Eleonore von Schwarzenberg (''Eleonore Elisabeth Amalia Magdalena''; 20 June 1682 in
Mělník
Mělník (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...
– 5 May 1741 in
Palais Schwarzenberg,
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
) was a member of the
Princely House of Lobkowicz by birth, and a
Princess of Schwarzenberg by marriage.
Biography
Princess Eleonore Elisabeth Amalia Magdalena of
Lobkowicz, was a daughter of Prince Ferdinand August of Lobkowicz,
Duke of Sagan (1655–1715), and his second wife,
Margravine Maria Anne Wilhelmine of
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
(1655–1701), daughter of
Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden.
On 6 December 1701 Princess Eleonore married the Austrian
Hofmarschall,
Adam Franz Karl Eusebius, Hereditary Prince (and later Prince) von Schwarzenberg. Eleonore was considered a cultivated woman, and her and her husband's wealthy and cultured lifestyle was often displayed at court. The marriage produced two children:
*
Maria Anna of Schwarzenberg (1706–1755); married
Louis George, Margrave of Baden-Baden in 1721.
*
Joseph I Adam of Schwarzenberg (1722–1782); married Princess Maria Theresia of
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
(1721–1753) in 1741.
After 31 years of marriage her husband was killed in a hunting accident on imperial land near
Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav, today in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. Emperor
Charles VI fired the deadly shot, and the prince just happened to be in the way. Afterwards, the emperor took Eleonore's son to his court in Vienna, and she was paid a baronial maintenance of 5,000
guldens.
Princess Eleonore died on 5 May 1741 in the
Palais Schwarzenberg in Vienna. Franz von
Gersdorf, the emperor's
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
, requested an
autopsy
An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...
from which the cause of death has been diagnosed as
cervical cancer.
Legacy
The 2007 Austrian documentary ''The Vampire Princess'' features Eleonore as the supposed inspiration for
Gottfried August Bürger's work
Lenore (ballad)
''Lenore'', sometimes translated as ''Leonora'', ''Leonore'', or ''Ellenore'', is a poem written by German author Gottfried August Bürger in 1773, and published in 1774 in the ''Göttinger Musenalmanach''. ''Lenore'' is generally characterised a ...
.
Eleonora’s dramatic maelstroms are researched and interpreted in the historical novel ‘The Case of Princess Schwarzenberg 1757’ by Martina Grenze.
Styles
* 20 June 1682 – 6 December 1701: Her Serene Highness Princess Eleonore of Lobkowicz
* 6 December 1701 – 1703: ''
Her Serene Highness'' The Hereditary Princess of Schwarzenberg
* 1703 – 1732: ''Her Serene Highness'' The Princess of Schwarzenberg
* 1732 – 5 May 1741: ''Her Serene Highness'' The Princess Dowager of Schwarzenberg
References
External links
*
The Case of Princess Schwarzenberg 1757
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarzenberg, Eleonore Von
1682 births
1741 deaths
Deaths from cancer in the Holy Roman Empire
Deaths from cervical cancer
Lobkowicz family
Eleonore
People from Mělník
Vampirism
18th-century people from Bohemia
18th-century women from Bohemia