- Princess Maria Christina of Saxony (1735–1782)
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Maria Christina Abbess of Remiremont Maria Christina by Maurice Quentin de La Tour Full name Maria Christina Anna Theresa Salomea Eulalia Francisca Xaveria Father Augustus III of Poland Mother Maria Josepha of Austria Born 15 February 1735
Wilanów Palace, Warsaw, PolandDied 19 November 1782 (aged 47)
Château de Brumath, Brumath, FranceBurial 15 December 1782
Église des Dames, Remiremont, FranceReligion Roman Catholicism Maria Christina of Saxony (Maria Christina Anna Theresa Salomea Eulalia Francisca Xaveria;[1] 12 February 1735 – 19 November 1782) was a Princess of Saxony and later Abbess of Remiremont.
Contents
Family
Her father Augustus III of Poland, was the Elector of Saxony (as Frederick Augustus I), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (as Augustus II). Her mother Maria Josepha, born an Archduchess of Austria, was a first cousin of Empress Maria Theresa.
She was the tenth child of fourteen. Her sisters included Maria Amalia, Queen of Spain (wife of Charles III of Spain), Maria Josepha, Dauphine of France (mother of Louis XVI), Maria Anna, Electress of Bavaria and Maria Kunigunde, Abbess of Thorn and Essen.
Her brothers included two two electors of Saxony, Frederick Christian a Duke of Couland and a Duke of Teschen (son in law of Empress Maria Theresa).
Her father had 354 known children outside marriage[2];.
Biography
Maria Christina was born at the Wilanów Palace in Poland.[1] She came from a close family and her parents made sure they put emphasis on a good education. The young princess was educated in Latin, French, Polish, Philosophy, Geography, Religion, Drawing, Music and dance.
Her older sister Maria Josepha married Louis, Dauphin of France in 1764.[2] The same year, Maria Christina was sent to France to become a Coadjutorice at the Abbey of Remiremont in Remiremont, northern France. Her position was thanks to the personal intervention of Louis XV himself.[2]
At the time of her arrival, the abbey was under control of Anne Charlotte de Lorraine, sister of the Holy Roman Emperor and aunt of the future Marie Antoinette.[3]
In France, she was known as Marie Christine de Saxe.
In 1773, at the death of Anne Charlotte, Maria Christina was named Abbess, a position she would keep till her death.
Remiremont had seats and votes in the Reichstag including all rights and obligations of an Imperial Princess (such as low justice, tax, legislation, coinage and military service), and enjoyed immunity against temporal power.
She was a frequent visitor to Paris and was fond of the Theatre and the city's social life. She spent a great deal of money, the payment of which was made by Stanisław Leszczyński (Duke of Lorraine till his death in 1766) and after that the king Louis XV. Her correspondence with her brother Francis Xavier, Regent of Saxony was preserved at Trojes.
She was created a Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross.
Maria Christina bought the Château de Brumath in the town of Brumath[4] in the Alsace region of France. Purchased in 1775,[4] she chose the building for its location in the country and for its natural setting. She lived a lavish lifestyle at the château which far outdid her revenues. Dying at the château on 19 November 1782,[1] her nephew the then king Louis XVI was obliged to pay debts to the tune of 136,876[4] livres for his dead aunt.[4]
She was buried at the abbey in its église des Dames on the 15 December 1782. She was praised for her intelligence, her conversation and for being a cultivated woman for her age. The château de Brumath was abandoned[5] and was pillaged in the French Revolution.[5]
Ancestry
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 12 February 1735 – 19 November 1782 Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Christina of Saxony
References and notes
- ^ a b c van de Pas, Leo. "Maria Christina of Saxony". Genealogics .org. http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00013830&tree=LEO. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
- ^ a b c Christensen, Martin K.I. "Women in Power 1770-1800". www.guide2womenleaders.com. http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/womeninpower/Womeninpower1770.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
- ^ Marie Antoinette would come to France in 1770 to wed the Duke of Berry, future Louis XVI
- ^ a b c d "Historique de Brumath". www.brumath.fr. http://www.brumath.fr/mairie-brumath/decouvrir-ville-historique.html. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
- ^ a b "Brève histoire de Brumath". www.prixeuropeendelitterature.eu. http://www.prixeuropeendelitterature.eu/html/fichepays.asp?id=14. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
See also
Princesses of Saxony, duchesses in Saxony by birth The generations are numbered from the ascension of Frederick I as Elector of Saxony in 1423. 1st generation Princess Katharina • Anna, Landgravine of Hesse • Katharina, Electress of Brandenburg2nd generation Amalia, Duchess of Bavaria-Landshut • Anna, Electress of Brandenburg • Margarete, Princess-Abbess of Seusslitz • Margaret, Electress of Brandenburg • Margarete, Countess of Glatz • Hedwig, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg3rd generation Christina, Queen of the Kalmar Union • Katharina, Archduchess of Further Austria • Margarete, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg • Princess Anna4th generation Princess Anna • Princess Agnes • Christine, Landgravine of Hesse • Magdalena, Electoral Princess of Brandeburg • Princess Margarete • Sibylle, Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg • Marie, Duchess of Pomerania-Wolgast • Emilie, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach • Sidonie, Duchess of Brunswick-Kalenberg • Princess Margarete5th generation Anna, Princess of Orange • Princess Eleonore • Elisabeth, Countess Palatine Johann Casimir of Simmern • Princess Marie • Dorothea, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel • Princess Amalie • Anna, Duchess of Saxe-Eisenach6th generation Princess Anna Sabine • Sophie, Duchess of Pomerania • Princess Elisabeth • Dorothea, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg7th generation 8th generation Princess Sibylle Marie • Erdmuthe Sophie, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth9th generation none10th generation none11th generation Maria Amalia, Queen of Spain* • Princess Maria Margaretha* • Maria Anna Sophia, Electress of Bavaria* • Maria Josepha, Dauphine of France* • Maria Christina, Abbess of Remiremont* • Princess Maria Elisabeth* • Maria Kunigunde, Abbess of Essen*12th generation Maria Amalia, Duchess of Zweibrücken • Princess Maria Anna • Princess Maria Theresia • Maria Christina, Princess of Carignan13th generation Princess Maria Augusta, "Infanta of Poland" • Princess Amalie • Princess Maria Ludovika • Maria Ferdinanda, Grand Duchess of Tuscany • Princess Maria Johanna • Princess Maria Theresia • Maria Anna, Grand Duchess of Tuscany • Maria Josepha, Queen of Spain14th generation Princess Maria • Elisabeth, Duchess of Genoa • Princess Sidonia • Anna, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Tuscany • Margaretha, Archduchess Charles Louis of Austria • Sophie, Duchess Karl Theodor in Bavaria15th generation Princess Maria • Princess Elisabeth • Princess Mathilde • Maria Josepha, Archduchess Otto Francis of Austria16th generation Princess Maria • Margarete Karola, Princess of Hohenzollern • Maria Alix, Princess of Hohenzollern-Emden • Anna, Archduchess Joseph Francis of Austria17th generation Princess Maria Josepha • Anna de Afif, Princess of Gessaphe • Mathilde, Princess John Henry of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha18th generation Princess Iris,19th generation none20th generation none* princes royal of Poland and Lithuania Barbara of Salm (1580-1602) · Elizabeth of Salm (1602-1611) · Catherine de Lorraine (1612-1648) · Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans* (1648-1657) · Anne Marie Thérèse de Lorraine (1657-1660) · Dorothea Maria of Salm (1660-1702) · Élisabeth Charlotte de Lorraine (1700-1711) · Christina of Salm (1702-1710) · Béatrice Hiéronyme de Lorraine (1710-1738) · Anne Charlotte de Lorraine (1738-1773) · Maria Christina of Saxony (1773-1782) · Charlotte de Lorraine (1782-1786) · Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon (1786-1790)*Was "titular abbess"
^acted as Administratrice while "Abbess" was awayCategories:- 1735 births
- 1782 deaths
- Benedictines
- People from Warsaw
- House of Wettin
- French Roman Catholic abbesses
- French Roman Catholic nuns
- Abbesses of Remiremont
- 18th-century German people
- 18th-century Polish people
- 18th-century French people
- Dames of the Order of the Starry Cross
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