- Princess Marianne of the Netherlands
Marianne of the Netherlands ("Wilhelmina Frederika Louise Charlotte Marianne";
9 May 1810 -29 May 1883 ), was a member of theHouse of Orange-Nassau , by birth Princess of theKingdom of the United Netherlands and by marriage Princess of theKingdom of Prussia .Family
Born in
Berlin , she was the youngest child and second daugther of KingWilliam I of the Netherlands by his wife Wilhelmine of Prussia. Her elder sister, Pauline, died in 1806, long before her birth, so Marianne became in the only daughter of her parents who survive adulthood. Her two older brother were the later King William II andPrince Frederik of the Netherlands .Life
In
The Hague on14 September 1830 , Marianne married with her first-cousin Prince Albert, the fourth son of KingFrederick William III of Prussia -brother of her mother-. The union produced five children:*Frederika Louise Wilhelmine Marianne "Charlotte" (b. Schloss Schönhausen, near Berlin,
21 June 1831 - d. Meiningen,30 March 1855 ), married on18 May 1850 with the laterGeorg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen .*A child (Palais an der Wilhelmstrasse, near Berlin,
4 December 1832 ). He was either stillborn or lived a few hours. [http://www8.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/cgi-bin/stoyan/l1/LANG=span/INDEX=I213662]*Frederick Wilhelm Nikolaus "Albert" (b. Berlin,
8 May 1837 - d. Kamenz,13 September 1906 ).*Frederika Louise Wilhelmine "Elisabeth" (b. Kamenz,
27 August 1840 - d. Kamenz,9 October 1840 ).*Frederika Wilhelmine Louise Elisabeth "Alexandrine" (b. Berlin,
1 February 1842 - d. Schloss Marley, near Potsdam,26 March 1906 ), married on9 December 1865 to Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.In 1845 she left her unfaithful husband and children and began to live with her lover and former coachmanJohannes van Rossum . On28 March 1849 , Marianne and Albert of Prussia were formally divorced. Seven months later (30 October ) inCefalù ,Sicily , she gave birth her only child with van Rossum, a son, called "Johannes Wilhelm von Reinhartshausen". After these, the courts of the Hague and Berlin broke all contacts with her. Marianne, Johannes and their son spent the following years inItaly andErbach .In 1855 Marianne bought the
Schloss Reinhartshausen in Erbach. An unusual cultural visionary and progressive woman, she made the Schloss Reinhartshausen a cultural centre of the Rhine. Marianne reconstructed part of the Schloss as a museum to house her collection of 600 paintings. The museum is known today as the "Festsäle". The Schloss was always vibrant with many guests and Marianne encouraged young artists providing them accommodation. From her treasures 180 paintings, 110 drawings including watercolours and gouaches and various sculptures can be found today.OnChristmas Day of 1861, her son Johannes Wilhelm died of pneumonia in Reinhartshausen aged twelve. To honour him, Marianne donated 60.000 "Gulden" to the Erbacher locals for a piece of ground, on which a church was to be constructed. The church was completed and Johannes buried under its altar. The church, named after Johannes, is today’s protestant church in Erbach.Twelve years later, on
10 May 1873 , Johannes van Rossum, Marianne's partner for almost thirty years and the love of her life, died aged sixty-four. He was buried next to his son.Marianne survived him by ten years and died in the Schloss Reinhartshausen in Erbach twenty days after her seventy-third birthday. She was buried near Johannes van Rossum and their son.
Her eldest son, Prince Albert of Prussia, inherited her state, included the Schloss Reinhartshausen. In 1940, her grandson, Prince Frederick Heinrich of Prussia -Albert's son- owned the property. Today the Schloss Reinhartshausen is a 5-stars hotel. [http://www.kempinski-reinhartshausen.de/en/hotel/index.htm?id=925]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
