events and festivities at the Dresden court. Your hometown Bayreuth she visited often, where you were given in honor of operas. In their voluntary exile, she deployed to the model of the electoral court a remarkable cultural life. She held the maitre de musique and chamber musician Stephan Jänichen. The musicologist Michael Maul is considering in his History of Baroque opera in Leipzig, if not Eberhardine " was the actual mediator for the exports of the Leipzig opera in Bayreuth be " could; an investigation of possible correlations is still pending.
In addition to music on her farm in Pretzschendorf her was particularly the fate of orphans at heart. Economically, it was active: 1697, she took over a company founded by Constantin Fremel glassworks in Pretzschendorf.
Vereinsamt died Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg- Bayreuth at the age of 55 years and was buried on September 6, 1727 in the town church of Pretzschendorf. Neither her husband nor her son appeared to her funeral.
The Leipzig funeral Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the so-called Trauerode ( "Let, Princess, let still a beam ", BWV 198) on a text by Johann Christoph Gottsched, which was performed on October 17, 1727 in St. Paul's Church.