Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf
Encyclopedia
Countess Augusta Caroline Reuss of Ebersdorf (19 January 1757 – 16 November 1831), was by marriage a duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She was born in Saalburg-Ebersdorf
.
. Her birthplace, Ebersdorf
, was a center of Pietism
in Thuringia and Augusta's grandparents were ardent admirers of this religious movement. Augusta's great-aunt Countess Erdmuthe Dorothea, by marriage Countess of Zinzendorf was closely connected with the Moravian Church. This background explains the deep religious feelings of Princess Augusta in later years.
by the painter Johann Heinrich Tischbein
. Count Heinrich XXIV showed this painting during the Perpetual Diet so potential marriage candidates were aware of his beautiful daughter.
In Ebersdorf
on 13 June 1777 Augusta married Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Duke Franz previously acquired the Artemisia painting for four times the original price because he was deeply in love with Augusta, but he had to marry a relative, Princess Sophie of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Princess Sophie died seven months after the wedding, so the Duke was free to pursue the hand of his beloved.
During her marriage, Augusta bore her husband ten children; some of them played important roles in European history: Victoria, Duchess of Kent
, and King Leopold I of Belgium
.
(through her mother Victoria
) and her husband, Prince Albert (through his father Ernst
), King Consort of Portugal Ferdinand II
(through his father Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), and also Empress Carlota of Mexico
and her brother Leopold II of Belgium
(through their father Leopold I
who was elected King of the Belgians on 26 June 1831.)
(German
: Fürst/Fürstin Reuß zu Ebersdorf, Jüngere Linie) .
Augusta died in Coburg
on 16 November 1831, aged seventy-four, five months after the election of her son Leopold as King of the Belgians.
Saalburg-Ebersdorf
Saalburg-Ebersdorf is a town in the Saale-Orla-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, 10 km southwest of Schleiz, and 30 km west of Plauen....
.
Family
She was the second of seven children of Heinrich XXIV, Count Reuss of Ebersdorf and his wife Karoline Ernestine of Erbach-SchönbergKaroline Ernestine of Erbach-Schönberg
Countess Karoline Ernestine of Erbach-Schönberg, born 20 August 1727 at Gedern, Oberhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt, in the then Holy Roman Empire, was a daughter of George August, Count of Erbach-Schönberg, and Ferdinande Henriette, Countess of Stolberg-Gedern...
. Her birthplace, Ebersdorf
Ebersdorf
Ebersdorf may refer to the following places:*Ebersdorf bei Coburg, in the district of Coburg, Bavaria, Germany*Ebersdorf, Lower Saxony, in the district of Rotenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany*Ebersdorf, Austria, in the district of Hartberg, Styria, Austria...
, was a center of Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
in Thuringia and Augusta's grandparents were ardent admirers of this religious movement. Augusta's great-aunt Countess Erdmuthe Dorothea, by marriage Countess of Zinzendorf was closely connected with the Moravian Church. This background explains the deep religious feelings of Princess Augusta in later years.
Marriage
Augusta was one of the most beautiful women of her time. Her father commissioned a portrait of Augusta as ArtemisiaArtemisia II of Caria
Artemisia II of Caria was a sister, the wife and the successor of the king Mausolus. She was a daughter of Hecatomnus, and after the death of her husband she reigned for two years, from 353 to 351 BC...
by the painter Johann Heinrich Tischbein
Johann Heinrich Tischbein
Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder, called the Kasseler, , was one of the most respected European painters in the 18th century and an important member of the Tischbein dynasty of German painters, which spanned four generations.His work consisted primarily of portraits of the nobility, mythology...
. Count Heinrich XXIV showed this painting during the Perpetual Diet so potential marriage candidates were aware of his beautiful daughter.
In Ebersdorf
Ebersdorf
Ebersdorf may refer to the following places:*Ebersdorf bei Coburg, in the district of Coburg, Bavaria, Germany*Ebersdorf, Lower Saxony, in the district of Rotenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany*Ebersdorf, Austria, in the district of Hartberg, Styria, Austria...
on 13 June 1777 Augusta married Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Duke Franz previously acquired the Artemisia painting for four times the original price because he was deeply in love with Augusta, but he had to marry a relative, Princess Sophie of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Princess Sophie died seven months after the wedding, so the Duke was free to pursue the hand of his beloved.
During her marriage, Augusta bore her husband ten children; some of them played important roles in European history: Victoria, Duchess of Kent
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
, and King Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
.
Issue
- Princess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-SaalfeldPrincess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-SaalfeldPrincess Sophie Fredericka Caroline Louise of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was a princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and the sister of Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and King Leopold I of Belgium, and aunt of Queen Victoria...
, Countess von Mensdorff-Pouilly - Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
- Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia
- Stillborn son
- Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- Victoria, Duchess of Kent and StrathearnPrincess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-SaalfeldPrincess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
- Princess Marianne
- Leopold I of BelgiumLeopold I of BelgiumLeopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
- Prince Francis Maximilian
Notable descendants
Countess Augusta is the grandmother of many notable monarchs of Europe, including both Queen Victoria of the United KingdomVictoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
(through her mother Victoria
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
) and her husband, Prince Albert (through his father Ernst
Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, formerly Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and from 1826, the first sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
), King Consort of Portugal Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II of Portugal
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , named Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry, was King of Portugal as husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal from the birth of their son in 1837 to her death in 1853.In keeping with Portuguese law, only after the birth of his son in...
(through his father Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), and also Empress Carlota of Mexico
Charlotte of Belgium
Charlotte of Belgium is remembered today as Carlota of Mexico as empress consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, ex-Archduke of Austria.-Princess of Belgium:The only daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians by his second wife,...
and her brother Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
(through their father Leopold I
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
who was elected King of the Belgians on 26 June 1831.)
Elevation to Princess
The House of Reuss became princes on 9 April 1806, and all the surviving members of the Ebersdorf-Lobenstein line (including Augusta) bore the title Prince(ss) Reuss of EbersdorfReuss-Ebersdorf
Reuss-Ebersdorf was a county and from 1806 a principality located in Germany. The Counts of Reuss-Ebersdorf belonged to the Reuss Junior Line. Reuss was successively a part of the Holy Roman Empire, Confederation of the Rhine, German Confederation, North German Confederation, German Empire and...
(German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Fürst/Fürstin Reuß zu Ebersdorf, Jüngere Linie) .
Augusta died in Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
on 16 November 1831, aged seventy-four, five months after the election of her son Leopold as King of the Belgians.