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Amalie Maximilianovna Adlerberg | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byJoseph Stieler, 1828 | |
| Born | Amalie von Sternfeld (1808-06-16)16 June 1808 |
| Died | 21 June 1888(1888-06-21) (aged 80) Tegernsee,Bavaria |
| Buried | Church of St. Laurentius inRottach-Egern amTegernsee |
| Noble family | Lerchenfeld |
| Spouses | |
| Issue | Nikolai-Arthur von Krüdener Marie von Krüdener Nikolo Adlerberg |
| Father | Count Maximilian-Emmanuel von Lerchenfeld |
| Mother | Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
Countess Amalie Maximilianovna Adlerberg (16 June 1808,Regensburg – 21 June 1888,Tegernsee) was an illegitimate daughter ofDuchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, fathered byBavarian diplomat Maximilian-Emmanuel Graf von und zu Lerchenfeld auf Köfering und Schönberg (1772–1809). Duchess Therese had had an affair with the Bavarian diplomat while her husbandKarl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis, was inParis for several years at the invitation ofNapoleon. Amalie's mother was an aunt ofEmpress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife ofTsar Nicholas I.
Her mother's husband,Karl AlexanderFürst vonThurn und Taxis (1770–1827), was invited by Napoleon for his new projects, and lived in Paris for years. In his absence, Princess Therese had a passionate affair with Count Maximilian-Emmanuel vonLerchenfeld (1772–1809). After the death of her father, Graf von Lerchenfeld, on 19 October 1809, Amalie was placed in the care of Therese's "von Sternfeld" relatives inDarmstadt (then in theGrand Duchy of Hesse), and the baby carried their surname after she was born. Amalie von Sternfeld was later brought toRegensburg, closer to Princess Therese, and changed her surname to "Stargard". She was finally taken care of by theLerchenfeld family and lived in their palace inMunich or at the family castle inKöfering nearRegensburg. Finally, on 1 August 1823, theGrand Duke of Hesse gave the fifteen-year-old Amalie Stargard permission to carry the surname "von Lerchenfeld", but without rights to use the coat of arms or be listed in the family tree, which was the price for her extramarital birth.
In 1822, the fifteen-year-old beauty Amalie Stargard met youngFyodor Tyutchev, supernumeraryattaché of the Russian diplomatic mission, who arrived fromSaint Petersburg. Nineteen-year-old Tyutchev fell in love and the two young people shared tender romantic feelings. Tyutchev's poemTears orSlyozy (Russian:Люблю, друзья, ласкать очами …) coincides with one of their dates, and was most likely dedicated to Amalie. Among other poems inspired by Amalie areK N. andI Remember the Golden Time…
The blooming Amalie caught the attention of the first secretary of the Russian diplomatic representatives,BaronAlexander von Krüdener (1786–1852). The old diplomat was ofGerman Baltic descent, and the young but pragmatic princess opted for a baron's noble title rather than the untitled young poet Tyutchev. The letters and diaries of Count Maximilian Joseph von Lerchenfeld illuminate Tyutchev's first years as a diplomat in Munich (1822–26), giving details of his frustrated love affair for Amalie, nearly involving a duel with his colleague (on 19 January 1825). On 31 August 1825 the seventeen-year-old Amalie von Lerchenfeld wed Baron Krüdener inKöfering.
Her first child, Nikolai-Arthur, was born on 2 July [O.S. 20 June] 1826.
The Tyutchevs and Krüdeners continued to frequent the same diplomatic society, they were nearly next-door neighbors with the Tyutchevs living at Karolinenplatz 1, and the Krüdeners a five-minute walk away onBriennerstrasse 15. Fyodor Tyutchev continued to see Amalie, but in families.Prince Karl, brother of KingLudwig I of Bavaria, and the king himself were spellbound by the beautiful Amalie. Ludwig I ordered an oil portrait of Amalie to the artistJoseph Stieler for hisGallery of Beauties. It was completed in 1828 and today can be viewed atNymphenburg Palace inMunich.
In April 1836, Fyodor Tyutchev dedicated to Amalie his poemI Remember the Golden Time…. This poem is not about love, but a reminiscence of love, of their past meetings on the hills of Regensburg. The poem was later interpreted byMieczysław Weinberg, inOpus 25: Six Romances after F. Tutchev for singer and piano (1945) in the romance of the same name.
In April 1836, Baron von Krüdener received a promotion and left forRussia. Amalie brought toSaint Petersburg a bunch of Tyutchev's poems (more than 100). She gave dozens more of them to the poet's former colleague, PrinceIvan Gagarin. Gagarin wrote down several poems and gave them to read toAlexander Pushkin, publisher ofSovremennik, the most influential literary magazine in Russia. Pushkin was very excited and published them immediately. Thus, Amalie helped Tyutchev gain recognition in his home country.
Bibliographers of Pushkin likeAlexander Shik state that Alexander Pushkin felt for Amalie and tried to court her at one of the balls.Natalia Pushkina, one of the most beautiful women in Russia, had to "have a talk" with her husband, after which the poet was joking that "Madonna has a heavy hand…"[1]
CountAlexander von Benckendorff was another passionate admirer of Baroness Amalie von Krüdener. Her influence was so great that he even secretly converted toCatholicism. In Imperial Russia, where Orthodoxy was the state religion, this action would be punished by years ofkatorga (the secret was revealed only after death of Benckendorff). He also helped to reinstateFyodor Tyutchev at the Ministry after he was fired in 1843, and arranged the meeting of Tyutchev withNicholas I of Russia and MinisterKarl von Nesselrode. His MajestyNicholas I of Russia himself was not indifferent to Amalie; 25 November 1836 she received a luxurious fur coat as a gift from the Tsar that she received on the rights of his cousine.
In 1848, the 40-year-old Amalie von Krüdener gave birth to a child out-of-wedlock on 17 March. The father of her newborn son Nikolo was the 29-year-old CountNikolay Adlerberg, member of the nobleAdlerberg family. The child received the status of the adoptive son ofNikolai Veniavsky.
Baron von Krüdener was appointed Ambassador and Plenipotentiary Minister at the Court of theKing of Sweden and Norway, but Amalie pretended to be ill and stayed in Saint Petersburg. They never met again, as Baron von Krüdener died of infarction inStockholm in 1852. Amalie finally found love, peace and happiness with Count Nikolay Adlerberg, whom she married officially in 1855.
During theCrimean War, Nikolay Adlerberg served as Governor-General ofSimferopol andTaurida Governorate in 1854–56. The war actions aggravated the situation of children inCrimea as many lost their parents and had no relatives or anywhere to go. The children were brought to Simferopol during theSiege of Sevastopol (1854) along with wounded soldiers. Simferopol's city council had been trying to open an orphan-asylum since 1848, but there were always some problems due to lack of money or necessary documents. Taking into consideration the circumstances, Countess Adlerberg decided to avoid bureaucratic formalities and on 31 December 1854 opened an asylum for fourteen orphans with her own money.[2]
In 1857, the Committee of the Board of Guardians of Orphan-asylums (Russian:Комитет Главного Попечительства Детских Приютов) approved the transformation of the temporary orphan-asylum founded by Countess Adlerberg into the asylum working on regular basis. It was also named after Amalie Adlerberg. In 1869, the Amalie Adlerberg Orphan-asylum moved into a new building. In a letter to Governor of SimferopolGrigory Zhukovsky, EmpressMaria Alexandrovna insisted that the asylum retain the name of its founder, in contrast to other asylums across Russia, that were all named after Maria Alexandrovna. The building of the asylum is still there at the crossing of Pushkinskaya and Gogolevskaya streets and it now houses the Museum of Ethnography of Crimean Nations.[3]
In 1866–81 Amalie lived inHelsinki, during Nikolay Adlerberg's service asGovernor-General of Finland.
As a Catholic, Countess Adlerberg helped to establish theRoman Catholic parish andtheir cathedral in Helsinki, a project earlier decisively contributed by countess Leopoldina von Berg,née di Cicogna di Mozzone, the Italian wife of previous governor-general, field marshalFriedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg. Another grandson wasGaston de Fontenilliat.
In 1873, the countess managed to arrange her granddaughter (Helene deFontenilliat, born 1855) to marryConstantin Linder, the wealthy lord ofKytäjä, who had recently lost his first wife, countess MarieMusin-Pushkin. Helene gained a stepson, the later-notorious wastrelHjalmar Linder ofMustio, and soon gave birth to her own child.
In 1881, after the assassination ofAlexander II of Russia, Count and Countess Adlerberg moved for permanent residence toMunich, Germany. They had no house and first stayed atMaximilian Lerchenfeld's house on Amalienstrasse 93. Later, the Adlerbergs acquired a plot of land and built a home in the town ofTegernsee on Schwaighofstrasse 2.
Amalie died in Tegernsee on 21 June 1888. She was buried in the cemetery of the Church of St. Laurentius inRottach-Egern amTegernsee. The church is situated on the shore of the lake opposite the Amalie's mansion known under the name of "Haus Adlerberg am See".
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