Marianne, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, (born Baroness Maria Anna Mayr von Melnhof; 9 December 1919 – 4 May 2025) was a German noblewoman, socialite, a professional photographer, member of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and the mother of Alexander, 7th Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (born 1943).Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIX. "Sayn-Wittgenstein". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2011, pp. 331-334. (German). .

Early life and ancestry

Maria Anna, commonly known as ''Marianne'' or simply ''Manni'', was born on 9 December 1919 in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, the eldest of nine children of Baron Friedrich Adalbert Mayr von Melnhof (1892–1956), owner of the Glanegg Castle near

, and his wife, Countess Maria-Anna of

Meran Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier Va ...

(1897–1983), granddaughter of

Franz, Count of Meran Franz Ludwig Johann Baptist Count von Meran, Baron von Brandhofen (11 March 1839 – 27 March 1891) was an Austrian nobility, Austrian nobleman and courtier. Family Born 11 March 1839, in Vienna, Franz was the only child of the morganatic m ...

, head of a

morganatic 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 ...

branch of the imperial

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

. Through her mother Marianne is a direct descendant of

Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor Francis I (Francis Stephen; ; ; ; 8 December 1708 – 18 August 1765) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1745 to 1765, List of rulers of Austria#Dukes and archdukes of Austria under the House of Habsburg, Archduke of Austria from 1740 to 1765, List of ...

and his wife,

Empress Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

. The Mayr von Melnhof family were Catholic

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

ns since the 15th century and, having become industrialists, were

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. Th ...

in 1859 with the title of

Edler Edler () was until 1919 the lowest rank of nobility in Austria-Hungary and Germany, just beneath a '' Ritter'' (hereditary knight), but above untitled nobles, who used only the nobiliary particle ''von'' before their surname. It was mostly given t ...

von Melnhof. In 1872, they were granted the hereditary title of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

.Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 292, 300-301. (French). Apart from Schloss Glanegg, Mayr von Melnhof family owned town palaces in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and

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. ...

, as well as several other castles across Austria, such as Kogl, Neu-Pfannberg, Jagdschloss Hochalm, which served as their country residencies.

Career

She started a career as a professional photographer and archived about 300,000 of her photos until her 100th birthday in December 2019. She photographed celebrities from

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat S.p.A., Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial ...

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

and published travel reports. She was given the name "Mamarazza" based on the word "paparazzo" as a nickname from

Princess Caroline of Hanover Princess Caroline of Monaco (born 23 January 1957) is List of Hanoverian royal consorts, Princess of Hanover by marriage to Prince Ernst August of Hanover (born 1954), Prince Ernst August. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, a ...

, ''née'' Princess of

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, who once said to her: "Manni, you are a real Mamarazza." In contrast to paparazzi, she never took indiscreet or derogatory photos: "I always photographed my friends as friends."

Marriage and children

Baroness Marianne married Ludwig, 6th Prince zu

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn was a county of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, comprising the lands of the region of Sayn. It was created as a partition of Sayn-Wittgenstein in 1607, although it was not until the next year that it obtained fully the C ...

on 12 March 1942 at Schloss Glanegg, who was born in 1915 and died accidentally at Sayn in 1962. They had five children: *Princess Yvonne (born 9 December 1942) married firstly in 1962 (divorced in 1970) Alfons, Count von Coreth zu Coredo und Starkenberg (1930-2017), a photographer who served as honorary Thai consul in Salzburg, and married secondly in 1976 (divorced in 2008) a physician Klaus Bolzano,

von Kronstätt (1936-2025), and has issue from both marriages; * Alexander, 7th Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (born 22 November 1943) married in 1969 Countess Gabriela von Schönborn-Wiesentheid (born 16 October 1950), an only daughter of Count Rudolf von Schönborn-Wiesentheid (1918–1998) by his first wife, Princess Helene von

Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the mail, postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and ...

(1924–1991). They have issue; *Princess Elisabeth (1 April 1948 - 15 Apr 1997) married bank manager ''Hasso'' Eduard Georg Kurt Arthur, Baron Schuler von Senden (born 30 January 1943) in 1970, and they have issue; *Princess Teresa (born 25 April 1952) married firstly in 1973 (divorced in 1983) ''Don'' Luis de Figueroa y Griffith, 12th Count of Quintanilla (born 5 February 1950), son of author Aline Griffith, Dowager Countess of Romanones, and married secondly in 1983 attorney Count Karl-Erbo von Kageneck (born in 1947), and has issue from both marriages; *Prince Peter (born 22 January 1954) married in 1993 actress

Sunnyi Melles Princess Sunnyi of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (née Melles, born 7 October 1958) is a Swiss- Hungarian actress active in Germany and Austria. Biography She is the only daughter of Austrian orchestral conductor Carl Melles and Hungarian noblewoma ...

(born 7 October 1958), the only daughter of Austrian orchestral conductor Carl Melles and his wife, Judith von Rohonczy (1929–2001). They have issue.

Death

Princess Marianne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn died at her home in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Bavaria, on 4 May 2025, at the age of 105. Her body was buried on 21 May 2025 in the Sayn abbey,

Bendorf Bendorf () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. north of Koblenz. Structure of the town The town consists of the following districts: *Bendorf *Sayn *Mülhofen *St ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

.http://www.royaltyguide.nl/special/2025-05%20Bendorf-Sayn.htm

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{authority control 1919 births 2025 deaths German women centenarians German photographers German women photographers People from Salzburg House of Sayn-Wittgenstein