Maria Kalergis von Nesselrode-Ereshoven (7 August 1822

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 ...

– 22 May 1874, Warsaw) was a Polish-German noblewoman, pianist, salon hostess and patron of the arts.

Life

Countess Maria von Nesselrode-Ehreshoven was the daughter of the German count in the Russian service, Karl Friedrich Joseph von Nesselrode-Ehreshoven (1786-1868), and his wife, Polish noblewoman Tekla von Górska (1793-1851). At the age of seventeen Maria von Nesselrode married Jan Kalergis, a rich landowner of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

noble descent, who was much older and proved to be of a jealous disposition. Although they had a daughter,

Marie Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French compo ...

, born in

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 ...

in 1840, less than a year after their wedding they agreed to separate. Despite several attempts to overcome their aversion towards each other, they continued living separately, without divorcing, until Jan's death. He ensured Maria had a comfortable life. While the division of their assets was in dispute, she was able to tour Europe, including Saint Petersburg, Warsaw,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

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 ...

. The course of Maria's marriage was an echo of her own childhood experiences. A year after her birth, her father, Friedrich Karl von Nesselrode, a German and his wife Thekla, a Pole, had separated due to personality differences. From her sixth year, Maria had been raised in Saint Petersburg in the home of her paternal uncle, Count Karl Robert von Nesselrode-Ehreshoven, a German in the Russian court who for forty years (1816–56) was the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and who saw to it that Maria received a thorough education. She evinced an early musical talent and for a while took lessons from Chopin, who praised her musical abilities. She was taught Polish by her mother and also spoke French, as well as German, English, Italian and Russian. She is remembered as the great love of

Cyprian Norwid Cyprian Kamil Norwid (; – 23 May 1883) was a Polish poet, dramatist, painter, sculptor, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the four most important Polish Romanticism, Polish Romantic poets, though scholars still debate whether he is ...

, the leading Polish romantic poet. Her acquaintance with the young Pole was but one of many episodes in an active social life. Owing to his shyness and relatively modest means he was overshadowed by Maria's other admirers. For many years Norwid harboured unrequited feelings for her that were a source of his poetic inspiration. He confided them in letters to Maria Trembicka, later Faleńska, daughter of General Stanisław Trembicki, and a close friend of the "white siren", as Maria was known. Encouraged by his confidante's friendship, he proposed to Maria Kalergis but was rejected. From 1847 she lived in Paris, then from 1857 in Warsaw. Guests at her salons included

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

who addressed his infamous essay '' Das Judentum in der Musik'' to her, de Musset, Moniuszko, Gautier,

Heine Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include: People with the surname * Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor * Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco * Armand Heine (1818–1883) ...

who dedicated his poem "The White Elephant" to her and Fryderyk Chopin. In Warsaw she became a hostess and a patron of the arts and took part in charity fund-raising concerts and theatrical performances. Her resources were always available to those in need. When Stanisław Moniuszko wanted to premiere the four-act version of his opera '' Halka'' in Warsaw, he was initially opposed by the Russian administrator in charge of Warsaw theatres, Siergiej Muchanow, who also happened to be the Warsaw chief of police and, later in 1863 became Maria's second husband. Thanks to Maria's intervention, Moniuszko managed to stage his opera. Three months after its January 1858 opening, she organized a benefit concert for Moniuszko, who was in constant financial difficulties. The concert raised 25,000 Polish '' złoty'', which enabled the composer to meet his immediate needs and take a trip abroad. Maria Kalergis had an appreciable influence on the development of musical culture in Warsaw. She was a co-founder of the Warsaw Musical Institute, now the Warsaw Conservatory and, with Moniuszko established the Warsaw Musical Society, now the Warsaw Philharmonic. Between 1857 and 1871 she made frequent appearances as a pianist. Soon after her first husband's death in 1863, she married Muchanow, ten years her junior. He was with her during her illness and nursed her devotedly through her final days. It was probably then that, sensing the approaching end of her life, Maria destroyed her correspondence. However, her letters to her daughter, son-in-law and friends have survived, and have made it possible to reconstruct many facts about her life and are a valuable source about the period. She was interred next to her father at Warsaw's

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare Powązki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...

. On her death, Liszt wrote his ''Elegy on Marie Kalergi''.http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?lot_id=3CHK2

Descendants

With Emperor Franz Josef's permission, Maria Kalergis' grandson, Heinrich von Coudenhove, was allowed to alter his surname to Coudenhove-Calergi, as a tribute to his famous grandmother. He married a Japanese noblewoman,

Mitsuko Aoyama Mitsuko Thekla Maria, Countess of Coudenhove-Kalergi (; 7 July 1874 27 August 1941), formerly known as , was one of the first Japanese people to immigrate to Europe, after becoming the wife of an Austro-Hungarian diplomat, Heinrich von Coudenhov ...

. In 1923 their son, Count

Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi Richard Nikolaus Eijiro, Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi (16 November 1894 – 27 July 1972), was a politician, philosopher, and count of Coudenhove-Kalergi. A pioneer of European integration, he served as the founding president of the Paneuropean ...

, founded the

Paneuropean Union The International Paneuropean Union, also referred to as the Pan-European Movement and the Pan-Europa Movement, is an international organisation and the oldest European unification movement. It began with the publishing of Richard von Coudenh ...

Notes

References

* Maria Kalergis, ''Listy do Adama Potockiego'' (Letters to Adam Potocki), ed. by Halina Kenarowa, translated from the French by Halina Kenarowa and Róża Drojecka, Warsaw, 1986. * Stanisław Szenic, ''Maria Kalergi'', Warsaw, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1963. * Stanisław Szenic, ''Cmentarz Powązkowski 1851–1860'' (The

, 1851–60), Warsaw, 1982. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalergis, Maria 1822 births 1874 deaths People from Warsaw Governorate 19th-century classical pianists Pupils of Frédéric Chopin Burials at Powązki Cemetery Polish classical pianists Polish women pianists Polish philanthropists Polish patrons of music Polish salon-holders Nobility from the Russian Empire Baltic-German nobility Westphalian nobility Polish people of German descent Musicians from Warsaw

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

19th-century composers 19th-century women composers Polish patrons of the arts 19th-century women pianists Pianists from the Russian Empire