Franz Krüger Parade detail actors and artists

Caroline Bauer (29 March 1807 – 18 October 1877) was a German actress of the

Biedermeier The ''Biedermeier'' period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in ...

era who used the name Lina Bauer.

Biography

Caroline Philippina Augusta Bauer (german: Karoline Philippine Auguste Bauer) was born in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Germany to Heinrich Bauer and Christiane Stockmar. Her siblings were Lottchen, Karl and Louis. She was during a short time in 1828-1829 the mistress of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later

King of Belgium Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's he ...

as Leopold I). It was said that she bore a close physical resemblance to Leopold's late wife, Princess Charlotte of Wales, which had been commented on by the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

. In mid-1829 she and her mother returned to Berlin and she resumed her career as an actress. She competed with Charlotte von Hagn; the theatre audiences were divided into "Bauerians" and "Hagnerians". Many years later, in her memoirs published posthumously, she declared that she had engaged into a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

with Leopold and that he had created her ''Countess of Montgomery''. There was no record of such a marriage or of the existence of such a title. There was, on the contrary, a strong denial by her cousin, the son of Leopold's secretary, baron

Christian Friedrich Freiherr von Stockmar Christian Friedrich Freiherr von Stockmar (22 August 1787 – 9 July 1863) was a German physician and statesman, who was a leading player in the affairs of the United Kingdom under Queen Victoria. Early life and education He was born in Coburg, ...

. Her second husband was Wladyslaw Plater, whom she married in 1843. Her cousin, Marie Bauer, was married to

Marian Langiewicz Marian Langiewicz, full name Marian Antoni Melchior Langiewicz (; 5 August 1827, Krotoszyn – 11 May 1887, Istanbul), was a Polish patriot notable as a military leader of the January Uprising in 1863. Biography He was born in the province of ...

, leader of the

Polish Insurrection of 1863 The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

; they were married in Switzerland. She died by suicide in Kilchberg, Zurich, Switzerland.

Literature

* Karoline BAUER, ''Verschollene Herzensgeschichten: Nachgelassene Memoiren'', 1884 * ''Posthumous memoirs of Karoline Bauer'', from the German, 2 vol., 1884 * Susanne FÖRSTER, ''Am Tage Ruhm, am Abend Tränen: Lebenserinnerungen der Schauspielerin Karoline Bauer'', Ed. Sporn, 1943 * ''Caroline Bauer and the Coburgs'', 2009

References

External links

Caroline Bauer's story.
1807 births 1878 deaths Actors from Heidelberg People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Morganatic spouses 19th-century German actresses German stage actresses {{europe-noble-stub