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Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

January 01, 1970

Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Maria Luise Augusta Catherina; 30 September 1811 – 7 January 1890), was Queen of Prussia and the first German Empress as the wife of William I, German Emperor.

Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1853.
Queen consort of Prussia
Tenure2 January 1861 – 9 March 1888
German Empress consort
Tenure18 January 1871 – 9 March 1888
Born(1811-09-30)30 September 1811
Weimar, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Died7 January 1890(1890-01-07) (aged 78)
Berlin, German Empire
Burial
Mausoleum at Charlottenburg Palace
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1829; died 1888)​
Issue
Names
Maria Luise Augusta Catherina
HouseSaxe-Weimar-Eisenach
FatherCharles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
MotherGrand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia
Signature

A member of the Grand Ducal House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and closely related to the Russian Imperial House of Romanov through her mother Maria Pavlovna, in June 1829 Augusta married Prince William of Prussia. The marriage was tense; Wilhelm actually wanted to marry his cousin, Elisa Radziwiłł, who was judged to be unsuitable by the Prussian court, and the political views and intellectual interests of the two spouses were also far apart. Despite personal differences, Augusta and William often worked together to handle correspondence and social gatherings at court. In 1831 and 1838 they had two children, Frederick William and Louise. After the death of her father-in-law King Frederick William III of Prussia in 1840, Augusta became the wife of the heir presumptive to the Prussian throne.

It was not an official position that gave Augusta political influence, but rather her social relationships and dynastic proximity to William. An important role was played by extensive correspondence with her husband, other princes, statesmen, officers, diplomats, clergy, scientists and writers. She saw herself as her husband's political advisor and saw the Prussian Prime Minister and German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck as her main political enemy. While Bismarck biographies sometimes characterize the Empress's political views as anti-liberal or as destructive directed solely against Bismarck's policies, more recent research classifies them as liberal. Accordingly, Augusta did not succeed overall in convincing her husband to restructure Prussia and Germany along the lines of United Kingdom's constitutional monarchy. Nevertheless, she certainly had political leeway in raising the heir to the throne, as an advocate for the Catholic population and through her access to the king and anti-militaristic representation. Exactly how far Augusta's influence as a monarch's wife went in the 19th century is still being debated in historiography.

Life edit

Childhood and youth (1811–1826): Shaped by the Weimar court edit

 
Augusta's mother Maria Pavlovna, a granddaughter of Catherine the Great, by Vladimir Borovikovsky, 1804.
 
Augusta's father Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach from 1828 to 1853, by Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, 1804.

Princess Augusta was born on 30 September 1811 in Weimar.[1] She was the third (but second surviving) child of Charles Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, sister of Emperor (Tsar) Alexander I of Russia. The princess' baptism took place a few days later, on 6 October,[2] with her full name being Maria Luise Augusta Catherina.[a] As is usual with royal and princely families, Augusta grew up not primarily in the care of her parents, but rather with her nanny Amalia Batsch.[2]

Her court teachers taught her four foreign languages: English, Russian, French and Latin. Additional subjects included mathematics, geography, religion, history, dancing, drawing, horse riding and music. Her teachers included specialists such as the court painter Luise Seidler, the composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel and the numismatist Frédéric Soret. However, the most important point of reference for Augusta was the poet and natural scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe organized the teaching content in consultation with Augusta's parents and taught it in the environment of the University of Jena. For Augusta, looking back, Goethe was the "best, most dear friend" that she and her sister Maria Luise (who was three years older than her), would have had in their childhood. Both sisters hardly had any contact with their peers.[3] According to the historian Lothar Gall, Augusta's political stance was shaped in the long term by her comparatively liberal family home.[4] Her grandfather Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach had already introduced a constitution in the Grand Duchy in 1816.[5] According to Monika Wienfort, this contributed to Augusta later advocating the transformation of Prussia into a constitutional monarchy.[6] As Gall believes, the political climate in Weimar favored Augusta's later proximity to a circle in the so-called Wochenblattpartei, who advocated not only for a Lesser Germany unity without Austria, but also for an "alliance with the leading forces of the liberal bourgeoisie" and a continuation of the Prussian reforms.[7] The GDR historian Ernst Engelberg, on the other hand, fundamentally denies Augusta's liberal stance: her political views are more likely to be located in the tradition of enlightened absolutism.[8] She did not want to know anything about a "parliamentary regime", but rather advocated "a constitution freely chosen by the monarch".[9]

The Weimar court also shaped Augusta from a cultural perspective. She developed a strong interest in art, was considered well-educated and was particularly strictly brought up to observe official court manners, the so-called etiquette.[10]

Marriage to Prince William: Means of alliance politics and dynastic position edit

Augusta's mother, Maria Pavlovna, made marriage plans for both daughters towards Prussia, which bordered Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach on several sides and was therefore perceived as a threat to the Grand Duchy. The marriages of Augusta to Prince William and Marie to Prince Charles of Prussia, William's younger brother, were intended to ensure the continued existence of the Grand Duchy. Maria Pavlovna no longer considered the protection provided by family ties to the Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp dynasty to be sufficient. Since she became Grand Duchess herself in 1828, she was able to push ahead with marriage efforts.[11] On the Prussian side, the motivation was to further expand the dynastic ties with Russia, because Augusta was a niece of Emperor Nicholas I.[12] Since the joint victory over Napoleon, Prussia and Russia were particularly close in terms of alliance politics. A daughter of the Prussian King Frederick William III, Princess Charlotte, had already been married to Nicholas, Emperor Alexander I's second brother and eventual successor, in 1817.[13]

 
Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach as a bride, ca. 1829.

Since his youth, Prince William, on the other hand, was in love with a former childhood playmate, his cousin Elisa Radziwiłł, daughter of his aunt Princess Louise.[14] However, due to her paternal descent from the Polish noble family Radziwiłł, Elisa was not considered an equal. The Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach made his consent to the marriage of William's younger brother Charles and his daughter Marie conditional on William only being allowed to enter into a morganatic marriage with Elisa. Frederick William III wanted such a connection, and therefore forbade his son to marry Elisa in June 1826.[15] In the same year, William and Augusta met for the first time when Marie was engaged to Charles.[16] Since it was now clear that William's older brother, the later Frederick William IV, would remain childless, William now had the task of producing legitimate dynastic offspring. This is how Frederick William III arranged a marriage between William and Augusta.[17]

The Weimar princess saw several advantages in the connection. Before the marriage, Augusta, as the second-born daughter, held a lower rank at court than her older sister. Since the latter was only supposed to marry William's younger brother, Augusta would rank above Marie in Prussia and could expect to become the wife of the heir to the throne.[6] The wedding took place on 11 June 1829 in the chapel at Schloss Charlottenburg.[18] At this time, Augusta was 17 years old.[19]

First years of marriage: Tense relationship with Wilhelm and birth of the children edit

 
Princess Augusta, by Carl Joseph Begas, 1838. Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Weimar.

According to the historian Robert-Tarek Fischer, the marriage was tense for several reasons: On the one hand, William, who was 14 years older, made no secret of his continued affection for Elisa. On the other hand, Augusta's liberal views and intellectual interests were not shared by William and large parts of the Prussian court.[18] As the historian Birgit Aschmann assumes, Augusta was also used to greater "cultural openness" from the Weimar court than was the case with the Hohenzollerns. From her husband's point of view, she didn't correspond enough to the bourgeois ideal of a woman. As William criticized in October 1829, she was more of a "woman of mind and not of heart". In doing so, Augusta violated the gender image of the time, according to which men had to be rational and women had to be emotional.[19] According to the historian Jürgen Angelow, despite its political motivation, the marriage "was not quite as unhappy as it could have been". Over time, a relationship of trust and respect developed between the two.[12] In her role as a Prussian princess, Augusta was expected to be reserved at the Berlin court. Deviating from this norm, however, she shared her views openly and was therefore later perceived as a political threat to her husband.[20]

On 18 October 1831, Augusta gave birth to her son Frederick William. The succession of the Prussian royal house seemed assured by the birth.[21] Augusta had a great influence on the upbringing of the future heir to the throne: Frederick William completed a military career, but was also taught natural sciences, philosophy, literature and classical studies according to a neo-humanistic curriculum. At his mother's instigation, his playmates included many middle-class high school students. Augusta encouraged her son to study at the University of Bonn —away from the influence of the Berlin court.[22] Seven years passed until the second child, Louise, the later Grand Duchess of Baden, was born in Berlin on 3 December 1838.[23] Louise was Augusta's last child, as her next two pregnancies, in 1842 and 1843, ended in miscarriages.[24]

Courtly life: Conflicts, residence design and interaction with William edit

 
Schloss Babelsberg, Augusta's summer residence near Potsdam.

Augusta had a contentious relationship with the Prussian court. The courtly demeanor she practiced in Weimar was perceived as overly proud and aloof in Berlin and Potsdam. Augusta, for her part, disliked the court, which was culturally more frugal and more military-oriented compared to her homeland. She saw her position as increasingly useless and complained that only Crown Princess Elisabeth, the wife of the future King Frederick William IV, was allowed to do charitable work.[10] In addition, she maintained contact less with the established Prussian noble families than with confidants, some of whom were viewed as "foreigners".[25]

Augusta's summer residence since 1835 was Schloss Babelsberg near Potsdam. As a builder, she had some influence on the palace's construction: after studying architectural theoretical works and engravings of English country estates, she made sketches herself and asked the responsible architects to implement their designs.[26][27] In the following years, Augusta also devoted himself to the interior design of the palace.[24] With the English-inspired place and landscape garden, she expressed her sympathies for liberally governed Great Britain.[28] Augusta also had a great influence on the interior design of her winter residence in Berlin, the Altes Palais. Here she invited military men, politicians, scientists, artists and courtiers to evening tea parties.[29] One of their favorite guests was the explorer Alexander von Humboldt; there he reported on his travels or read classical literature. The antiquarian Ernst Curtius was often present as a speaker and chess player.[30]

Political topics were also discussed, with Augusta using the meetings to gather information. In addition, she read several newspapers every day and, on this basis, created written summaries of the most important events for William.[31] Through the meetings and exchanges with his wife, William thought (as he himself told her in a letter) that he could provide an official guideline for her statements. His aim was to influence their opinions in his favor and to conceal any disharmony between them from the public. William had Augusta take care of some of his writing correspondence: she had to proofread or copy texts he had written and was also a co-author of some of his correspondence.[32] Such a division of tasks among royal couples was not unusual in the 19th century, because the dynasty was considered a kind of "family business".[33]

Wife of the heir to the throne (1840–1858) edit

Increased interest in politics edit

 
Crown Princess Augusta, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1846.

With the death of King Frederick William III on 7 June 1840, William became heir to the throne. Augusta was critical of the policies of the new ruling Prussian king, her brother-in-law Frederick William IV. She viewed its lack of reform as a mistake that would cost the monarchy the loyalty of the population. Augusta advocated early "voluntary surrender" and the fulfillment of the "general wishes" of the subjects. In their opinion, the existence of the monarchical form of rule itself was at risk if the crown did not respond to the demands of the political public.[34] She shared the assessment with the British Queen's husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, that Prussia should first become a constitutional state following the British model and only then should it implement national unity for Germany.[35]

According to the historian Caroline Galm, Augusta saw it as her duty to give her son Frederick William a chance at the throne through his own political involvement.[36] She therefore increasingly turned to political topics and from 1843 onwards wrote several memoranda, which she presented to both her husband and Prussian statesmen. For her advice, Augusta contacted, among others, the envoys Alexander von Schleinitz and Franz von Roggenbach, a politician from the Grand Duchy of Baden. The correspondence between Roggenbach and Augusta has only been partially preserved, as Augusta had politically explosive letters destroyed or returned by confidants for fear of censorship.[5] At court, the manner in which their opinions were presented was perceived as overly temperamental. William therefore jokingly referred to his wife as a "little opposition devil" in letters.[37] Internally, she expressed doubts about William's intellectual abilities and accused him of not being sufficiently sophisticated in his observations.[38]

Contacts with the British royal family and Prince von Pückler edit

Augusta now also maintained contacts with the British Queen Victoria. In 1845 the monarch visited Augusta and William in Berlin. The following year, the princely couple made a return visit to London.[39] Victoria showed sympathy for Augusta and said in a letter to the Belgian king:

She is too enlightened and too liberal not to have enemies at the Prussian court, but I believe that I have found in her a friend who can be very useful to us.[39]

The correspondence between the British Queen and Augusta continued for several decades and ultimately initiated the marriage between her son Frederick William and Victoria's eldest daughter and namesake, the Princess Royal.[40] Since the 1840s, Augusta also wrote letters to Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, a famous writer and world traveler at the time. Augusta had known him from the Weimar court since 1826. She particularly appreciated the conversation with Pückler, who, in her opinion, stood out from the Prussian court with his eloquent and intellectual manner. She talked to him about, among other things, the Weimar court, England, Paris and her health.[41][42] In 1842–1843 she entrusted the prince with the landscaping of Babelsberg Park.[43] Augusta and Pückler agreed in their preference for the English cottage style and were based on English pattern books, for example by the architect Robert Lugar. In order to emphasize his artistic proximity to Augusta, Pückler had a blacksmith's shop built in Branitzer Park, which was similar to the Small Castle in Babelsberg Park.[44]

Revolution of 1848: Political appeals for reform and beginning of hostility with Bismarck edit

 
Barricade at the Friedrichstrasse during the March Revolution 1848 in Berlin, by FG Nordmann, 1848. Historical Museum, Frankfurt.

During the Revolutions of 1848–1849 there were also violent clashes between the military and the civilian population in Berlin. Augusta's husband was seen as primarily responsible for the bloodshed and was forced into exile in Great Britain. Meanwhile, Augusta took her two children to safety in Potsdam. Since she was considered comparatively enlightened by the public, she remained safe there.[45] In response to the revolution, Augusta called for rapid reforms. In a letter to William dated 5 June 1848, she said: "It is now a matter of saving the monarchy and its support, the dynasty, this is the task for which no sacrifice can be big enough". She also recommended that Prussia, in the German question, take the initiative and push forward a national agreement regardless of the politics in Vienna and St. Petersburg.[46] She again advised that the Prussian people should have a say in political decisions. A constitution could create a legal and clearly regulated basis for this.[47]

The revolution of 1848–1849 had long-term consequences for Augusta's relationship with the future Chancellor Otto von Bismarck: on 23 March 1848, shortly after the March Revolution of 1848, she received him in the Potsdam City Palace. According to Augusta's version, Bismarck tried to win her over to a counter-revolution against King Frederick William IV. Bismarck wanted to find out where her husband was so that he could ask him to give him orders to march on Berlin. That would have treasonously counteracted the retreat of the soldiers ordered by King Frederick William IV.[48] She was also bothered by the fact that Bismarck stated that he was acting on behalf of her brother-in-law Prince Charles, William's younger brother. Just a few days earlier, Charles had suggested that the King and Prince William abdicate or forego the royal succession. Augusta therefore suspected him of wanting to take the royal throne himself and stage a coup with Bismarck's help. Bismarck, for his part, subsequently accused Augusta of having plotted against William in 1848: she had worked towards taking over the regency for her son Frederick William herself. For him, it was only about protecting the reigning king from the revolution with the help of the military.[49] Since, according to the historian and Bismarck biographer Eberhard Kolb, Augusta's and Bismarck's notes about the events contradict each other, the contents of the conversation can no longer be reconstructed. All that can be said with certainty is that Augusta had been hostile to Bismarck since this encounter.[50]

The historian David E. Barclay estimates her role to the effect that "she successfully defended William's position as heir to the throne in the spring and summer". William's relationship with his wife improved as a result. According to Barclay's account, he also approached her politically —influenced by Augusta's memoranda and letters. The prince, who had previously been absolutist-minded, "slowly moved in a moderate-conservative but constitutional direction".[51] However, this view is controversial. According to historian Jan Markert, William independently recognized during the 1848 revolution that the Prussian monarchy would have to come to terms with a constitutional form of government.[52] Wehler, Hans-Ulrich, on the other hand, sees Augusta as the reason for William's later turn to the right-wing liberal Wochenblattpartei.[53]

At the same time, the possibility of forcing a change of ruler was being considered in liberal circles. Augusta was brought into discussion as a possible regent for her underage son Frederick William. In contrast to Great Britain, Portugal and Spain, there was no tradition of reigning queens or regents in Prussia. Since King Frederick William IV also promised reforms, the plan was quickly rejected.[54] Augusta subsequently destroyed some of her letters from the revolutionary years.[55]

Koblenz years (1850–1858) edit

Courtyard of the Wochenblattpartei, the Rheinanlagen, charity edit
 
Augusta's residence in Koblenz, the former Electoral Palace.

In 1849, King Frederick William IV appointed Prince William military governor of the Rhine Province and the Province of Westphalia. From 1850 onwards, the prince moved to Koblenz, the capital of the Prussian Rhine Province. In the Electoral Palace there, Augusta had the opportunity to live a court life like she was accustomed to during her childhood at the Weimar court.[56] In Koblenz she was able to surround herself with a group of people she liked, establish contacts with the Rhineland bourgeoisie and maintain a less distant relationship with the local population. Their tolerance towards the Catholic denomination and charitable support contributed to this. Barclay characterizes her production as both "royal-dynastic" and "close to the people".[57] Some of Augusta's confidants at the Koblenz court, often members of the Wochenblattpartei, became ministers of state under Prince Regent William in the so-called New Era. The reigning monarch and partly also Prince William disliked Augusta's comparatively liberal choice of guests. William did not always have influence on this, as he was often not in Koblenz Castle.[57]

In Koblenz, Augusta had a park with a promenade created on the left bank of the Rhine from 1856 onwards, the so-called Rheinanlagen. Until then, there had only been a representative section of the bank directly at the Electoral Palace and on the Rheinlache. In addition, she had the Rheinanlagen upgraded with pavilions and newly planted trees.[58] For the first time, Augusta supported organizations on a larger scale that worked in the area of nursing or caring for the poor. These included, among others, the Catholic order of the Brothers of Mercy in Weitersburg and the Kaiserswerther Diakonie. In 1850 she became patron of the Evangelical Women's Association (Evangelischen Frauenvereins), and two years later also of the Catholic Women's Association (Katholischen Frauenvereins).[59]

Marriage of children edit
 
The wedding of Augusta's son Frederick William and Victoria, Princess Royal, in London's St James's Palace on 25 January 1858, by John Phillip, 1860. Royal Collection. Augusta is the third person from the left.

Augusta initiated the marriage of her daughter Louise to Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, who was considered liberal, which took place in 1856.[60] Two years later, she welcomed the marriage of her son Frederick William to Victoria, the eldest daughter of the British Queen. Augusta herself had promoted the marriage and saw it as a means of leading Prussia away from what she saw as an autocratically ruled Russia in terms of alliance policy. Instead, it should move closer to Great Britain and France.[5]

Historian Hannah Pakula also attributes her reservations about Russia to the fact that Augusta blamed the "Russians" for the assassination of her grandfather Emperor Paul I in 1801. On the other hand, she sympathized with France throughout her life, as she was particularly familiar with its culture during her upbringing. Despite her sympathies for the British royal family, Augusta's relationship with her daughter-in-law Victoria remained quite cool. Victoria herself complained about Augusta's temperamental moodiness.[61] Although both women shared a similar political stance, they argued about the proper upbringing of Frederick William's children. While Augusta valued traditional courtly representation, Victoria led a more middle-class family life.[6] To Augusta's displeasure, Victoria also acted publicly and, for example, advocated university education for women. She was close to the women's movement of her time.[62] According to Monika Wienfort, Augusta's charitable support always remained in the area of "traditional monarchical charity". Augusta's commitment was intended to increase the social standing of her class. Like many women from the aristocracy and bourgeoisie at the end of the 19th century, she did not intend to achieve emancipatory equality with men.[63]

Wife of the Prince Regent (1858–1861): political influence and failure edit

Because Frederick William IV was no longer considered fit to govern after several strokes, his brother was appointed Prince Regent in 1858. In the fall of that year, Augusta returned with him to Berlin, but remained connected to Koblenz through frequent travel throughout her life.[64] William appointed ministers who stood for a more liberal policy and many of whom had frequented the Koblenz court. Alexander von Schleinitz, a confidant of Augusta, was given the Foreign Ministry.[65] Augusta had been close friends with Schleinitz since the revolutionary period in 1848. Bismarck therefore speculated that his rival "only owes his career to petticoats".[66] However, the historian Bastian Peiffer sees this as an insinuation and denies that Augusta was the actual founder of the new government.[67] Birgit Aschmann sees contemporary names such as "Augusta Ministry" as conservative attempts to devalue the new political course. Augusta therefore sympathized with the newly formed ministry. Some of the ministers, like her, were convinced that aligning with Great Britain would also be advantageous domestically.[68] According to the American historian Otto Pflanze, she saw the government of the so-called New Era as "her ministry"; their dismissal was therefore a lasting insult for Augusta, which is why she opposed the later Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck, regardless of whether he took a liberal or conservative course in politics.[69]

The comparatively liberal phase only lasted about three years. There were several reasons for this. On the one hand, the British Prince Consort Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the most important operator of the Prussian-British connection, died in 1861. At the same time, conflicts between Augusta and her daughter-in-law Victoria increased. Augusta resented her influence on Frederick William. On the other hand, in the course of a reform of the Prussian army, William came into a fundamental conflict with the Prussian House of Representatives. In view of a Prussian constitutional conflict, he thought about more conservative appointments in his government.[70]

Queen of Prussia (1861–1888) edit

Coronation and opposition to Bismarck edit

 
Augusta in her coronation robes and regalia, depicted by Minna Pfüller based on a painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, ca. 1864. Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg.
 
Queen Victoria with the Queen of Prussia in the gardens of Frogmore House, circa 1867.
 
Idealizing representation of a visit by Augusta to a lazaretto, single-sheet print with the title "Augusta, the Queen of Prussia in the Lazareth, 1870", according to the signature by an illustrator with the surname Kaiser, collection of the Berlin State Library.

In the middle of this state crisis, Frederick William IV died on 2 January 1861. Augusta became Queen consort of Prussia. Her coronation ceremony took place on 18 October of the same year in the Königsberg Palace Chapel. After William had placed the royal crown on himself, he then crowned his wife.[71] Augusta was the second crowned queen in Prussian history; before her, only Sophia Charlotte of Hanover was granted such ceremony in Königsberg in 1701.[72] During the escalating conflict between her husband and the House of Representatives, Augusta and William tried to talk out of appointing Otto von Bismarck as Prime Minister.[73] She did not believe that he would have an integrating and conciliatory effect and expected him to further escalate the domestic political dispute. As she found in 1864, Bismarck was a "principled and careless person [...] who sometimes had to harbor doubts about the sanity of his words and deeds".[74] Augusta already found Bismarck's appearance as envoy to the Frankfurt Bundestag to be diplomatically unacceptable. With his undisguised great power ambitions, he always aroused mistrust among the Prussians towards friendly governments in the German Confederation.[75] As late as Easter 1862, the queen warned her husband about Bismarck as a possible prime minister with an eighteen-page memorandum.[76] William ignored her advice in September 1862. Crown Prince Frederick William commented on his decision with the words: "Poor Mama, how bitterly this [sic] appointment of her mortal enemy will hurt her".[77]

Bismarck, in turn, despised Augusta because of her influence on Wilhelm. He saw her actions as a violation of the boundaries of female freedom of action. From his perspective, female influence on the supposedly weak ruler had to be avoided. In addition to Augusta, he saw Crown Princess Victoria as a threat. While Bismarck attested to Augusta's sense of duty and noble behavior, he completely denied Victoria such qualities.[78] From the perspective of Bismarck and his allies, Augusta belonged to an opposing political camp at court. The Bismarck party therefore also publicly polemicized against Augusta as the most prominent representative of the so-called English faction. In this way, their criticism of the government's reactionary and foreign policy course should be discredited.[79] Despite Bismarck's appointment, Augusta continued to try to advise her husband. To this end, she intensified her contact with Franz von Roggenbach and often visited the former Baden Foreign Minister in Baden-Baden, where she stayed for a cure. Like Augusta, Roggenbach was a critic of Bismarck's politics. In consultation with Roggenbach, she formulated political memoranda to William I.[80] Bismarck held Augusta responsible if the king did not follow his advice. In such cases she had plotted against him at previous breakfasts with the king. According to Bismarck, his political opponents would form in Augusta's environment, including Crown Princess Victoria and the entire court faction that was hostile to him.[81] In later years, Bismarck accused the queen of ruining his ability to hold office and his health with her intrigues.[82]

Distanced attitude to militarism and the German war edit

Augusta did support a national unification of Germany under Prussian rule. However, the Queen wanted to see unity achieved through peaceful means and condemned the three German wars of unification in 1864, 1866 and 1870–1871. Karin Feuerstein-Praßer therefore characterizes Augusta as a pacifist.[83] Birgit Aschmann puts this assessment into perspective by referring to Queen Augusta's 4th Guard Grenadier Regiment, which was subordinate to her and which the monarch particularly supported. Nevertheless, Aschmann emphasizes that, unlike most liberal actors, Augusta did not show any patriotic enthusiasm even during the military victories. She maintained her critical attitude towards Bismarck's foreign policy. Especially in the run-up to the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, she tried to use her correspondence to the various courts to mediate diplomatically and to avert military escalation.[84] Augusta particularly feared an unfavorable course of the war against Austria. She argued that Prussia would benefit from the goodwill of Napoleon III in a military confrontation. make you dependent. The Queen also turned to the British Queen Victoria with a request for mediation. From May 1866 onwards she gave up her diplomatic appeals.[85] In the run-up to the war of 1866, Augusta Wilhelm again tried to convince Bismarck to be fired. Victoria, Frederick William and the Grand Duke of Baden, Frederick I, also advised the Prussian monarch to take such a step. However, William stuck by his Prime Minister.[86]

Charitable activity edit

Charitable welfare was considered a traditional area of activity for princesses in the 19th century.[6] As a reaction to the wars of German unification, Augusta was primarily involved in soldier welfare. To improve the care of the wounded in the hospitals, the Queen visited the famous British nurse Florence Nightingale and received Henry Dunant, who had founded the Red Cross in 1863–64. At her instigation, the first international meeting of the Red Cross took place in Berlin in 1869.[87][88] Many pictures show her with the organization's badge. Several hospitals were founded on her initiative; this includes the Langenbeck-Virchow-Haus, which still exists today and is the headquarters of the German Society of Surgery. After the death of the surgeon Bernhard von Langenbeck, Augusta lobbied the government and with its own financial subsidies to set up this society its own place of work.[89]

Augusta also took part in the organization of the Order of Louise, which was newly founded in 1865. The award was given primarily to women who had excelled in caring for the wounded or raising funds for the affected soldiers. Augusta was able to ensure that Catholic women were also honored. She herself suggested many of those to be honored to the king.[90] In 1866 she founded the Vaterländischer Frauenverein, which looked after wounded and sick soldiers.[89] In 1868, Augusta used the association to organize a market in Berlin. The proceeds of 70,000 thalers then went to those affected by floods in East Prussia. Augusta himself donated 6,000 thalers to clergy in the disaster region.[6]

Conduct in the Franco-Prussian War edit

In view of increasing diplomatic tensions between Prussia and France, the queen recommended that her husband adopt a conciliatory tone in 1868. In a speech he should "testify that Prussia is aware of the task of maintaining peace!". In 1870 she recommended that he not support Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen's candidacy for the Spanish throne, which was provoking France, and described the undertaking as an "adventurous project". However, Bismarck was able to prevail on William on this point, so Leopold accepted the candidacy. Bismarck used the French reactions to this to provoke France into declaring war on Prussia.[91] As before the war against Austria in 1866, Augusta once again feared a Prussian defeat. William initially had a similar opinion, but in July 1870 he did not want to give the French government a promise that it would never approve a Hohenzollern's candidacy for the Spanish throne. Augusta expressed understanding for this position. She also classified the Paris demand as a defamatory challenge, but advocated accepting a diplomatic victory for France if necessary.[92]

When the Franco-Prussian War broke out, Augusta was still in Koblenz. She was the last member of the royal family to return to the capital, which angered William. After the monarch left for his headquarters in France, Augusta took over many of his representative tasks in Berlin. She received ministers of state and received the reports from Governor General Bonin.[93] She also performed tasks in the military sector, such as saying goodbye to troops or visiting officers who had suffered a family loss in the war. She also appeared in military hospitals and took part in meetings of several clubs for the care of the wounded.[94] In the presence of the queen, dispatches about battles won were read out several times from the balcony of the Old Palace.[95] In Aschmann's opinion, the queen was emotionally reserved. She simply waved a cloth from the balcony and wanted to show a certain distance from the war.[96]

German Empress (1871–1888) edit

Absence at the founding of the German Empire edit

 
Portrait of Empress Augusta by Carl Johann Arnold, 1875, oil on canvas, Royal Collection.
 
Empress Augusta, photography by F.Jamrath & Sohn Berlin, 1880s.
 
The German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck with a spiked helmet, photigraphy by Loescher, P. & Petsch, 1871, German Federal Archives.

Augusta was hardly involved in the preparations for the Proclamation of the German Empire. While William was at the Palace of Versailles near Paris, the headquarters of the General Staff, she remained in Berlin and was in close correspondence with her husband. In her correspondence she tried to influence William politically. For example, she suggested waiting to proclaim emperor until the Bavarian state parliament had agreed to join the German nation state. However, William ignored her recommendation in this regard. Since the letters from Berlin to Versailles usually took three to four days, she was hardly informed about current political issues. William did not want to resort to the quicker means of communication via telegraph to her. She did not want to use the title of German Empress herself. In December 1870, Augusta informed the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach that it was sufficient if only William took imperial rank. However, Augusta's stance on this issue was not taken into account. After William's proclamation as Emperor on 18 January 1871, she received letters —for example from the Prussian state parliament— congratulating her on her new dignity. However, the title of "German Empress" was never legally fixed in the Constitution of the German Empire.[97]

Criticism of the Kulturkampf edit

The Empress's political relationship with Catholicism played a special role after 1871: Augusta, who, like the Emperor, belonged to the Protestant faith, saw Ultramontanism, a political movement loyal to the Pope, as a detriment to the loyalty of the Catholic population since the 1850s. According to the historian Caroline Galm, Augusta therefore tried to "remedy integration deficits and reconcile the Catholics with the Protestant ruling dynasty".[98] For example, in order to gain sympathy in predominantly Catholic southern Germany, Augusta recommended that her husband diplomatically advocate for the Pope's rights in October 1870. The background to this was the occupation of the previously independent Papal States by troops of the Kingdom of Italy.[99] The Empress considered Bismarck's anti-Catholic policy in the Kulturkampf to be the wrong approach. Although she also rejected the content of the First Vatican Council of 1869, she believed that reconciliation could be achieved with moderate Catholic forces. In 1872 she sent William a specially written memorandum "on the ecclesiastical-political situation". In the document she called on him to "have a calming effect on the Catholic Church, to restore the lost trust and to mitigate the harshness of the contradictions as much as possible".[100] Augusta appealed to the authorities and Emperor several times on behalf of the Catholic population.[101] In 1872, for example, she campaigned for Philipp Krementz to remain in office as Bishop of Warmia.[102] The cultural scientist Andrea Micke-Serin attributes a softening of the Congregations Law of 1875 to Augusta's influence. Although the law continued to provide for the closure of Catholic monastic orders in Prussia, it excluded pure nursing orders from this.[103]

Climax of the conflict with Bismarck edit

In 1877, Bismarck asked the Emperor to dismiss him, ostensibly because of the ongoing conflicts with Augusta and those around him. After William granted him a vacation of several weeks, Bismarck pushed several press articles in which he primarily blamed the Empress for his plans to resign.[104] As Bismarck biographer Christoph Nonn summarizes, the Imperial Chancellor competed with several players at court for influence over the monarch.[105] The Queen and Empress would have a special role to play here. As he himself complained, Bismarck had to constantly work against their influence on the monarch. The American historian Jonathan Steinberg explains Bismarck's enmity with psychological childhood trauma. Under a domineering and cold-hearted mother, he developed a strong contempt for women and felt threatened by women who dominated their weak husbands. Augusta, who appeared self-confident towards William, fit into Bismarck's image of the enemy.[106] At the same time, Steinberg sees the Empress as a favorable factor for Bismarck's political position in the Empire. The conflict with Augusta made the Emperor more lenient and increased his willingness to give in to the political demands of his chancellor.[107]

Approaching the Reich Chancellor edit

Since the Catholic Center Party gained votes in the Reichstag elections of 1878, Bismarck was forced to end the Kulturkampf. Augusta considered this a personal success against Bismarck. Shortly afterwards the Empress began to approach Bismarck. The reason for this was, on the one hand, their respect for his foreign policy achievements at the Congress of Berlin. Augusta now described the Imperial Chancellor as a "brilliant statesman". In Bismarck's spirit, it encouraged William to enter into a dual alliance with Austria without Russia. On the other hand, she now considered Bismarck to be the right man to prepare her grandson, the future German Emperor William II, for his government work.[108] According to Augusta biographer Karin Feuerstein-Praßer, Augusta's approach to Bismarck had less to do with his politics than with tensions within the family. Like the Imperial Chancellor, she considered her son Frederick William to be less suitable as a future ruler than Prince William. She denied the Crown Prince the intellectual abilities and political determination required for the imperial office. Augusta and Bismarck were particularly bothered by the fact that Victoria was diminishing her own influence over Frederick William. Both therefore placed their political expectations on Prince William.[109] Since he was not on good terms with his mother Victoria, the prince also became closer to his grandmother and his aunt Louise after his studies.[110]

Annual travel and political involvement in the last years of life edit

Augusta often stayed away from the Berlin court. She only spent about half the year in Berlin. In May she usually traveled to Baden-Baden for a cure. This was followed by a stay in Koblenz in June, where she pursued charitable and social tasks. From there she occasionally visited her daughter Louise in the Baden residential city of Karlsruhe or took a spa treatment in Bad Ems, where her husband also traveled. In the fall, Augusta stayed again in Baden-Baden or on the Lake Constance island of Mainau. She spent the winter season in Berlin from November to April.[111]

The Empress herself increasingly suffered from physical ailments (including rheumatism) for many years and sustained serious injuries in a fall in Koblenz in June 1881. From then on she was dependent on crutches and a wheelchair.[112] Nevertheless, Augusta tried to continue to participate politically and also to fulfill her patronage of the Catholic population. To this end, she relied, among other things, on financial support.[113]

When her husband died on 9 March 1888, Augusta was personally present in the Old Palace. Only 99 days later, on 15 June, her son, who had succeeded to the throne as Frederick III, succumbed to cancer of the larynx. As a result, her beloved grandson, William II, become King of Prussia and German Emperor.[114]

Death and legacy edit

Augusta died on 7 January 1890, aged 78, at the Old Palace during the 1889–1890 flu pandemic.[115]

She was initially lying in state for the public at the Old Palace on Unter den Linden boulevard in Mitte, the historic heart and city center of Berlin, and later buried at the Mausoleum at Charlottenburg Palace beside her husband. In accordance with her will, the Augusta Fund, other charitable institutions (particularly in Berlin and Koblenz) and the Koblenz Rheinanlagen received financial donations.[116]

Reception edit

Contemporary perception edit

Bismarck and its surroundings edit

Since Bismarck had not been on good terms with Augusta since the revolution of 1848, he painted a negative picture of the Empress in his autobiography, Thoughts and Memories: she had exerted a harmful influence on William I and was due to her sympathies for the French and English culture was unpatriotic.[117] Bismarck also falsely accused her of being a "traitor" who passed on state secrets to the French embassy. Their pacifist attitude was unrealistic and their intrigues made it difficult for him to conduct state affairs.[118] The Prussian Prime Minister and Imperial Chancellor attributed a "need for contradiction" to the Empress: when he swung to a conservative course, she tried to promote a liberal group of people. If, on the other hand, he acted more liberally, the Empress would have sided with the conservatives and Catholics. Bismarck thought that Augusta only did not oppose the Prussian government during the so-called New Era. In this phase she was able to prevail in the ministerial election.[119] The historian Petra Wilhelmy comes to the conclusion that Bismarck for Augusta "did injustice to a certain extent". The monarch did not act out of a fundamental "spirit of contradiction" to his policies, but rather, in contrast to the Reich Chancellor, was comparatively liberal-minded and religiously tolerant.[120] In addition to Bismarck, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, publicly positioned himself against the supposed dominance of the Empress and Crown Princess Victoria, his own niece. In view of the "women's policy" he warned against "hostile and harmful to the Germans" undertakings.[121]

Controversial public reputation edit

Overall, however, the effectiveness of Augusta's political actions in the 19th century was rated as low due to her conflict with Bismarck. Reviews focused on their representative role in the monarchy. Like other princesses, she had to conform to the prevailing role model, that is, to be active in the area of charitable work and royal representation, the latter particularly during William's war-related absences. From the perspective of contemporaries, Augusta was only partially suitable for this. Although she was present as the patron of many Vaterländischer Frauenverein, apart from this commitment to caring for the wounded, she mostly kept a low profile in public.[122]

On 27 July 1867, the Illustrirte Zeitung criticized Augusta's increasing withdrawal into family life. Before the revolution of 1848–1849 she was still "a brilliant figure at the court in Berlin". Nowadays, however, she mainly keeps herself "hidden in the quiet circle of family life [...]" and hardly takes part in Berlin court life anymore. Instead, she spent "most of the year outside the residence [...], at her favorite residence in Koblenz or in Karlsruhe with her daughter, or in a German bath, where she takes the usual cure". There was also criticism that she appeared in the capital in a rather inconspicuous manner for a monarch, i.e. that she did not represent enough of her social status.[123] According to Katrin Feuerstein-Praßer, Augusta was never popular outside of Koblenz during her lifetime. The historian attributes this to the fact that Augusta would have had difficulty maintaining intensive contacts with the Prussian elite. On the other hand, it caused a stir that she spoke and wrote predominantly in French. This was no longer common practice at the German courts during the founding of the empire.[124] According to the historian Gerd Heinrich, Augusta was a "controversial figure in almost every respect" among her contemporaries. On the one hand, her influence on the upbringing of the heir to the throne and her daughter Louise was viewed positively. Their princely demeanor and manners were sometimes considered appropriate; On the other hand, Augusta's irritability and her mood swings were negative. The intellect attributed to her Weimar influence and her penchant for ostentation would have seemed inappropriate at the comparatively economical Hohenzollern court.[25]

According to Georg Wagner-Kyora, Augusta's charitable efforts gave Prussia prestige on the international stage. Their diplomatic network with other royal houses made them appear unwarlike in the public eye. However, she never achieved the popularity of her granddaughter-in-law Augusta Victoria in the Empire. William II's wife was respected even among the German bourgeoisie. Augusta, on the other hand, remained too caught up in "dynastic traditionalism" according to Wagner-Kyora's assessment.[125] According to David Barclay, by emphasizing her high aristocratic origins from the Weimar grand ducal family, she maneuvered herself into an outsider position.[117] Hannah Pakula blames Augusta's personality for her negative image in court circles. Although Augusta was intellectual and intelligent, she "couldn't stand it when someone didn't agree with her". Her energetic appearance at court events attracted criticism. King Leopold I of Belgium for example, gave her the nickname "Dragon of the Rhine", alluding to her fondness for the Rhineland.[61] In the Prussian Rhine Province and especially in Koblenz, Augusta's long-standing residence, the role of the Empress was viewed positively. The history didacticist Marco Zerwas attributes the "real veneration of the largely Catholic population [...] for the Protestant Hohenzollerns and William" largely to Augusta's public popularity. On the occasion of her death in 1890, the city of Koblenz issued a memorial publication entitled Kaiserin Augusta in Coblenz. 1850–1889. The work attributes a greater role to their work in the integration of the Rhineland into the Prussian state than to legislation and administration.[126]

Symbolic representation and commemoration edit

Eponyms and monuments edit

According to the historian Alexa Geisthövel, the memory of the Empress lost significance shortly after her death. Streets, secondary schools for girls and hospitals such as the Kaiserin Augusta Hospital in Berlin were named after her. However, only "a few monuments"[b] were dedicated to her. Geisthövel emphasizes that in the 19th century it was unusual to erect public monuments to a non-reigning monarch.[128] Among the Prussian queens, Augusta was the second after Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz to have a monument dedicated to her in Berlin.[129] In 1891 a "Comité" called for donations for the Empress Augusta monument.[130] As a result, the seated figure was inaugurated in 1895 on Opernplatz, today's Bebelplatz. The historian Helke Rausch interprets the erection of the Augusta monument "in the middle of the monarchical representation area" as an "attempt at politicization": since celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the founding of the German Empire were imminent at the time, the former head of the Berlin city council, Albert Stryck, pleaded in his speech at the monument to see Augusta as a representative figure of the German Empire alongside William I, the generals and statesmen. The reason he gave was that the Empress had raised young women to be active in nursing and to look after the men wounded in the wars of German unification. According to Rausch, contemporaries made Augusta a role model for female "duty and willingness to sacrifice" in the charitable sector.[131] The Empress's monument, which was moved to the park of Schloss Monbijou in 1928, was destroyed during World War II.[132]

In Baden-Baden, the city council commissioned the sculptor Joseph Kopf to build a monument to Empress Augusta. The bust was inaugurated in 1893 and was intended to commemorate the Empress's regular spa stays in the city.[133] In 1893, in their residential city of Koblenz, an architectural competition was announced for a monument, which Bruno Schmitz won. By 1896 he built the Empress Augusta Monument together with the sculptor Karl Friedrich Moest.[134] A figure of the ruler stands in the middle of the complex. A baldachin in the monument surrounds the figure from behind. The decorations symbolically indicate Augusta's commitment to the Red Cross and the city of Koblenz.[135] The city of Cologne had another monument to the Empress planned and built on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring from 1897 onwards. The contract was advertised nationwide and a cost limit of 60,000 marks was set. The choice fell on the sculptors Franz Dorrenbach and Heinrich Stockmann. They completed a marble seated figure of the Empress by 1903.[136]

Pictorial representations edit

 
Augusta in a medallion, wood engraving from the newspaper Über Land und Meer, 1871, artist unknown, Bavarian State Library.[137]
 
Augusta and William's carriage ride on Unter den Linden in Berlin, image detail from the painting Departure of King Wilhelm I for the Army, 31 July 1870 by Adolph Menzel, 1871, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Augusta used visual representations as a means of propaganda. Contrary to bourgeois values, however, she usually did not allow herself to be portrayed as the wife of William I. Instead, she showed herself as an independent monarch and thus followed the traditional image of a ruler. At the same time, she distanced herself from the militarism of the time in her depictions.[138] According to Wagner-Kyora, a wood engraving from 1871, which she had copied, is typical in this regard. The picture shows her with a Red Cross brooch in a medallion. Two injured soldiers flank them. Below the medallion you can see the symbol of the Red Cross and an angel with crutches. On the one hand, the picture highlights Augusta's support of war-wounded care. At the top, the emblems of the German Empire, Alsace and Lorraine also refer to the newly created imperial state of Alsace-Lorraine; Augusta thus appears as a triumphant.[139] Adolph Menzel portrayed Augusta as a pacifist in his painting Departure of King Wilhelm I for the Army, July 31, 1870. As the Franco-Prussian War begins, she mournfully presses a white handkerchief into her face. She is in striking contrast to the crowd, which is largely cheering the war.[140] Significantly, says Wagner-Kyora, Red Cross flags can be seen in the painting, which were not present in the real historical situation, but here emphasize Augusta's pacifist attitude.[141]

Exhibitions and events edit

In recent years, several special exhibitions have been dedicated to the life and work of Augusta:

  • The first Augusta exhibition was held in what is now the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar in 1911. The occasion was the Empress's 100th birthday. The librarian Paul von Bojanowski wrote an accompanying biography entitled "Weimar and the Empress Augusta". In the book, which is also an exhibition catalog, Bojanowski focuses primarily on the cultural impact of the Weimar court on Augusta.[142]
  • In 2011, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar presented an exhibition in the Schloss Weimar entitled "The Empress from Weimar. Augusta of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach". The occasion for this was the Empress's 200th birthday. The main topic was the childhood and youth of the then princess, i.e. her time at the Weimar court. 34 exhibits were shown, including notes from Augusta's court tutors and drawings by the princess herself.[143]
 
The sleeping quarters in Branitz Palace, redesigned for Augusta, intended by Prince von Pückler for the future queen since May 1857, briefly used by Augusta on 25 July 1864.[144]
  • In 2015, the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg showed the special exhibition "Women's Matter in Schloss Charlottenburg. How Brandenburg became Prussia". The presentation also dealt with Augusta, along with other Prussian monarchs. The Empress was portrayed as a failed liberal opponent of Chancellor Bismarck.[145]
  • In 2017 was presented in Schloss Babelsberg the exhibition "Pückler. Babelsberg. The Green Prince and the Empress". The focus of the exhibition was on Prince von Pückler's friendly relationship with Augusta. From 1842 onwards, the noble nobleman redesigned Babelsberg Park on behalf of Augusta and William.[146]
  • The special exhibition "Augusta of Prussia – the Queen as a guest in Branitz" in 2017 also focused on the relationship between the future German Empress and Prince von Pückler. The main topic was Augusta's stay at Schloss Branitz on 25 July 1864.[147] Pückler had rooms in his castle redesigned for Augusta's only visit and ten courses served at the table.[148]

Since 2006, the Empress Augusta Festival has taken place in the Koblenz Rheinanlagen every year on UNESCO World Heritage Day, the first Sunday in June. The event is opened by an actress dressed as Empress Augusta.[149]

Research edit

Research has only focused more intensively on Augusta in the last two decades. Until then, the image of the Empress intended by Bismarck was mostly continued. Despite various publications, a generally accepted scientific biography is still missing. In particular, more source-based specialist essays are now questioning Bismarck's story regarding the Empress. The historian Monika Wienfort judged in 2018 that "Augusta research" hardly exists to date.[6] According to the historian Birgit Aschmann, "central parts of her life are a research desideratum"; there is still no "scientifically satisfactory biography".[55] According to Caroline Galm, there have so far been "only small, scientifically based studies" available, for example by the historians David E. Barclay, Alexa Geisthövel, Georg Wagner-Kyora, Frank Lorenz Müller and Susanne Bauer. The Augusta biographies from the time of the German Empire lacked "any source basis and –depending on the author's political background– assessed the Empress either in a harmonizing, panegyric or grossly negative manner". According to Galm, biographies from the 1930s and 1940s also adhered to this tradition of representation, not least because protection periods made it impossible to evaluate the archive material. The most recently published biographies by the writer Helmut H. Schulz in 1996 and the historian Karin Feuerstein-Praßer in 2011 also did not provide any new insights and continued to view the Empress as a "visionary without power": Augusta would therefore have been concerned with political control of her husband However, at the latest since Bismarck's appointment as Prussian Prime Minister in 1862, she had been deprived of any opportunity to participate in politics. As a result, her only option was to promote charitable care.[150] Historiography thus continued to follow Bismarck's Augusta assessment. The role of the Empress, like that of Emperor William I, remained largely unexplored historiographically in favor of a perspective that favored Bismarck.[151] As Ulrich Lappenküper said at a conference in 2018, Augusta is sometimes still presented as a "petty politician" who "is said to have always schemed against Berlin politics".[152]

Assessment of political scope for action edit

A research focus in the 21st century is Augusta's scope for political action and her self-image as a monarch's wife in the 19th century.[153] According to Aschmann, research on Augusta is particularly interested in the fact that it was in conflict with "common patterns, gender expectations and political preferences of the time, not least the nationalist–militaristic mainstream".[55] Galm points out that in the 19th century the wife of a monarch was not legally or normatively granted any political freedom of action. In practice, however, Augusta certainly had opportunities to participate politically. Her marriage was already motivated by foreign policy. She also had to fulfill representative tasks, took part in the upbringing of the children and was able to act as a political advisor to her husband. She also made many contacts and acted as an important social networker.[154] According to the historian Jan Markert, Augusta's political influence was legally defined neither by the Prussian constitutions of 1848–1850 nor by the dynastic house law. However, she was particularly close to William I because of her dynastic position and her family connection. For this reason, in Markert's opinion, she was able to give certain groups of people access to the king or influence Wilhelm through conversations and correspondence. Markert judges that Augusta failed overall to "convince William of ideas that contradicted his personal monarchical perception of reality".[151] The monarch therefore only consulted them in order to concretize his political program. During the time of the Prussian constitutional conflict, their opinions diverged so widely that joint discussions were hardly possible anymore. While Augusta followed old liberal ideas, William was more conservative. Furthermore, the King did not inform his wife about all the issues.[152]

Georg Wagner-Kyora attaches little importance to Augusta's "talks about Wilhelm's foreign and domestic policy". Nevertheless, they often discussed political reports in the daily press while having breakfast together. Augusta and William also spent time together at dinner.[155] Frank Lorenz Müller sees Augusta's political influence only limited to two areas, the education of the heir to the throne Friedrich Wilhelm and his marriage into the liberal British royal family. Augusta has certainly achieved success in this regard. Frederick William was politically closer to his mother than William, which was publicly recognized in Great Britain. However, the early death of the future emperor due to cancer after only 99 days in office made Augusta's mission less effective.[156]

Research into epistolary correspondence edit

 
First page of a letter from Augusta to Ernst Curtius dated 19 June 1846.

Augusta's epistolary correspondence is considered the most important source.[153] Historian Susanne Bauer found that Augusta was in correspondence with 486 people. So far, 22,086 letters are known. Most of them are aimed at princes with whom Augusta was related. Augusta exchanged views on both family and political topics. She used the letters to gain information and to exert influence on those around her.[157] Bauer sees the letters as the only significant instrument through which Augusta was able to participate in political events.[158] The surviving written correspondence between Wilhelm and Augusta comprises around 5,800 letters and is considered an important source for the relationship between the monarch couple.[152] In addition to other princes, Augusta also communicated with statesmen, officers, scientists and writers.[159] In addition to Bauer, Caroline Galm also participated in the analysis of the correspondence. She is particularly concerned with the correspondence between William and Augusta. In this way, Galm would like to find out "whether there was political cooperation between the two spouses, and if so, what this looked like". According to Galm, correspondence with "politically similar class members" also played a key role in Augusta's political letter network. The crucial question was whether actors such as the British Queen Victoria or the Grand Duke of Baden, Frederick II, took her seriously as important political allies or merely saw her as a "relationship broker" close to the German Emperor.[160]

Honours edit

Ancestry edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Zeremoniell bei der Taufe der Prinzessin Maria Luise Augusta Catherina, geb. 30.9.1811, der späteren deutschen Kaiserin. in: Archive Portal of Thuringia, finding aid (Hofmarschallamt), last accessed on 21 February 2024 in archive-in-thueringen.de (in German). Deviating from this, the historian Detlef Jena gives the name Maria Louise Augusta Katharina.[2]
  2. ^ Among others, the following were named for her:

References edit

  1. ^ Jena 2007, p. 166.
  2. ^ a b c Jena 2013, p. 128.
  3. ^ Jena 2013, pp. 169–170.
  4. ^ Gall 1980, p. 185.
  5. ^ a b c Micke-Serin, Andrea: Augusta und der Badische Hof. in: Truc Vu Minh, Simone Neuhäuser (ed.): Die Welt verbessern. Augusta von Preußen und Fürst von Pückler-Muskau, Kulturgeschichte Preußens – Colloquien 7 (2018), perspectivia.net (in German).
  6. ^ a b c d e f Wienfort, Monika: Familie, Hof, Staat. Königin Augusta von Preußen. in: Truc Vu Minh, Simone Neuhäuser (ed.): Die Welt verbessern. Augusta von Preußen und Fürst von Pückler-Muskau, Kulturgeschichte Preußens – Colloquien 7, 2018, perspectivia.net (in German).
  7. ^ Gall 1980, pp. 185–186.
  8. ^ Engelberg 1990, p. 514.
  9. ^ Engelberg 1990, p. 513.
  10. ^ a b Micke-Serin 2017, p. 59.
  11. ^ Schedewie, Franziska: Die Ernestiner und die russische Heirat. in: Siegrid Westphal, Hans-Werner Hahn, Georg Schmidt (ed.): Die Welt der Ernestiner. Ein Lesebuch. (in German). Böhlau, Köln/Weimar/Vienna 2016, p. 268. ISBN 978-3-412-50522-6
  12. ^ a b Angelow 2006, p. 248.
  13. ^ Schönpflug 2013, pp. 86–88.
  14. ^ Feuerstein-Praßer 2011, p. 41 and 44.
  15. ^ Schönpflug 2013, pp. 97–99.
  16. ^ Schulze-Wegener, Guntram: Wilhelm I. Deutscher Kaiser, König von Preußen, Nationaler Mythos. (in German). Mittler, Hamburg/Bonn 2015, p. 148. ISBN 978-3-8132-0964-8
  17. ^ Fischer 2020, pp. 64–65.
  18. ^ a b Fischer 2020, p. 65.
  19. ^ a b Aschmann 2020, p. 273.
  20. ^ Aschmann 2020, p. 274.
  21. ^ Müller 2011, p. 12.
  22. ^ Müller 2011, pp. 65–66.
  23. ^ Klaus 2021, p. 45.
  24. ^ a b Fischer 2020, p. 68.
  25. ^ a b Heinrich 1984, p. 392.
  26. ^ Feuerstein-Praßer 2011, p. 99.
  27. ^ Bohle-Heintzenberg, Sabine: Ludwig Persius. Architekt des Königs (in German). Mann, Berlin 1993, p. 21.
  28. ^ Aschmann 2020, pp. 276–277.
  29. ^ Feuerstein-Praßer 2011, pp. 103–104.
  30. ^ Klaus 2021, p. 55.
  31. ^ Aschmann 2020, p. 279.
  32. ^ Galm 2022, pp. 59–60.
  33. ^ Galm 2022, p. 56.
  34. ^ Galm 2020, pp. 31–32.
  35. ^ Aschmann 2020, p. 277.
  36. ^ Galm 2022, p. 64.
  37. ^ Galm 2022, p. 62.
  38. ^ Heinrich 1984, p. 393.
  39. ^ a b Müller 2015, p. 255.
  40. ^ Müller 2015, pp. 255–257.
  41. ^ Streidt, Gert; Neuhäuser, Simone: Augusta von Preußen. Die Königin zu Gast in Branitz. (in German). in: Kulturgeschichte Preußens - Colloquien 7 (2017), p. 1.
  42. ^ Streidt, Gert: Vorwort. in: Augusta von Preußen. Die Königin zu Gast in Branitz. Ausstellungskatalog der Stiftung Fürst-Pückler-Museum Park und Schloss Branitz. (in German). Edition Branitz 13 (2017), p. 4.
  43. ^ Feuerstein-Praßer 2011, p. 100.
  44. ^ Gohrenz, Kotzian & Neuhäuser 2017, pp. 34–35.
  45. ^ Jena, Detlef (3 March 2020). "Weimars Augusta und der Kartätschenprinz". Thüringische Landeszeitung (in German). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  46. ^ Galm 2020, p. 32.
  47. ^ Micke-Serin 2017, p. 60.
  48. ^ Nonn 2015, p. 54.
  49. ^ Rose 2018.
  50. ^ Kolb 2014, p. 33.
  51. ^ Barclay 2004, p. 79.
  52. ^ Markert, Jan: Der verkannte Monarch. Wilhelm I. und die Herausforderungen wissenschaftlicher Biographik. (in German). in: Forschungen zur Brandenburgischen und Preußischen Geschichte. Neue Folge 31 (2021), pp. 239–240.
  53. ^ Wehler, Hans-Ulrich: Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte. Band 3. Von der "Deutschen Doppelrevolution" bis zum Beginn des Ersten Weltkrieges 1849–1914. (in German). 2nd edition, Beck, Munich 2006, p. 225. ISBN 978-3-406-32263-1
  54. ^ Aschmann 2020, p. 271.
  55. ^ a b c Aschmann 2020, p. 272.
  56. ^ Barclay 2004, p. 78.
  57. ^ a b Barclay 2004, p. 80.
  58. ^ Denzer, Heinrich: Kulturleben. (in German). in: Geschichte der Stadt Koblenz. vol. 2: Von der französischen Stadt bis zur Gegenwart. Theiss, Stuttgart 1993, p. 491. ISBN 3-8062-1036-5
  59. ^ Georg-Hinrich Hammer: Nur ein stilles Verdienst? Frauen als karitative Avantgarde im 19. Jahrhundert. (in German). Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2022, pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-3-17-042216-2
  60. ^ Aschmann 2020, p. 276.
  61. ^ a b Pakula 2002, p. 73.
  62. ^ von Hessen, Rainer: Zur Einführung. (in German) in: Rainer von Hessen (ed.): Victoria Kaiserin Friedrich (1840–1901). Mission und Schicksal einer englischen Prinzessin in Deutschland. Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2002, pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-3-593-38407-8
  63. ^ Wienfort, Monika: Geschlechterfragen und Partizipationsdebatten. Frauen und Männer im Kaiserreich. (in German) in: Birgit Aschmann, Monika Wienfort (ed.): Zwischen Licht und Schatten. Das Kaiserreich (1871–1914) und seine neuen Kontroversen. Campus, Frankfurt am Main/New York, pp. 174–175. ISBN 978-3-593-51508-3
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External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
  • (in German) Monument of the empress Augusta in Baden-Baden 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  • (in German)
Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Cadet branch of the House of Wettin
Born: 30 September 1811 Died: 7 January 1890
German royalty
Preceded by Queen consort of Prussia
2 January 1861 – 9 March 1888 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Maria Teresa of the Two Sicilies
as German Queen 		German Empress consort
18 January 1871 – 9 March 1888

January 01, 1970
augusta, saxe, weimar, eisenach, maria, luise, augusta, catherina, september, 1811, january, 1890, queen, prussia, first, german, empress, wife, william, german, emperor, portrait, franz, xaver, winterhalter, 1853, queen, consort, prussiatenure2, january, 1861. Augusta of Saxe Weimar Eisenach Maria Luise Augusta Catherina 30 September 1811 7 January 1890 was Queen of Prussia and the first German Empress as the wife of William I German Emperor Augusta of Saxe Weimar EisenachPortrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter 1853 Queen consort of PrussiaTenure2 January 1861 9 March 1888German Empress consortTenure18 January 1871 9 March 1888Born 1811 09 30 30 September 1811Weimar Saxe Weimar EisenachDied7 January 1890 1890 01 07 aged 78 Berlin German EmpireBurialMausoleum at Charlottenburg PalaceSpouseWilliam I German Emperor m 1829 died 1888 wbr IssueFrederick III German Emperor Louise Grand Duchess of BadenNamesMaria Luise Augusta CatherinaHouseSaxe Weimar EisenachFatherCharles Frederick Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar EisenachMotherGrand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of RussiaSignature A member of the Grand Ducal House of Saxe Weimar Eisenach and closely related to the Russian Imperial House of Romanov through her mother Maria Pavlovna in June 1829 Augusta married Prince William of Prussia The marriage was tense Wilhelm actually wanted to marry his cousin Elisa Radziwill who was judged to be unsuitable by the Prussian court and the political views and intellectual interests of the two spouses were also far apart Despite personal differences Augusta and William often worked together to handle correspondence and social gatherings at court In 1831 and 1838 they had two children Frederick William and Louise After the death of her father in law King Frederick William III of Prussia in 1840 Augusta became the wife of the heir presumptive to the Prussian throne It was not an official position that gave Augusta political influence but rather her social relationships and dynastic proximity to William An important role was played by extensive correspondence with her husband other princes statesmen officers diplomats clergy scientists and writers She saw herself as her husband s political advisor and saw the Prussian Prime Minister and German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck as her main political enemy While Bismarck biographies sometimes characterize the Empress s political views as anti liberal or as destructive directed solely against Bismarck s policies more recent research classifies them as liberal Accordingly Augusta did not succeed overall in convincing her husband to restructure Prussia and Germany along the lines of United Kingdom s constitutional monarchy Nevertheless she certainly had political leeway in raising the heir to the throne as an advocate for the Catholic population and through her access to the king and anti militaristic representation Exactly how far Augusta s influence as a monarch s wife went in the 19th century is still being debated in historiography Contents 1 Life 1 1 Childhood and youth 1811 1826 Shaped by the Weimar court 1 2 Marriage to Prince William Means of alliance politics and dynastic position 1 3 First years of marriage Tense relationship with Wilhelm and birth of the children 1 4 Courtly life Conflicts residence design and interaction with William 1 5 Wife of the heir to the throne 1840 1858 1 5 1 Increased interest in politics 1 5 2 Contacts with the British royal family and Prince von Puckler 1 5 3 Revolution of 1848 Political appeals for reform and beginning of hostility with Bismarck 1 5 4 Koblenz years 1850 1858 1 5 4 1 Courtyard of the Wochenblattpartei the Rheinanlagen charity 1 5 4 2 Marriage of children 1 6 Wife of the Prince Regent 1858 1861 political influence and failure 1 7 Queen of Prussia 1861 1888 1 7 1 Coronation and opposition to Bismarck 1 7 2 Distanced attitude to militarism and the German war 1 7 3 Charitable activity 1 7 4 Conduct in the Franco Prussian War 1 8 German Empress 1871 1888 1 8 1 Absence at the founding of the German Empire 1 8 2 Criticism of the Kulturkampf 1 8 3 Climax of the conflict with Bismarck 1 8 4 Approaching the Reich Chancellor 1 8 5 Annual travel and political involvement in the last years of life 1 9 Death and legacy 2 Reception 2 1 Contemporary perception 2 1 1 Bismarck and its surroundings 2 1 2 Controversial public reputation 2 2 Symbolic representation and commemoration 2 2 1 Eponyms and monuments 2 2 2 Pictorial representations 2 2 3 Exhibitions and events 2 3 Research 2 3 1 Assessment of political scope for action 2 3 2 Research into epistolary correspondence 3 Honours 4 Ancestry 5 Notes 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksLife editChildhood and youth 1811 1826 Shaped by the Weimar court edit nbsp Augusta s mother Maria Pavlovna a granddaughter of Catherine the Great by Vladimir Borovikovsky 1804 nbsp Augusta s father Charles Frederick Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar Eisenach from 1828 to 1853 by Johann Friedrich August Tischbein 1804 Princess Augusta was born on 30 September 1811 in Weimar 1 She was the third but second surviving child of Charles Frederick Hereditary Prince of Saxe Weimar Eisenach and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna sister of Emperor Tsar Alexander I of Russia The princess baptism took place a few days later on 6 October 2 with her full name being Maria Luise Augusta Catherina a As is usual with royal and princely families Augusta grew up not primarily in the care of her parents but rather with her nanny Amalia Batsch 2 Her court teachers taught her four foreign languages English Russian French and Latin Additional subjects included mathematics geography religion history dancing drawing horse riding and music Her teachers included specialists such as the court painter Luise Seidler the composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel and the numismatist Frederic Soret However the most important point of reference for Augusta was the poet and natural scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Goethe organized the teaching content in consultation with Augusta s parents and taught it in the environment of the University of Jena For Augusta looking back Goethe was the best most dear friend that she and her sister Maria Luise who was three years older than her would have had in their childhood Both sisters hardly had any contact with their peers 3 According to the historian Lothar Gall Augusta s political stance was shaped in the long term by her comparatively liberal family home 4 Her grandfather Karl August Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar Eisenach had already introduced a constitution in the Grand Duchy in 1816 5 According to Monika Wienfort this contributed to Augusta later advocating the transformation of Prussia into a constitutional monarchy 6 As Gall believes the political climate in Weimar favored Augusta s later proximity to a circle in the so called Wochenblattpartei who advocated not only for a Lesser Germany unity without Austria but also for an alliance with the leading forces of the liberal bourgeoisie and a continuation of the Prussian reforms 7 The GDR historian Ernst Engelberg on the other hand fundamentally denies Augusta s liberal stance her political views are more likely to be located in the tradition of enlightened absolutism 8 She did not want to know anything about a parliamentary regime but rather advocated a constitution freely chosen by the monarch 9 The Weimar court also shaped Augusta from a cultural perspective She developed a strong interest in art was considered well educated and was particularly strictly brought up to observe official court manners the so called etiquette 10 Marriage to Prince William Means of alliance politics and dynastic position edit Augusta s mother Maria Pavlovna made marriage plans for both daughters towards Prussia which bordered Saxony Weimar Eisenach on several sides and was therefore perceived as a threat to the Grand Duchy The marriages of Augusta to Prince William and Marie to Prince Charles of Prussia William s younger brother were intended to ensure the continued existence of the Grand Duchy Maria Pavlovna no longer considered the protection provided by family ties to the Romanov Holstein Gottorp dynasty to be sufficient Since she became Grand Duchess herself in 1828 she was able to push ahead with marriage efforts 11 On the Prussian side the motivation was to further expand the dynastic ties with Russia because Augusta was a niece of Emperor Nicholas I 12 Since the joint victory over Napoleon Prussia and Russia were particularly close in terms of alliance politics A daughter of the Prussian King Frederick William III Princess Charlotte had already been married to Nicholas Emperor Alexander I s second brother and eventual successor in 1817 13 nbsp Augusta of Saxe Weimar Eisenach as a bride ca 1829 Since his youth Prince William on the other hand was in love with a former childhood playmate his cousin Elisa Radziwill daughter of his aunt Princess Louise 14 However due to her paternal descent from the Polish noble family Radziwill Elisa was not considered an equal The Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar Eisenach made his consent to the marriage of William s younger brother Charles and his daughter Marie conditional on William only being allowed to enter into a morganatic marriage with Elisa Frederick William III wanted such a connection and therefore forbade his son to marry Elisa in June 1826 15 In the same year William and Augusta met for the first time when Marie was engaged to Charles 16 Since it was now clear that William s older brother the later Frederick William IV would remain childless William now had the task of producing legitimate dynastic offspring This is how Frederick William III arranged a marriage between William and Augusta 17 The Weimar princess saw several advantages in the connection Before the marriage Augusta as the second born daughter held a lower rank at court than her older sister Since the latter was only supposed to marry William s younger brother Augusta would rank above Marie in Prussia and could expect to become the wife of the heir to the throne 6 The wedding took place on 11 June 1829 in the chapel at Schloss Charlottenburg 18 At this time Augusta was 17 years old 19 First years of marriage Tense relationship with Wilhelm and birth of the children edit nbsp Princess Augusta by Carl Joseph Begas 1838 Klassik Stiftung Weimar Weimar According to the historian Robert Tarek Fischer the marriage was tense for several reasons On the one hand William who was 14 years older made no secret of his continued affection for Elisa On the other hand Augusta s liberal views and intellectual interests were not shared by William and large parts of the Prussian court 18 As the historian Birgit Aschmann assumes Augusta was also used to greater cultural openness from the Weimar court than was the case with the Hohenzollerns From her husband s point of view she didn t correspond enough to the bourgeois ideal of a woman As William criticized in October 1829 she was more of a woman of mind and not of heart In doing so Augusta violated the gender image of the time according to which men had to be rational and women had to be emotional 19 According to the historian Jurgen Angelow despite its political motivation the marriage was not quite as unhappy as it could have been Over time a relationship of trust and respect developed between the two 12 In her role as a Prussian princess Augusta was expected to be reserved at the Berlin court Deviating from this norm however she shared her views openly and was therefore later perceived as a political threat to her husband 20 On 18 October 1831 Augusta gave birth to her son Frederick William The succession of the Prussian royal house seemed assured by the birth 21 Augusta had a great influence on the upbringing of the future heir to the throne Frederick William completed a military career but was also taught natural sciences philosophy literature and classical studies according to a neo humanistic curriculum At his mother s instigation his playmates included many middle class high school students Augusta encouraged her son to study at the University of Bonn away from the influence of the Berlin court 22 Seven years passed until the second child Louise the later Grand Duchess of Baden was born in Berlin on 3 December 1838 23 Louise was Augusta s last child as her next two pregnancies in 1842 and 1843 ended in miscarriages 24 Courtly life Conflicts residence design and interaction with William edit nbsp Schloss Babelsberg Augusta s summer residence near Potsdam Augusta had a contentious relationship with the Prussian court The courtly demeanor she practiced in Weimar was perceived as overly proud and aloof in Berlin and Potsdam Augusta for her part disliked the court which was culturally more frugal and more military oriented compared to her homeland She saw her position as increasingly useless and complained that only Crown Princess Elisabeth the wife of the future King Frederick William IV was allowed to do charitable work 10 In addition she maintained contact less with the established Prussian noble families than with confidants some of whom were viewed as foreigners 25 Augusta s summer residence since 1835 was Schloss Babelsberg near Potsdam As a builder she had some influence on the palace s construction after studying architectural theoretical works and engravings of English country estates she made sketches herself and asked the responsible architects to implement their designs 26 27 In the following years Augusta also devoted himself to the interior design of the palace 24 With the English inspired place and landscape garden she expressed her sympathies for liberally governed Great Britain 28 Augusta also had a great influence on the interior design of her winter residence in Berlin the Altes Palais Here she invited military men politicians scientists artists and courtiers to evening tea parties 29 One of their favorite guests was the explorer Alexander von Humboldt there he reported on his travels or read classical literature The antiquarian Ernst Curtius was often present as a speaker and chess player 30 Political topics were also discussed with Augusta using the meetings to gather information In addition she read several newspapers every day and on this basis created written summaries of the most important events for William 31 Through the meetings and exchanges with his wife William thought as he himself told her in a letter that he could provide an official guideline for her statements His aim was to influence their opinions in his favor and to conceal any disharmony between them from the public William had Augusta take care of some of his writing correspondence she had to proofread or copy texts he had written and was also a co author of some of his correspondence 32 Such a division of tasks among royal couples was not unusual in the 19th century because the dynasty was considered a kind of family business 33 Wife of the heir to the throne 1840 1858 edit Increased interest in politics edit nbsp Crown Princess Augusta by Franz Xaver Winterhalter 1846 With the death of King Frederick William III on 7 June 1840 William became heir to the throne Augusta was critical of the policies of the new ruling Prussian king her brother in law Frederick William IV She viewed its lack of reform as a mistake that would cost the monarchy the loyalty of the population Augusta advocated early voluntary surrender and the fulfillment of the general wishes of the subjects In their opinion the existence of the monarchical form of rule itself was at risk if the crown did not respond to the demands of the political public 34 She shared the assessment with the British Queen s husband Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha that Prussia should first become a constitutional state following the British model and only then should it implement national unity for Germany 35 According to the historian Caroline Galm Augusta saw it as her duty to give her son Frederick William a chance at the throne through his own political involvement 36 She therefore increasingly turned to political topics and from 1843 onwards wrote several memoranda which she presented to both her husband and Prussian statesmen For her advice Augusta contacted among others the envoys Alexander von Schleinitz and Franz von Roggenbach a politician from the Grand Duchy of Baden The correspondence between Roggenbach and Augusta has only been partially preserved as Augusta had politically explosive letters destroyed or returned by confidants for fear of censorship 5 At court the manner in which their opinions were presented was perceived as overly temperamental William therefore jokingly referred to his wife as a little opposition devil in letters 37 Internally she expressed doubts about William s intellectual abilities and accused him of not being sufficiently sophisticated in his observations 38 Contacts with the British royal family and Prince von Puckler edit Augusta now also maintained contacts with the British Queen Victoria In 1845 the monarch visited Augusta and William in Berlin The following year the princely couple made a return visit to London 39 Victoria showed sympathy for Augusta and said in a letter to the Belgian king She is too enlightened and too liberal not to have enemies at the Prussian court but I believe that I have found in her a friend who can be very useful to us 39 The correspondence between the British Queen and Augusta continued for several decades and ultimately initiated the marriage between her son Frederick William and Victoria s eldest daughter and namesake the Princess Royal 40 Since the 1840s Augusta also wrote letters to Prince Hermann von Puckler Muskau a famous writer and world traveler at the time Augusta had known him from the Weimar court since 1826 She particularly appreciated the conversation with Puckler who in her opinion stood out from the Prussian court with his eloquent and intellectual manner She talked to him about among other things the Weimar court England Paris and her health 41 42 In 1842 1843 she entrusted the prince with the landscaping of Babelsberg Park 43 Augusta and Puckler agreed in their preference for the English cottage style and were based on English pattern books for example by the architect Robert Lugar In order to emphasize his artistic proximity to Augusta Puckler had a blacksmith s shop built in Branitzer Park which was similar to the Small Castle in Babelsberg Park 44 Revolution of 1848 Political appeals for reform and beginning of hostility with Bismarck edit nbsp Barricade at the Friedrichstrasse during the March Revolution 1848 in Berlin by FG Nordmann 1848 Historical Museum Frankfurt During the Revolutions of 1848 1849 there were also violent clashes between the military and the civilian population in Berlin Augusta s husband was seen as primarily responsible for the bloodshed and was forced into exile in Great Britain Meanwhile Augusta took her two children to safety in Potsdam Since she was considered comparatively enlightened by the public she remained safe there 45 In response to the revolution Augusta called for rapid reforms In a letter to William dated 5 June 1848 she said It is now a matter of saving the monarchy and its support the dynasty this is the task for which no sacrifice can be big enough She also recommended that Prussia in the German question take the initiative and push forward a national agreement regardless of the politics in Vienna and St Petersburg 46 She again advised that the Prussian people should have a say in political decisions A constitution could create a legal and clearly regulated basis for this 47 The revolution of 1848 1849 had long term consequences for Augusta s relationship with the future Chancellor Otto von Bismarck on 23 March 1848 shortly after the March Revolution of 1848 she received him in the Potsdam City Palace According to Augusta s version Bismarck tried to win her over to a counter revolution against King Frederick William IV Bismarck wanted to find out where her husband was so that he could ask him to give him orders to march on Berlin That would have treasonously counteracted the retreat of the soldiers ordered by King Frederick William IV 48 She was also bothered by the fact that Bismarck stated that he was acting on behalf of her brother in law Prince Charles William s younger brother Just a few days earlier Charles had suggested that the King and Prince William abdicate or forego the royal succession Augusta therefore suspected him of wanting to take the royal throne himself and stage a coup with Bismarck s help Bismarck for his part subsequently accused Augusta of having plotted against William in 1848 she had worked towards taking over the regency for her son Frederick William herself For him it was only about protecting the reigning king from the revolution with the help of the military 49 Since according to the historian and Bismarck biographer Eberhard Kolb Augusta s and Bismarck s notes about the events contradict each other the contents of the conversation can no longer be reconstructed All that can be said with certainty is that Augusta had been hostile to Bismarck since this encounter 50 The historian David E Barclay estimates her role to the effect that she successfully defended William s position as heir to the throne in the spring and summer William s relationship with his wife improved as a result According to Barclay s account he also approached her politically influenced by Augusta s memoranda and letters The prince who had previously been absolutist minded slowly moved in a moderate conservative but constitutional direction 51 However this view is controversial According to historian Jan Markert William independently recognized during the 1848 revolution that the Prussian monarchy would have to come to terms with a constitutional form of government 52 Wehler Hans Ulrich on the other hand sees Augusta as the reason for William s later turn to the right wing liberal Wochenblattpartei 53 At the same time the possibility of forcing a change of ruler was being considered in liberal circles Augusta was brought into discussion as a possible regent for her underage son Frederick William In contrast to Great Britain Portugal and Spain there was no tradition of reigning queens or regents in Prussia Since King Frederick William IV also promised reforms the plan was quickly rejected 54 Augusta subsequently destroyed some of her letters from the revolutionary years 55 Koblenz years 1850 1858 edit Courtyard of the Wochenblattpartei the Rheinanlagen charity edit nbsp Augusta s residence in Koblenz the former Electoral Palace In 1849 King Frederick William IV appointed Prince William military governor of the Rhine Province and the Province of Westphalia From 1850 onwards the prince moved to Koblenz the capital of the Prussian Rhine Province In the Electoral Palace there Augusta had the opportunity to live a court life like she was accustomed to during her childhood at the Weimar court 56 In Koblenz she was able to surround herself with a group of people she liked establish contacts with the Rhineland bourgeoisie and maintain a less distant relationship with the local population Their tolerance towards the Catholic denomination and charitable support contributed to this Barclay characterizes her production as both royal dynastic and close to the people 57 Some of Augusta s confidants at the Koblenz court often members of the Wochenblattpartei became ministers of state under Prince Regent William in the so called New Era The reigning monarch and partly also Prince William disliked Augusta s comparatively liberal choice of guests William did not always have influence on this as he was often not in Koblenz Castle 57 In Koblenz Augusta had a park with a promenade created on the left bank of the Rhine from 1856 onwards the so called Rheinanlagen Until then there had only been a representative section of the bank directly at the Electoral Palace and on the Rheinlache In addition she had the Rheinanlagen upgraded with pavilions and newly planted trees 58 For the first time Augusta supported organizations on a larger scale that worked in the area of nursing or caring for the poor These included among others the Catholic order of the Brothers of Mercy in Weitersburg and the Kaiserswerther Diakonie In 1850 she became patron of the Evangelical Women s Association Evangelischen Frauenvereins and two years later also of the Catholic Women s Association Katholischen Frauenvereins 59 Marriage of children edit nbsp The wedding of Augusta s son Frederick William and Victoria Princess Royal in London s St James s Palace on 25 January 1858 by John Phillip 1860 Royal Collection Augusta is the third person from the left Augusta initiated the marriage of her daughter Louise to Frederick I Grand Duke of Baden who was considered liberal which took place in 1856 60 Two years later she welcomed the marriage of her son Frederick William to Victoria the eldest daughter of the British Queen Augusta herself had promoted the marriage and saw it as a means of leading Prussia away from what she saw as an autocratically ruled Russia in terms of alliance policy Instead it should move closer to Great Britain and France 5 Historian Hannah Pakula also attributes her reservations about Russia to the fact that Augusta blamed the Russians for the assassination of her grandfather Emperor Paul I in 1801 On the other hand she sympathized with France throughout her life as she was particularly familiar with its culture during her upbringing Despite her sympathies for the British royal family Augusta s relationship with her daughter in law Victoria remained quite cool Victoria herself complained about Augusta s temperamental moodiness 61 Although both women shared a similar political stance they argued about the proper upbringing of Frederick William s children While Augusta valued traditional courtly representation Victoria led a more middle class family life 6 To Augusta s displeasure Victoria also acted publicly and for example advocated university education for women She was close to the women s movement of her time 62 According to Monika Wienfort Augusta s charitable support always remained in the area of traditional monarchical charity Augusta s commitment was intended to increase the social standing of her class Like many women from the aristocracy and bourgeoisie at the end of the 19th century she did not intend to achieve emancipatory equality with men 63 Wife of the Prince Regent 1858 1861 political influence and failure edit Because Frederick William IV was no longer considered fit to govern after several strokes his brother was appointed Prince Regent in 1858 In the fall of that year Augusta returned with him to Berlin but remained connected to Koblenz through frequent travel throughout her life 64 William appointed ministers who stood for a more liberal policy and many of whom had frequented the Koblenz court Alexander von Schleinitz a confidant of Augusta was given the Foreign Ministry 65 Augusta had been close friends with Schleinitz since the revolutionary period in 1848 Bismarck therefore speculated that his rival only owes his career to petticoats 66 However the historian Bastian Peiffer sees this as an insinuation and denies that Augusta was the actual founder of the new government 67 Birgit Aschmann sees contemporary names such as Augusta Ministry as conservative attempts to devalue the new political course Augusta therefore sympathized with the newly formed ministry Some of the ministers like her were convinced that aligning with Great Britain would also be advantageous domestically 68 According to the American historian Otto Pflanze she saw the government of the so called New Era as her ministry their dismissal was therefore a lasting insult for Augusta which is why she opposed the later Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck regardless of whether he took a liberal or conservative course in politics 69 The comparatively liberal phase only lasted about three years There were several reasons for this On the one hand the British Prince Consort Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha the most important operator of the Prussian British connection died in 1861 At the same time conflicts between Augusta and her daughter in law Victoria increased Augusta resented her influence on Frederick William On the other hand in the course of a reform of the Prussian army William came into a fundamental conflict with the Prussian House of Representatives In view of a Prussian constitutional conflict he thought about more conservative appointments in his government 70 Queen of Prussia 1861 1888 edit Coronation and opposition to Bismarck edit nbsp Augusta in her coronation robes and regalia depicted by Minna Pfuller based on a painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter ca 1864 Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin Brandenburg nbsp Queen Victoria with the Queen of Prussia in the gardens of Frogmore House circa 1867 nbsp Idealizing representation of a visit by Augusta to a lazaretto single sheet print with the title Augusta the Queen of Prussia in the Lazareth 1870 according to the signature by an illustrator with the surname Kaiser collection of the Berlin State Library In the middle of this state crisis Frederick William IV died on 2 January 1861 Augusta became Queen consort of Prussia Her coronation ceremony took place on 18 October of the same year in the Konigsberg Palace Chapel After William had placed the royal crown on himself he then crowned his wife 71 Augusta was the second crowned queen in Prussian history before her only Sophia Charlotte of Hanover was granted such ceremony in Konigsberg in 1701 72 During the escalating conflict between her husband and the House of Representatives Augusta and William tried to talk out of appointing Otto von Bismarck as Prime Minister 73 She did not believe that he would have an integrating and conciliatory effect and expected him to further escalate the domestic political dispute As she found in 1864 Bismarck was a principled and careless person who sometimes had to harbor doubts about the sanity of his words and deeds 74 Augusta already found Bismarck s appearance as envoy to the Frankfurt Bundestag to be diplomatically unacceptable With his undisguised great power ambitions he always aroused mistrust among the Prussians towards friendly governments in the German Confederation 75 As late as Easter 1862 the queen warned her husband about Bismarck as a possible prime minister with an eighteen page memorandum 76 William ignored her advice in September 1862 Crown Prince Frederick William commented on his decision with the words Poor Mama how bitterly this sic appointment of her mortal enemy will hurt her 77 Bismarck in turn despised Augusta because of her influence on Wilhelm He saw her actions as a violation of the boundaries of female freedom of action From his perspective female influence on the supposedly weak ruler had to be avoided In addition to Augusta he saw Crown Princess Victoria as a threat While Bismarck attested to Augusta s sense of duty and noble behavior he completely denied Victoria such qualities 78 From the perspective of Bismarck and his allies Augusta belonged to an opposing political camp at court The Bismarck party therefore also publicly polemicized against Augusta as the most prominent representative of the so called English faction In this way their criticism of the government s reactionary and foreign policy course should be discredited 79 Despite Bismarck s appointment Augusta continued to try to advise her husband To this end she intensified her contact with Franz von Roggenbach and often visited the former Baden Foreign Minister in Baden Baden where she stayed for a cure Like Augusta Roggenbach was a critic of Bismarck s politics In consultation with Roggenbach she formulated political memoranda to William I 80 Bismarck held Augusta responsible if the king did not follow his advice In such cases she had plotted against him at previous breakfasts with the king According to Bismarck his political opponents would form in Augusta s environment including Crown Princess Victoria and the entire court faction that was hostile to him 81 In later years Bismarck accused the queen of ruining his ability to hold office and his health with her intrigues 82 Distanced attitude to militarism and the German war edit Augusta did support a national unification of Germany under Prussian rule However the Queen wanted to see unity achieved through peaceful means and condemned the three German wars of unification in 1864 1866 and 1870 1871 Karin Feuerstein Prasser therefore characterizes Augusta as a pacifist 83 Birgit Aschmann puts this assessment into perspective by referring to Queen Augusta s 4th Guard Grenadier Regiment which was subordinate to her and which the monarch particularly supported Nevertheless Aschmann emphasizes that unlike most liberal actors Augusta did not show any patriotic enthusiasm even during the military victories She maintained her critical attitude towards Bismarck s foreign policy Especially in the run up to the Austro Prussian War in 1866 she tried to use her correspondence to the various courts to mediate diplomatically and to avert military escalation 84 Augusta particularly feared an unfavorable course of the war against Austria She argued that Prussia would benefit from the goodwill of Napoleon III in a military confrontation make you dependent The Queen also turned to the British Queen Victoria with a request for mediation From May 1866 onwards she gave up her diplomatic appeals 85 In the run up to the war of 1866 Augusta Wilhelm again tried to convince Bismarck to be fired Victoria Frederick William and the Grand Duke of Baden Frederick I also advised the Prussian monarch to take such a step However William stuck by his Prime Minister 86 Charitable activity edit Charitable welfare was considered a traditional area of activity for princesses in the 19th century 6 As a reaction to the wars of German unification Augusta was primarily involved in soldier welfare To improve the care of the wounded in the hospitals the Queen visited the famous British nurse Florence Nightingale and received Henry Dunant who had founded the Red Cross in 1863 64 At her instigation the first international meeting of the Red Cross took place in Berlin in 1869 87 88 Many pictures show her with the organization s badge Several hospitals were founded on her initiative this includes the Langenbeck Virchow Haus which still exists today and is the headquarters of the German Society of Surgery After the death of the surgeon Bernhard von Langenbeck Augusta lobbied the government and with its own financial subsidies to set up this society its own place of work 89 Augusta also took part in the organization of the Order of Louise which was newly founded in 1865 The award was given primarily to women who had excelled in caring for the wounded or raising funds for the affected soldiers Augusta was able to ensure that Catholic women were also honored She herself suggested many of those to be honored to the king 90 In 1866 she founded the Vaterlandischer Frauenverein which looked after wounded and sick soldiers 89 In 1868 Augusta used the association to organize a market in Berlin The proceeds of 70 000 thalers then went to those affected by floods in East Prussia Augusta himself donated 6 000 thalers to clergy in the disaster region 6 Conduct in the Franco Prussian War edit In view of increasing diplomatic tensions between Prussia and France the queen recommended that her husband adopt a conciliatory tone in 1868 In a speech he should testify that Prussia is aware of the task of maintaining peace In 1870 she recommended that he not support Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen s candidacy for the Spanish throne which was provoking France and described the undertaking as an adventurous project However Bismarck was able to prevail on William on this point so Leopold accepted the candidacy Bismarck used the French reactions to this to provoke France into declaring war on Prussia 91 As before the war against Austria in 1866 Augusta once again feared a Prussian defeat William initially had a similar opinion but in July 1870 he did not want to give the French government a promise that it would never approve a Hohenzollern s candidacy for the Spanish throne Augusta expressed understanding for this position She also classified the Paris demand as a defamatory challenge but advocated accepting a diplomatic victory for France if necessary 92 When the Franco Prussian War broke out Augusta was still in Koblenz She was the last member of the royal family to return to the capital which angered William After the monarch left for his headquarters in France Augusta took over many of his representative tasks in Berlin She received ministers of state and received the reports from Governor General Bonin 93 She also performed tasks in the military sector such as saying goodbye to troops or visiting officers who had suffered a family loss in the war She also appeared in military hospitals and took part in meetings of several clubs for the care of the wounded 94 In the presence of the queen dispatches about battles won were read out several times from the balcony of the Old Palace 95 In Aschmann s opinion the queen was emotionally reserved She simply waved a cloth from the balcony and wanted to show a certain distance from the war 96 German Empress 1871 1888 edit Absence at the founding of the German Empire edit nbsp Portrait of Empress Augusta by Carl Johann Arnold 1875 oil on canvas Royal Collection nbsp Empress Augusta photography by F Jamrath amp Sohn Berlin 1880s nbsp The German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck with a spiked helmet photigraphy by Loescher P amp Petsch 1871 German Federal Archives Augusta was hardly involved in the preparations for the Proclamation of the German Empire While William was at the Palace of Versailles near Paris the headquarters of the General Staff she remained in Berlin and was in close correspondence with her husband In her correspondence she tried to influence William politically For example she suggested waiting to proclaim emperor until the Bavarian state parliament had agreed to join the German nation state However William ignored her recommendation in this regard Since the letters from Berlin to Versailles usually took three to four days she was hardly informed about current political issues William did not want to resort to the quicker means of communication via telegraph to her She did not want to use the title of German Empress herself In December 1870 Augusta informed the Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar Eisenach that it was sufficient if only William took imperial rank However Augusta s stance on this issue was not taken into account After William s proclamation as Emperor on 18 January 1871 she received letters for example from the Prussian state parliament congratulating her on her new dignity However the title of German Empress was never legally fixed in the Constitution of the German Empire 97 Criticism of the Kulturkampf edit The Empress s political relationship with Catholicism played a special role after 1871 Augusta who like the Emperor belonged to the Protestant faith saw Ultramontanism a political movement loyal to the Pope as a detriment to the loyalty of the Catholic population since the 1850s According to the historian Caroline Galm Augusta therefore tried to remedy integration deficits and reconcile the Catholics with the Protestant ruling dynasty 98 For example in order to gain sympathy in predominantly Catholic southern Germany Augusta recommended that her husband diplomatically advocate for the Pope s rights in October 1870 The background to this was the occupation of the previously independent Papal States by troops of the Kingdom of Italy 99 The Empress considered Bismarck s anti Catholic policy in the Kulturkampf to be the wrong approach Although she also rejected the content of the First Vatican Council of 1869 she believed that reconciliation could be achieved with moderate Catholic forces In 1872 she sent William a specially written memorandum on the ecclesiastical political situation In the document she called on him to have a calming effect on the Catholic Church to restore the lost trust and to mitigate the harshness of the contradictions as much as possible 100 Augusta appealed to the authorities and Emperor several times on behalf of the Catholic population 101 In 1872 for example she campaigned for Philipp Krementz to remain in office as Bishop of Warmia 102 The cultural scientist Andrea Micke Serin attributes a softening of the Congregations Law of 1875 to Augusta s influence Although the law continued to provide for the closure of Catholic monastic orders in Prussia it excluded pure nursing orders from this 103 Climax of the conflict with Bismarck edit In 1877 Bismarck asked the Emperor to dismiss him ostensibly because of the ongoing conflicts with Augusta and those around him After William granted him a vacation of several weeks Bismarck pushed several press articles in which he primarily blamed the Empress for his plans to resign 104 As Bismarck biographer Christoph Nonn summarizes the Imperial Chancellor competed with several players at court for influence over the monarch 105 The Queen and Empress would have a special role to play here As he himself complained Bismarck had to constantly work against their influence on the monarch The American historian Jonathan Steinberg explains Bismarck s enmity with psychological childhood trauma Under a domineering and cold hearted mother he developed a strong contempt for women and felt threatened by women who dominated their weak husbands Augusta who appeared self confident towards William fit into Bismarck s image of the enemy 106 At the same time Steinberg sees the Empress as a favorable factor for Bismarck s political position in the Empire The conflict with Augusta made the Emperor more lenient and increased his willingness to give in to the political demands of his chancellor 107 Approaching the Reich Chancellor edit Since the Catholic Center Party gained votes in the Reichstag elections of 1878 Bismarck was forced to end the Kulturkampf Augusta considered this a personal success against Bismarck Shortly afterwards the Empress began to approach Bismarck The reason for this was on the one hand their respect for his foreign policy achievements at the Congress of Berlin Augusta now described the Imperial Chancellor as a brilliant statesman In Bismarck s spirit it encouraged William to enter into a dual alliance with Austria without Russia On the other hand she now considered Bismarck to be the right man to prepare her grandson the future German Emperor William II for his government work 108 According to Augusta biographer Karin Feuerstein Prasser Augusta s approach to Bismarck had less to do with his politics than with tensions within the family Like the Imperial Chancellor she considered her son Frederick William to be less suitable as a future ruler than Prince William She denied the Crown Prince the intellectual abilities and political determination required for the imperial office Augusta and Bismarck were particularly bothered by the fact that Victoria was diminishing her own influence over Frederick William Both therefore placed their political expectations on Prince William 109 Since he was not on good terms with his mother Victoria the prince also became closer to his grandmother and his aunt Louise after his studies 110 Annual travel and political involvement in the last years of life edit Augusta often stayed away from the Berlin court She only spent about half the year in Berlin In May she usually traveled to Baden Baden for a cure This was followed by a stay in Koblenz in June where she pursued charitable and social tasks From there she occasionally visited her daughter Louise in the Baden residential city of Karlsruhe or took a spa treatment in Bad Ems where her husband also traveled In the fall Augusta stayed again in Baden Baden or on the Lake Constance island of Mainau She spent the winter season in Berlin from November to April 111 The Empress herself increasingly suffered from physical ailments including rheumatism for many years and sustained serious injuries in a fall in Koblenz in June 1881 From then on she was dependent on crutches and a wheelchair 112 Nevertheless Augusta tried to continue to participate politically and also to fulfill her patronage of the Catholic population To this end she relied among other things on financial support 113 When her husband died on 9 March 1888 Augusta was personally present in the Old Palace Only 99 days later on 15 June her son who had succeeded to the throne as Frederick III succumbed to cancer of the larynx As a result her beloved grandson William II become King of Prussia and German Emperor 114 Death and legacy edit Augusta died on 7 January 1890 aged 78 at the Old Palace during the 1889 1890 flu pandemic 115 She was initially lying in state for the public at the Old Palace on Unter den Linden boulevard in Mitte the historic heart and city center of Berlin and later buried at the Mausoleum at Charlottenburg Palace beside her husband In accordance with her will the Augusta Fund other charitable institutions particularly in Berlin and Koblenz and the Koblenz Rheinanlagen received financial donations 116 Reception editContemporary perception edit Bismarck and its surroundings edit Since Bismarck had not been on good terms with Augusta since the revolution of 1848 he painted a negative picture of the Empress in his autobiography Thoughts and Memories she had exerted a harmful influence on William I and was due to her sympathies for the French and English culture was unpatriotic 117 Bismarck also falsely accused her of being a traitor who passed on state secrets to the French embassy Their pacifist attitude was unrealistic and their intrigues made it difficult for him to conduct state affairs 118 The Prussian Prime Minister and Imperial Chancellor attributed a need for contradiction to the Empress when he swung to a conservative course she tried to promote a liberal group of people If on the other hand he acted more liberally the Empress would have sided with the conservatives and Catholics Bismarck thought that Augusta only did not oppose the Prussian government during the so called New Era In this phase she was able to prevail in the ministerial election 119 The historian Petra Wilhelmy comes to the conclusion that Bismarck for Augusta did injustice to a certain extent The monarch did not act out of a fundamental spirit of contradiction to his policies but rather in contrast to the Reich Chancellor was comparatively liberal minded and religiously tolerant 120 In addition to Bismarck Ernest II Duke of Saxe Coburg and Gotha publicly positioned himself against the supposed dominance of the Empress and Crown Princess Victoria his own niece In view of the women s policy he warned against hostile and harmful to the Germans undertakings 121 Controversial public reputation edit Overall however the effectiveness of Augusta s political actions in the 19th century was rated as low due to her conflict with Bismarck Reviews focused on their representative role in the monarchy Like other princesses she had to conform to the prevailing role model that is to be active in the area of charitable work and royal representation the latter particularly during William s war related absences From the perspective of contemporaries Augusta was only partially suitable for this Although she was present as the patron of many Vaterlandischer Frauenverein apart from this commitment to caring for the wounded she mostly kept a low profile in public 122 On 27 July 1867 the Illustrirte Zeitung criticized Augusta s increasing withdrawal into family life Before the revolution of 1848 1849 she was still a brilliant figure at the court in Berlin Nowadays however she mainly keeps herself hidden in the quiet circle of family life and hardly takes part in Berlin court life anymore Instead she spent most of the year outside the residence at her favorite residence in Koblenz or in Karlsruhe with her daughter or in a German bath where she takes the usual cure There was also criticism that she appeared in the capital in a rather inconspicuous manner for a monarch i e that she did not represent enough of her social status 123 According to Katrin Feuerstein Prasser Augusta was never popular outside of Koblenz during her lifetime The historian attributes this to the fact that Augusta would have had difficulty maintaining intensive contacts with the Prussian elite On the other hand it caused a stir that she spoke and wrote predominantly in French This was no longer common practice at the German courts during the founding of the empire 124 According to the historian Gerd Heinrich Augusta was a controversial figure in almost every respect among her contemporaries On the one hand her influence on the upbringing of the heir to the throne and her daughter Louise was viewed positively Their princely demeanor and manners were sometimes considered appropriate On the other hand Augusta s irritability and her mood swings were negative The intellect attributed to her Weimar influence and her penchant for ostentation would have seemed inappropriate at the comparatively economical Hohenzollern court 25 According to Georg Wagner Kyora Augusta s charitable efforts gave Prussia prestige on the international stage Their diplomatic network with other royal houses made them appear unwarlike in the public eye However she never achieved the popularity of her granddaughter in law Augusta Victoria in the Empire William II s wife was respected even among the German bourgeoisie Augusta on the other hand remained too caught up in dynastic traditionalism according to Wagner Kyora s assessment 125 According to David Barclay by emphasizing her high aristocratic origins from the Weimar grand ducal family she maneuvered herself into an outsider position 117 Hannah Pakula blames Augusta s personality for her negative image in court circles Although Augusta was intellectual and intelligent she couldn t stand it when someone didn t agree with her Her energetic appearance at court events attracted criticism King Leopold I of Belgium for example gave her the nickname Dragon of the Rhine alluding to her fondness for the Rhineland 61 In the Prussian Rhine Province and especially in Koblenz Augusta s long standing residence the role of the Empress was viewed positively The history didacticist Marco Zerwas attributes the real veneration of the largely Catholic population for the Protestant Hohenzollerns and William largely to Augusta s public popularity On the occasion of her death in 1890 the city of Koblenz issued a memorial publication entitled Kaiserin Augusta in Coblenz 1850 1889 The work attributes a greater role to their work in the integration of the Rhineland into the Prussian state than to legislation and administration 126 Symbolic representation and commemoration edit Eponyms and monuments edit Empress Augusta monuments nbsp Bebelplatz in Berlin created between 1892 and 1895 by Fritz Schaper destroyed during World War II 127 Photography by Waldemar Titzenthaler 1902 nbsp Lichtentaler Allee in Baden Baden work by Joseph Kopf bust and Friedrich von Thiersch granite base 1892 nbsp Monument in den Rheinanlagen in Koblenz inaugurated in 1896 work by Karl Friedrich Moest sculpture and Bruno Schmitz monument nbsp Kaiser Wilhelm Ring in Koln 1903 work by Franz Dorrenbach bust and Heinrich Stockmann base destroyed in 1943 According to the historian Alexa Geisthovel the memory of the Empress lost significance shortly after her death Streets secondary schools for girls and hospitals such as the Kaiserin Augusta Hospital in Berlin were named after her However only a few monuments b were dedicated to her Geisthovel emphasizes that in the 19th century it was unusual to erect public monuments to a non reigning monarch 128 Among the Prussian queens Augusta was the second after Louise of Mecklenburg Strelitz to have a monument dedicated to her in Berlin 129 In 1891 a Comite called for donations for the Empress Augusta monument 130 As a result the seated figure was inaugurated in 1895 on Opernplatz today s Bebelplatz The historian Helke Rausch interprets the erection of the Augusta monument in the middle of the monarchical representation area as an attempt at politicization since celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the founding of the German Empire were imminent at the time the former head of the Berlin city council Albert Stryck pleaded in his speech at the monument to see Augusta as a representative figure of the German Empire alongside William I the generals and statesmen The reason he gave was that the Empress had raised young women to be active in nursing and to look after the men wounded in the wars of German unification According to Rausch contemporaries made Augusta a role model for female duty and willingness to sacrifice in the charitable sector 131 The Empress s monument which was moved to the park of Schloss Monbijou in 1928 was destroyed during World War II 132 In Baden Baden the city council commissioned the sculptor Joseph Kopf to build a monument to Empress Augusta The bust was inaugurated in 1893 and was intended to commemorate the Empress s regular spa stays in the city 133 In 1893 in their residential city of Koblenz an architectural competition was announced for a monument which Bruno Schmitz won By 1896 he built the Empress Augusta Monument together with the sculptor Karl Friedrich Moest 134 A figure of the ruler stands in the middle of the complex A baldachin in the monument surrounds the figure from behind The decorations symbolically indicate Augusta s commitment to the Red Cross and the city of Koblenz 135 The city of Cologne had another monument to the Empress planned and built on Kaiser Wilhelm Ring from 1897 onwards The contract was advertised nationwide and a cost limit of 60 000 marks was set The choice fell on the sculptors Franz Dorrenbach and Heinrich Stockmann They completed a marble seated figure of the Empress by 1903 136 Pictorial representations edit nbsp Augusta in a medallion wood engraving from the newspaper Uber Land und Meer 1871 artist unknown Bavarian State Library 137 nbsp Augusta and William s carriage ride on Unter den Linden in Berlin image detail from the painting Departure of King Wilhelm I for the Army 31 July 1870 by Adolph Menzel 1871 Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin Augusta used visual representations as a means of propaganda Contrary to bourgeois values however she usually did not allow herself to be portrayed as the wife of William I Instead she showed herself as an independent monarch and thus followed the traditional image of a ruler At the same time she distanced herself from the militarism of the time in her depictions 138 According to Wagner Kyora a wood engraving from 1871 which she had copied is typical in this regard The picture shows her with a Red Cross brooch in a medallion Two injured soldiers flank them Below the medallion you can see the symbol of the Red Cross and an angel with crutches On the one hand the picture highlights Augusta s support of war wounded care At the top the emblems of the German Empire Alsace and Lorraine also refer to the newly created imperial state of Alsace Lorraine Augusta thus appears as a triumphant 139 Adolph Menzel portrayed Augusta as a pacifist in his painting Departure of King Wilhelm I for the Army July 31 1870 As the Franco Prussian War begins she mournfully presses a white handkerchief into her face She is in striking contrast to the crowd which is largely cheering the war 140 Significantly says Wagner Kyora Red Cross flags can be seen in the painting which were not present in the real historical situation but here emphasize Augusta s pacifist attitude 141 Exhibitions and events edit In recent years several special exhibitions have been dedicated to the life and work of Augusta The first Augusta exhibition was held in what is now the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar in 1911 The occasion was the Empress s 100th birthday The librarian Paul von Bojanowski wrote an accompanying biography entitled Weimar and the Empress Augusta In the book which is also an exhibition catalog Bojanowski focuses primarily on the cultural impact of the Weimar court on Augusta 142 In 2011 the Klassik Stiftung Weimar presented an exhibition in the Schloss Weimar entitled The Empress from Weimar Augusta of Saxe Weimar and Eisenach The occasion for this was the Empress s 200th birthday The main topic was the childhood and youth of the then princess i e her time at the Weimar court 34 exhibits were shown including notes from Augusta s court tutors and drawings by the princess herself 143 nbsp The sleeping quarters in Branitz Palace redesigned for Augusta intended by Prince von Puckler for the future queen since May 1857 briefly used by Augusta on 25 July 1864 144 In 2015 the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin Brandenburg showed the special exhibition Women s Matter in Schloss Charlottenburg How Brandenburg became Prussia The presentation also dealt with Augusta along with other Prussian monarchs The Empress was portrayed as a failed liberal opponent of Chancellor Bismarck 145 In 2017 was presented in Schloss Babelsberg the exhibition Puckler Babelsberg The Green Prince and the Empress The focus of the exhibition was on Prince von Puckler s friendly relationship with Augusta From 1842 onwards the noble nobleman redesigned Babelsberg Park on behalf of Augusta and William 146 The special exhibition Augusta of Prussia the Queen as a guest in Branitz in 2017 also focused on the relationship between the future German Empress and Prince von Puckler The main topic was Augusta s stay at Schloss Branitz on 25 July 1864 147 Puckler had rooms in his castle redesigned for Augusta s only visit and ten courses served at the table 148 Since 2006 the Empress Augusta Festival has taken place in the Koblenz Rheinanlagen every year on UNESCO World Heritage Day the first Sunday in June The event is opened by an actress dressed as Empress Augusta 149 Research edit Research has only focused more intensively on Augusta in the last two decades Until then the image of the Empress intended by Bismarck was mostly continued Despite various publications a generally accepted scientific biography is still missing In particular more source based specialist essays are now questioning Bismarck s story regarding the Empress The historian Monika Wienfort judged in 2018 that Augusta research hardly exists to date 6 According to the historian Birgit Aschmann central parts of her life are a research desideratum there is still no scientifically satisfactory biography 55 According to Caroline Galm there have so far been only small scientifically based studies available for example by the historians David E Barclay Alexa Geisthovel Georg Wagner Kyora Frank Lorenz Muller and Susanne Bauer The Augusta biographies from the time of the German Empire lacked any source basis and depending on the author s political background assessed the Empress either in a harmonizing panegyric or grossly negative manner According to Galm biographies from the 1930s and 1940s also adhered to this tradition of representation not least because protection periods made it impossible to evaluate the archive material The most recently published biographies by the writer Helmut H Schulz in 1996 and the historian Karin Feuerstein Prasser in 2011 also did not provide any new insights and continued to view the Empress as a visionary without power Augusta would therefore have been concerned with political control of her husband However at the latest since Bismarck s appointment as Prussian Prime Minister in 1862 she had been deprived of any opportunity to participate in politics As a result her only option was to promote charitable care 150 Historiography thus continued to follow Bismarck s Augusta assessment The role of the Empress like that of Emperor William I remained largely unexplored historiographically in favor of a perspective that favored Bismarck 151 As Ulrich Lappenkuper said at a conference in 2018 Augusta is sometimes still presented as a petty politician who is said to have always schemed against Berlin politics 152 Assessment of political scope for action edit A research focus in the 21st century is Augusta s scope for political action and her self image as a monarch s wife in the 19th century 153 According to Aschmann research on Augusta is particularly interested in the fact that it was in conflict with common patterns gender expectations and political preferences of the time not least the nationalist militaristic mainstream 55 Galm points out that in the 19th century the wife of a monarch was not legally or normatively granted any political freedom of action In practice however Augusta certainly had opportunities to participate politically Her marriage was already motivated by foreign policy She also had to fulfill representative tasks took part in the upbringing of the children and was able to act as a political advisor to her husband She also made many contacts and acted as an important social networker 154 According to the historian Jan Markert Augusta s political influence was legally defined neither by the Prussian constitutions of 1848 1850 nor by the dynastic house law However she was particularly close to William I because of her dynastic position and her family connection For this reason in Markert s opinion she was able to give certain groups of people access to the king or influence Wilhelm through conversations and correspondence Markert judges that Augusta failed overall to convince William of ideas that contradicted his personal monarchical perception of reality 151 The monarch therefore only consulted them in order to concretize his political program During the time of the Prussian constitutional conflict their opinions diverged so widely that joint discussions were hardly possible anymore While Augusta followed old liberal ideas William was more conservative Furthermore the King did not inform his wife about all the issues 152 Georg Wagner Kyora attaches little importance to Augusta s talks about Wilhelm s foreign and domestic policy Nevertheless they often discussed political reports in the daily press while having breakfast together Augusta and William also spent time together at dinner 155 Frank Lorenz Muller sees Augusta s political influence only limited to two areas the education of the heir to the throne Friedrich Wilhelm and his marriage into the liberal British royal family Augusta has certainly achieved success in this regard Frederick William was politically closer to his mother than William which was publicly recognized in Great Britain However the early death of the future emperor due to cancer after only 99 days in office made Augusta s mission less effective 156 Research into epistolary correspondence edit nbsp First page of a letter from Augusta to Ernst Curtius dated 19 June 1846 Augusta s epistolary correspondence is considered the most important source 153 Historian Susanne Bauer found that Augusta was in correspondence with 486 people So far 22 086 letters are known Most of them are aimed at princes with whom Augusta was related Augusta exchanged views on both family and political topics She used the letters to gain information and to exert influence on those around her 157 Bauer sees the letters as the only significant instrument through which Augusta was able to participate in political events 158 The surviving written correspondence between Wilhelm and Augusta comprises around 5 800 letters and is considered an important source for the relationship between the monarch couple 152 In addition to other princes Augusta also communicated with statesmen officers scientists and writers 159 In addition to Bauer Caroline Galm also participated in the analysis of the correspondence She is particularly concerned with the correspondence between William and Augusta In this way Galm would like to find out whether there was political cooperation between the two spouses and if so what this looked like According to Galm correspondence with politically similar class members also played a key role in Augusta s political letter network The crucial question was whether actors such as the British Queen Victoria or the Grand Duke of Baden Frederick II took her seriously as important political allies or merely saw her as a relationship broker close to the German Emperor 160 Honours edit nbsp Kingdom of Prussia 161 Dame of the Black Eagle with Collar 18 October 1861 162 Dame of the Order of Louise 1st Division Cross of Merit for Women and Girls 9 April 1871 163 nbsp Kingdom of Portugal Dame of the Order of Queen Saint Isabel 161 nbsp Russian Empire Grand Cross of St Catherine in Diamonds 12 December 1811 164 nbsp Spain Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa 20 May 1863 165 nbsp Mexican Empire Grand Cross of St Charles 10 April 1865 166 nbsp Kingdom of Saxony Dame of the Order of Sidonia 1871 167 Ancestry editAncestors of Augusta of Saxe Weimar Eisenach8 Ernest Augustus II Duke of Saxe Weimar Eisenach4 Charles Augustus Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar Eisenach9 Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick Wolfenbuttel2 Charles Frederick Grand Duke of Saxe Weimar Eisenach10 Louis IX Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt5 Princess Louise of Hesse Darmstadt11 Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrucken1 Augusta of Saxe Weimar Eisenach12 Peter III of Russia6 Paul I of Russia13 Catherine II of Russia3 Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia14 Frederick II Eugene Duke of Wurttemberg7 Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Wurttemberg15 Princess Friederike of Brandenburg SchwedtNotes edit Zeremoniell bei der Taufe der Prinzessin Maria Luise Augusta Catherina geb 30 9 1811 der spateren deutschen Kaiserin in Archive Portal of Thuringia finding aid Hofmarschallamt last accessed on 21 February 2024 in archive in thueringen de in German Deviating from this the historian Detlef Jena gives the name Maria Louise Augusta Katharina 2 Among others the following were named for her The steam corvette SMS Augusta built in the 1860s The protected cruiser SMS Kaiserin Augusta built by the German Navy in the year of her death Kaiserin Augusta Strasse in Berlin and the Berlin U Bahn station in that street The Kaiserin Augusta Gymnasium founded in 1818 and named for her in 1876 References edit Jena 2007 p 166 a b c Jena 2013 p 128 Jena 2013 pp 169 170 Gall 1980 p 185 a b c Micke Serin Andrea Augusta und der Badische Hof in Truc Vu Minh Simone Neuhauser ed Die Welt verbessern Augusta von Preussen und Furst von Puckler Muskau Kulturgeschichte Preussens Colloquien 7 2018 perspectivia net in German a b c d e f Wienfort Monika Familie Hof Staat Konigin Augusta von Preussen in Truc Vu Minh Simone Neuhauser ed Die Welt verbessern Augusta von Preussen und Furst von Puckler Muskau Kulturgeschichte Preussens Colloquien 7 2018 perspectivia net in German Gall 1980 pp 185 186 Engelberg 1990 p 514 Engelberg 1990 p 513 a b Micke Serin 2017 p 59 Schedewie Franziska Die Ernestiner und die russische Heirat in Siegrid Westphal Hans Werner Hahn Georg Schmidt ed Die Welt der Ernestiner Ein Lesebuch in German Bohlau Koln Weimar Vienna 2016 p 268 ISBN 978 3 412 50522 6 a b Angelow 2006 p 248 Schonpflug 2013 pp 86 88 Feuerstein Prasser 2011 p 41 and 44 Schonpflug 2013 pp 97 99 Schulze Wegener Guntram Wilhelm I Deutscher Kaiser Konig von Preussen Nationaler Mythos in German Mittler Hamburg Bonn 2015 p 148 ISBN 978 3 8132 0964 8 Fischer 2020 pp 64 65 a b Fischer 2020 p 65 a b Aschmann 2020 p 273 Aschmann 2020 p 274 Muller 2011 p 12 Muller 2011 pp 65 66 Klaus 2021 p 45 a b Fischer 2020 p 68 a b Heinrich 1984 p 392 Feuerstein Prasser 2011 p 99 Bohle Heintzenberg Sabine Ludwig Persius Architekt des Konigs in German Mann Berlin 1993 p 21 Aschmann 2020 pp 276 277 Feuerstein Prasser 2011 pp 103 104 Klaus 2021 p 55 Aschmann 2020 p 279 Galm 2022 pp 59 60 Galm 2022 p 56 Galm 2020 pp 31 32 Aschmann 2020 p 277 Galm 2022 p 64 Galm 2022 p 62 Heinrich 1984 p 393 a b Muller 2015 p 255 Muller 2015 pp 255 257 Streidt Gert Neuhauser Simone Augusta von Preussen Die Konigin zu Gast in Branitz in German in Kulturgeschichte Preussens Colloquien 7 2017 p 1 Streidt Gert Vorwort in Augusta von Preussen Die Konigin zu Gast in Branitz Ausstellungskatalog der Stiftung Furst Puckler Museum Park und Schloss Branitz in German Edition Branitz 13 2017 p 4 Feuerstein Prasser 2011 p 100 Gohrenz Kotzian amp Neuhauser 2017 pp 34 35 Jena Detlef 3 March 2020 Weimars Augusta und der Kartatschenprinz Thuringische Landeszeitung in German Retrieved 24 February 2023 Galm 2020 p 32 Micke Serin 2017 p 60 Nonn 2015 p 54 Rose 2018 Kolb 2014 p 33 Barclay 2004 p 79 Markert Jan Der verkannte Monarch Wilhelm I und die Herausforderungen wissenschaftlicher Biographik in German in Forschungen zur Brandenburgischen und Preussischen Geschichte Neue Folge 31 2021 pp 239 240 Wehler Hans Ulrich Deutsche Gesellschaftsgeschichte Band 3 Von der Deutschen Doppelrevolution bis zum Beginn des Ersten Weltkrieges 1849 1914 in German 2nd edition Beck Munich 2006 p 225 ISBN 978 3 406 32263 1 Aschmann 2020 p 271 a b c Aschmann 2020 p 272 Barclay 2004 p 78 a b Barclay 2004 p 80 Denzer Heinrich Kulturleben in German in Geschichte der Stadt Koblenz vol 2 Von der franzosischen Stadt bis zur Gegenwart Theiss Stuttgart 1993 p 491 ISBN 3 8062 1036 5 Georg Hinrich Hammer Nur ein stilles Verdienst Frauen als karitative Avantgarde im 19 Jahrhundert in German Kohlhammer Stuttgart 2022 pp 212 213 ISBN 978 3 17 042216 2 Aschmann 2020 p 276 a b Pakula 2002 p 73 von Hessen Rainer Zur Einfuhrung in German in Rainer von Hessen ed Victoria Kaiserin Friedrich 1840 1901 Mission und Schicksal einer englischen Prinzessin in Deutschland Campus Frankfurt am Main 2002 pp 19 20 ISBN 978 3 593 38407 8 Wienfort Monika Geschlechterfragen und Partizipationsdebatten Frauen und Manner im Kaiserreich in German in Birgit Aschmann Monika Wienfort ed Zwischen Licht und Schatten Das Kaiserreich 1871 1914 und seine neuen Kontroversen Campus Frankfurt am Main New York pp 174 175 ISBN 978 3 593 51508 3 Denzer Heinrich Eine katholische Stadt im protestantischen Preussen in German in Geschichte der Stadt Koblenz vol 2 Von der franzosischen Stadt bis zur Gegenwart Theiss Stuttgart 1993 p 262 ISBN 3 8062 1036 5 Aschmann 2020 p 281 Peiffer 2012 pp 43 44 Peiffer 2012 p 57 Aschmann 2020 pp 281 282 Pflanze 1997 p 86 Aschmann 2020 pp 282 283 Schwengelbeck Matthias Die Politik des Zeremoniells Huldigungsfeiern im langen 19 Jahrhundert in German Campus Frankfurt am Main 2007 p 261 and 263 ISBN 978 3 593 38336 1 Pompetzki Carola V 26 August 2015 Mit Samt und Seide Status zeigen Die Welt in German Retrieved 27 February 2024 Rohl John C G Wilhelm II Die Jugend des Kaisers 1859 1888 in German Beck Munchen 1993 4th edition 2018 pp 110 111 ISBN 978 3 406 70015 6 Galm 2020 p 39 Steinberg 2012 p 249 Micke Serin 2017 p 67 Kolb 2014 p 69 Muller 2015b p 40 Wagner Kyora 2007 pp 347 348 Aschmann 2020 p 284 Pflanze 2008 pp 86 87 Pflanze 2008 p 333 Feuerstein Prasser 1997 pp 74 76 Aschmann 2020 p 285 Rose 2018 p 14 Kolb 2014 p 92 Dromi Shai M 2020 Above the fray The Red Cross and the making of the humanitarian NGO sector Chicago Univ of Chicago Press pp 95 100 ISBN 978 0 226 68010 1 Special Funds International Review of the Red Cross 29 May 1961 Retrieved 12 June 2020 a b Watanabe O Kelly Helen 2021 Projecting Imperial Power New Nineteenth Century Emperors and the Public Sphere Oxford Oxford University Press p 108 ISBN 978 0 19 880247 1 Forster Birte 2011 Birgit Neumann Jurgen Reulecke ed Der Konigin Luise Mythos Mediengeschichte des Idealbilds deutscher Weiblichkeit 1860 1960 in German Gottingen V amp R Unipress pp 79 80 ISBN 978 3 89971 810 2 Aschmann 2020 pp 286 288 Rose 2018 pp 14 15 Geisthovel 2005 p 87 Geisthovel 2005 p 88 Geisthovel 2005 pp 97 98 Aschmann 2020 p 288 Bauer Susanne Markert Jan Ulrich Lappenkuper Maik Ohnezeit ed Eine Titelaffaire oder mehr Schein als Wirklichkeit Wilhelm I Augusta und die Kaiserfrage 1870 71 in German pp 73 75 via 1870 71 Reichsgrundung in Versailles Friedrichsruher Ausstellungen 8 2021 Galm 2020 p 32 and 34 Becker Winfried Der Kulturkampf in Preussen und Bayern Eine vergleichende Betrachtung in German in Jorg Zedler ed Der Heilige Stuhl in den internationalen Beziehungen 1870 1939 Utz Munich 2010 p 56 ISBN 978 3 8316 4021 8 Galm 2020 pp 43 44 Pakula Hannah 13 November 1997 An Uncommon Woman Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 0 684 84216 5 Galm 2020 p 45 Micke Serin 2017 p 68 Kolb 2014 pp 120 121 Nonn 2015 p 213 Steinberg Jonathan 2011 Bismarck A Life Oxford Oxford University Press p 469 ISBN 978 0 19 959901 1 Steinberg 2012 p 645 Rose 2018 pp 21 22 Feuerstein Prasser 1997 pp 87 90 Rohl John C G Wilhelm II Die Jugend des Kaisers 1859 1888 in German Munich 2017 pp 264 265 ISBN 978 3 406 70015 6 Geisthovel 2005 pp 86 87 Feuerstein Prasser 2011 p 278 Galm 2020 p 48 Klaus 2021 pp 208 209 Kreuzer Ralph 8 December 2022 Erstaunliche Daten Gab es vor 100 Jahren eine Corona Pandemie National Geographic in German Retrieved 4 March 2024 Klaus 2021 pp 211 212 a b Barclay 2004 p 77 Rose 2018 p 3 Wilhelmy 1989 p 245 Wilhelmy 1989 p 246 Muller 2015b p 41 Geisthovel 2005 p 82 and 85 Geisthovel 2005 pp 85 86 Feuerstein Prasser 2011 pp 226 227 Wagner Kyora 2007 p 347 and 349 Zerwas 2015 p 109 Otto Kirsten Berlins verschwundene Denkmaler Eine Verlustanalyse von 1918 bis heute in German Lukas Berlin 2020 ISBN 978 3 86732 357 4 p 100 Geisthovel 2005 p 84 Rausch 2006 p 650 Die Kunst unserer Zeit in German Issue N 3 1891 Rausch 2006 p 650 651 von Simson Jutta Fritz Schaper 1841 1919 Berliner Bildhauer Band 1 Materialien zur Kunst des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts Band 19 in German Prestel Munich 1976 p 140 ISBN 3 7913 0090 3 Beyer C Das Kaiserin Augusta Denkmal in Baden Baden in German In Uber Land und Meer 69 Issue N 5 1893 p 105 Zerwas 2015 p 89 Yeats Johanna 2020 Bruno Schmitz 1858 1916 Reformarchitekt zwischen Historismus und beginnender Moderne in German Norderstedt PublIQation p 310 ISBN 978 3 7458 7010 7 Benner Iris 2003 Kolner Denkmaler 1871 1918 Aspekte burgerlicher Kultur zwischen Kunst und Politik Publikationen des Kolnischen Stadtmuseums 5 in German Koln Kolnisches Stadtmuseum p 90 139 312 ISBN 978 3 927396 92 0 Digital copy of the newspaper Wagner Kyora 2007 p 350 and 354 Wagner Kyora 2007 pp 349 350 Feuerstein Prasser 2011 p 248 Wagner Kyora 2007 p 351 von Bojanowski Paul Weimar und die Kaiserin Augusta in German In Deutsche Rundschau 150 1912 p 154 Die Kaiserin die es sogar mit Bismarck aufnahm Die Welt 10 January 2011 Retrieved 17 March 2024 Gohrenz Kotzian amp Neuhauser 2017 pp 42 43 Kuhn Nicola 23 August 2015 Frauensache im Schloss Charlottenburg Das klugere Geschlecht Der Tagesspiegel in German Retrieved 17 March 2024 Anker Jens 28 June 2017 Schloss Babelsberg Der Zauberer und die Kaiserin Berliner Morgenpost in German Retrieved 17 March 2024 Ausstellungen Furst Puckler bekommt Besuch von Konigin Augusta Focus Online in German 12 May 2017 Retrieved 17 March 2024 Nauschutz Silke 27 May 2022 Puckler Stiftung Der Gourmet in Schloss Branitz Hamburger Abendblatt in German Retrieved 17 March 2024 Scholz Winfried 6 June 2022 Majestat im Regen Augusta feiert in Koblenz auch ohne Kaiserwetter Rhein Zeitung Retrieved 17 March 2024 Galm 2018 p 6 footnotes 24 and 26 a b Markert 2022 p 133 135 a b c Markert 2022 pp 134 135 a b Galm 2018 Galm 2020 p 29 30 Wagner Kyora 2007 p 347 Muller 2015b pp 42 44 Marlow Ulrike 17 November 2022 Furstliche Korrespondenzen des 19 und 20 Jahrhunderts H Soz Kult in German Retrieved 17 March 2024 Hilpert Alexander 18 March 2020 Neuere Forschungen zur Geschichte des 19 Jahrhunderts H Soz Kult in German Retrieved 18 March 2024 For the research project at the University of Trier in this regard see University of Trier ed Die Briefkommunikation der Kaiserin Augusta 1811 1890 Cultural Heritage Studies Trier CHeST in German Retrieved 18 March 2024 Galm 2018 pp 7 8 a b Staatshandbuch fur das Grossherzogtum Sachsen Sachsen Weimar Eisenach 1885 Genealogie p 6 Schwarzer Adler orden Koniglich Preussische Ordensliste in German Vol 1 Berlin Koniglichen General Ordens Kommiſſion 1886 p 6 Koniglich Preussische Ordensliste Preussische Ordens Liste in German 3 Berlin 1255 1877 via hathitrust org Almanach de la cour pour l annee 1817 l Academie Imp des Sciences 1817 p 70 Real orden de Damas Nobles de la Reina Maria Luisa Guia Oficial de Espana in Spanish 166 1887 Retrieved 21 March 2019 Soberanas y princesas condecoradas con la Gran Cruz de San Carlos el 10 de Abril de 1865 PDF Diario del Imperio in Spanish National Digital Newspaper Library of Mexico 347 retrieved 14 November 2020 Staatshandbuch fur den Freistaat Sachsen 1873 Heinrich 1873 p 155 Bibliography editAngelow Jurgen 2006 Frank Lothar Kroll Preussens Herrscher Von den ersten Hohenzollern bis Wilhelm II ed Wilhelm I 1861 1888 in German Munich Beck pp 242 264 ISBN 978 3 406 54129 2 Aschmann Birgit 2020 Susanne Brockfeld Ingeborg Schnelling Reinicke Karrieren in Preussen Frauen in Mannerdomanen ed Konigin Augusta als political player in German Berlin Duncker amp Humblot pp 271 290 ISBN 978 3 428 18035 6 Barclay David E 2004 Jochen Klauss Ihre Kaiserliche Hoheit Maria Pawlowna Zarentochter am Weimarer Hof ed Grossherzogliche Mutter und kaiserliche Tochter im Spannungsfeld der deutschen Politik Maria Pawlowna Augusta und der Weimarer Einfluss auf Preussen 1811 1890 in German Munich Berlin Deutscher Kunstverlag pp 77 82 ISBN 3 422 06516 4 Download musseum edition retrieved 24 March 2024 Engelberg Ernst 1990 Bismarck Das Reich in der Mitte Europas in German Berlin Siedler ISBN 3 88680 385 6 Feuerstein Prasser Karin 2011 Augusta Kaiserin und Preussin in German Munich Piper ISBN 978 3 492 26456 3 Feuerstein Prasser Karin 1997 Die deutschen Kaiserinnen 1871 1918 in German Regensburg Pustet ISBN 3 7917 1545 3 Fischer Robert Tarek 2020 Wilhelm I Vom preussischen Konig zum ersten Deutschen Kaiser in German Koln Bohlau ISBN 978 3 412 51926 1 Gall Lothar 1980 Bismarck Der weisse Revolutionar in German Frankfurt am Main Propylaen ISBN 3 549 07397 6 Galm Caroline 2022 Anmerkungen zum politischen Handlungs und Gestaltungsraum der Konigin Das Beispiel Augusta von Preussen in German Forschungen zur Brandenburgischen und Preussischen Geschichte 32 pp 53 70 Galm Caroline 2020 Integrative Beziehungsarbeit Augusta von Preussen und ihr politischer Umgang mit der katholischen Bevolkerung in German Michael Borchard Thomas Brechenmacher Gunter Buchstab Hans Otto Kleinmann Hanns Jurgen Kusters Historisch politische Mitteilungen 27 pp 27 49 ISBN 978 3 412 52147 9 Galm Caroline 2018 Augusta Visionarin ohne Macht Eine politische Biografie der ersten deutschen Kaiserin Arbeitstitel in German Research Center Sanssouci fur Wissen und Gesellschaft RECS recs hypotheses org retrieved 24 March 2024 Geisthovel Alexa 2005 Ute Frevert Heinz Gerhard Haupt Neue Politikgeschichte Perspektiven einer historischen Politikforschung ed Augusta Erlebnisse Reprasentation der preussischen Konigin 1870 in German Frankfurt am Main New York Campus pp 82 114 ISBN 978 3 593 37735 3 Gohrenz Beate Kotzian Sabrina Neuhauser Simone 2017 Dieser fur mich so reiche Gluckstag Der Besuch Augustas am 25 Juli 1864 Augusta von Preussen Die Konigin zu Gast in Branitz Ausstellungskatalog der Stiftung Furst Puckler Museum Park und Schloss Branitz in German Edition Branitz 13 pp 31 45 Heinrich Gerd 1984 Geschichte Preussens Staat und Dynastie in German Frankfurt am Main Ullstein ISBN 978 3 548 34216 0 Jena Detlef 2007 Friedrich ed Das Weimarer Quartett Die Furstinnen Anna Amalia Louise Maria Pawlowna Sophie in German Regensburg Pustet ISBN 978 3 7917 2044 9 Jena Detlef 2013 Carl Friedrich Grossherzog von Sachsen Weimar Eisenach in German Regensburg Verlag Friedrich Pustet ISBN 978 3 7917 2520 8 Klaus Monica 2021 Sophie von Erlach Eine Schweizerin und Preussin in German Gottingen Vandenhoeck amp Ruprecht ISBN 978 3 412 52255 1 Kolb Eberhard 2014 Otto von Bismarck Eine Biographie in German Munich Beck ISBN 978 3 406 66774 9 Markert Jan 2022 Ein System von Bismarcks Gnaden Kaiser Wilhelm I und seine Umgebung Pladoyer fur eine Neubewertung monarchischer Herrschaft in Preussen und Deutschland vor 1888 In Wolfram Pyta Rudiger Voigt eds Zugang zum Machthaber in German Baden Baden Nomos pp 127 156 ISBN 978 3 8487 8577 3 Micke Serin Andrea 2017 Der politische Horizont droht und die Erfahrung predigt tauben Ohren Augusta und die Politik Augusta von Preussen Die Konigin zu Gast in Branitz Ausstellungskatalog der Stiftung Furst Puckler Museum Park und Schloss Branitz in German Edition Branitz 13 pp 59 69 Muller Frank Lorenz 2011 Our Fritz Emperor Frederick III and the Political Culture of Imperial Germany Cambridge Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0 674 06269 6 Muller Frank Lorenz 2015 Frauenpolitik Augusta Vicky und die liberale Mission Ausstellungskatalog Frauensache Wie Brandenburg Preussen wurde in German Dresden Sandstein pp 252 259 ISBN 978 3 95498 142 7 Muller Frank Lorenz 2015b Augusta und Victoria Zwei Kaiserinnen auf liberaler Mission Damals Das Magazin fur Geschichte 47 in German Dresden pp 40 44 ISSN 0011 5908 Nonn Christoph 2015 Bismarck Ein Preusse und sein Jahrhundert in German Munich Beck ISBN 978 3 406 67589 8 Pakula Hannah 2002 Victoria in Deutschland Politische Zielvorstellungen der jungen Kronprinzessin In Rainer von Hessen ed Victoria Kaiserin Friedrich Mission und Schicksal einer englischen Prinzessin in Deutschland in German Frankfurt am Main Campus pp 69 79 ISBN 978 3 593 38407 8 Peiffer Bastian 2012 Alexander von Schleinitz und die preussische Aussenpolitik 1858 1861 in German Frankfurt am Main Berlin Bern Brussels New York Oxford Vienna Peter Lang Verlag ISBN 978 3 631 62354 1 Pflanze Otto 1997 Bismarck Der Reichsgrunder in German Munich Beck ISBN 3 406 42725 1 Pflanze Otto 2008 Bismarck Der Reichsgrunder in German Vol 2 Munich Beck ISBN 978 3 406 54823 9 Rose Andreas 2018 Die alte Fregatte und ihr Todfeind Augusta und der Eiserne Kanzler In Truc Vu Minh Jurgen Luh eds Die Welt verbessern Augusta von Preussen und Furst Puckler Muskau Kulturgeschichte Preussens Colloquien 7 in German Rausch Helke 2006 Kultfigur und Nation Offentliche Denkmaler in Paris Berlin und London 1848 1914 in German Pariser Historische Studien 70 ISBN 978 3 486 57579 8 Schonpflug Daniel 2013 Die Heiraten der Hohenzollern Verwandtschaft Politik und Ritual in Europa 1640 1918 Kritische Studien zur Geschichtswissenschaft Band 207 in German Gottingen Vandenhoeck amp Ruprecht ISBN 978 3 525 37030 8 Steinberg Jonathan 2012 Bismarck Magier der Macht in German Berlin Propylaen ISBN 978 3 549 07416 9 Wagner Kyora Georg 2007 Beruf Kaiserin Die mediale Reprasentation der preussisch deutschen Kaiserinnen 1871 1918 Historische Anthropologie 15 Band 15 pp 339 371 Download retrieved 24 March 2024 doi 10 7788 ha 2007 15 3 339 Wilhelmy Petra 1989 Der Berliner Salon im 19 Jahrhundert 1780 1914 Veroffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission zu Berlin Band 73 in German Berlin New York Walter de Gruyter ISBN 3 11 011891 2 also dissertation University of Munster 1987 Zerwas Marco 2015 Lernort Deutsches Eck Zur Variabilitat geschichtskultureller Deutungsmuster Geschichtsdidaktische Studien in German Berlin Logos ISBN 978 3 8325 3856 9 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Augusta of Saxe Weimar Eisenach in German Monument of the empress Augusta in Baden Baden Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine in German Biography of Empress Augusta Augusta of Saxe Weimar EisenachHouse of Saxe Weimar EisenachCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn 30 September 1811 Died 7 January 1890 German royalty Preceded byElisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria Queen consort of Prussia2 January 1861 9 March 1888 Succeeded byVictoria Princess Royal VacantTitle last held byMaria Teresa of the Two Siciliesas German Queen German Empress consort18 January 1871 9 March 1888 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Augusta of Saxe Weimar Eisenach amp oldid 1222939623, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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