Countess Anna Charlotte Dorothea von Medem (3 February 1761 – 20 August 1821) was born a

Gräfin (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

(Countess) of the

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

Medem family and later became Duchess of Courland. Popularly known as Dorothea of Courland after her marriage to

Peter von Biron Peter von Biron (15 February 1724 – 13 January 1800) was the last duke of Courland and Semigallia from 1769 to 1795, when it was annexed by the Russian Empire. Life and reign Peter was born in Jelgava () as the oldest son of Ernst Johann ...

, the last Duke of Courland, she hosted an

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and performed various diplomatic duties on behalf of her estranged husband. She would spend the rest of her life in her estate in Löbichgau, where she would invite and host many important political and cultural figures of the time and make many acquaintances, ranging from

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

over

Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

to Talleyrand, the latter of whom she was reportedly very close.

Biography

Anna Charlotte Dorothea was born at Mežotne to Johann Friedrich von Medem, a

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

from the old Courland nobility, general- poruchik of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, and (as of 1779)

Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediately) from the emperor, rather th ...

of the Holy Roman Empire; and his second wife, Louise Charlotte von

Manteuffel The Manteuffel family is an old and influential German Pomeranian noble family, which later also resided in Brandenburg, Prussia, Silesia, Mecklenburg, Poland, the Baltics and in Russia. Name of the family The surname Manteuffel is a combinati ...

. Her father, a descendant of Konrad von Mandern, was himself awarded the

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

in 1774 for his help in preparing the

Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (; ), formerly often written Kuchuk-Kainarji, was a peace treaty signed on , in Küçük Kaynarca (today Kaynardzha, Bulgaria and Cuiugiuc, Romania) between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, ending the R ...

. He owned many estates in Courland, including Elley and Alt-Autz. Her elder half sister from her father's previous marriage was the poet Elisa von der Recke. Her younger brother was Russian diplomat

Christoph Johann von Medem Count Christoph Johann Friedrich von Medem (''Jeannot Medem''; 1763–1838) was a nobleman from Courland and courtier in the courts of Prussian kings Frederick the Great, Frederick William II and Emperor of Russia Paul I. His sisters were poet ...

, who built Villa Medem in Mitau (now Jelgava).

Duchess of Courland

On 6 November 1779, eighteen-year-old Dorothea became the third wife of the 55-year-old, childless Duke

, son of the famous

Ernst Johann von Biron Ernst Johann von Biron (; ; ) was the duke of Courland and Semigallia from 1737 to 1740 and again from 1763 to 1769. He was also briefly the regent of the Russian Empire in 1740. Early years Biron was born as Ernst Johann von Bühren in Ka ...

. The couple had six children, two of whom died in infancy. The four surviving children were all daughters; however, the youngest one, Dorothea, was probably not fathered by; although recognized by the Duke. Dorothea was welcomed into the highest social circles thanks to her new status as duchess as well as her beauty. Because her husband was preoccupied with political difficulties at home involving his

overlord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or ...

the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and the Courland nobility, he frequently sent her on diplomatic missions to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, lasting months at a time, and to

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

, and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

for shorter periods. During these long absences Dorothea became alienated from her husband and had numerous love affairs with other men, including

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (; 31 March 1757 – 19 August 1814) was a Finnish-Swedish count, baron, courtier, general and diplomat who was later in Russian service. In Finland, he is considered one of the greatest Finnish statesmen. His advi ...

, Talleyrand, and the Polish nobleman, Count Alexander Benedykt Batowski, who allegedly fathered her fourth daughter, born in 1793. After the year she gave birth to her daughter, also named Dorothea (whom her husband nevertheless acknowledged as his own), the Duchess moved permanently to the Palais Kurland in Berlin, where she held an aristocratic salon.

Later life

In 1794 she acquired the Gutsherrschaft

Löbichau Löbichau is a municipality in the district Altenburger Land, in Thuringia, Germany. The ''Ostthüringer Zeitung'' (OTZ) has its head office in the municipality.

in Altenburgischen and spent her summers at the newly built Schloss there. Inviting poets, philosophers, relatives and friends to Löbichau, it became known as the ''

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

nhof der Herzogin von Kurland''. Her half-sister Elisa von der Recke, who would later be linked with Christoph August Tiedge, came to Löbichau to live and Tsar

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

, Talleyrand,

Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ( ; 15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich () or Prince Metternich, was a Germans, German statesman and diplomat in the service of the Austrian ...

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

and other personalities of the time were the duchess's personal friends. In 1801, she received a proposal from

Prince Frederick Adolf of Sweden A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fe ...

. Upon her youngest daughter Dorothea's marriage to Talleyrand's nephew, Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord, in 1809, the duchess moved to Paris, having an intense relationship with Talleyrand and influenced him to turn against Napoleon. In 1814 she traveled to the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

to confront him about his alleged love affair with her daughter Dorothea. A few years after her death at Löbichau in 1821, the Duchess' body was moved from her place of death to the family vault at Sagan where her husband was buried in 1800.

Issue

With

: *

Wilhelmine The Wilhelmine period or Wilhelmian era () comprises the period of German history between 1888 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the death of Kaiser Friedrich III until the end of World War I and Wilh ...

, Duchess of Sagan, Princess of Rohan, Princess Trubetskoy, Countess von der Schulenburg, mistress of Klemens Wenzel, Prince von Metternich * Pauline, Duchess of Sagan and Princess of Hohenzollern-Hechingen * Joanna Katharina, Duchess of Acerenza * Peter (23 February 1787 – 25 March 1790) * Charlotte (21 January 1789 – 10 March 1791) With Alexander Batowski: * Dorothea, Duchess of Talleyrand-Périgord, Duchess of Dino, Duchess of Sagan, protégé (and alleged mistress) of Talleyrand and wife of his nephew the 2nd Duke of Talleyrand

Gallery

Image:Peter von Biron.jpg, Her husband,

Image:LaduchessedeSagan.jpg, Her eldest daughter, Wilhelmine Image:Pauline biron.JPG, Her second daughter, Pauline Image:Ioanna biron-d'acerenza.JPG, Her third daughter, Johanna Image:Dorothee de Courlande.jpg, Her fourth daughter, Dorothea Image:Biron Rezidenz.jpg,

Jelgava Palace Jelgava Palace () or historically Mitau Palace (, ) is the largest Baroque-style palace in the Baltic states. It was built in the 18th century based on the design of Bartolomeo Rastrelli as a residence for the Dukes of Courland in their capital o ...

, the Biron residence Image:Loebichau Schloss01.jpg, her beloved Schloss Löbichau File:Wilhelmine Grafin Medem 1792.jpg, Miniature portrait titled: Wilhelmine von Mengden .. Grafin Medem ... 1792

Bibliography

* Elisa von der Recke: ''Tagebücher und Selbstzeugnisse''. Leipzig 1984 * : ''Drei Sommer in Löbichau 1819–21''. Stuttgart 1877 *

Philip Ziegler Philip Sandeman Ziegler (24 December 1929 – 22 February 2023) was a British biographer and historian. Background Ziegler was born in Ringwood, Hampshire on 24 December 1929, the son of Louis Ziegler, an Army officer, and Dora Barnwell, a hom ...

: ''Die Herzogin von Dino, Talleyrands letzte Vertraute''. München 1965 * Clemens Brühl: ''Die Sagan''. Berlin 1941 * Sabine und Klaus Hofmann: ''Zwischen Metternich und Talleyrand. Der Musenhof der Herzogin von Kurland im Schloss zu Löbichau''. Museum Burg Posterstein, 2004 * Christoph August Tiedge: ''Anna Charlotte Dorothea. Letzte Herzogin von Kurland''. F. A. Brockhaus, Leipzig 182
Online-Version at Internet Archive

Notes

External links

* *https://web.archive.org/web/20070928121332/http://www.burg-posterstein.de/startframes/historietopframe.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Medem, Dorothea 1761 births 1821 deaths People from Mežotne People from the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Duchesses of Courland Dorothea German salon-holders 18th-century Latvian people 18th-century Latvian women