Eva Aurora Charlotta Karamzin ( Stjernvall; 1 or 7 August 1808 – 13 May 1902) was a Finnish philanthropist and a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

in the Imperial Court of Russia. She is better known as Princess Aurora Demidova and Aurora Karamzin, titles that were acquired after her first and second marriages, to Pavel Nikolayevich Demidov and Andrei Karamzin, respectively.

Early life

She was born in

Ulvila Ulvila (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is one of the six medieval cities of Finland, as well as the third oldest city in the country. Ulvila was granted charter as a ...

, in Saaren Kartano,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, into a Swedish-speaking family. She was the daughter of Carl Johan Stjernvall and his wife, Baroness Eva Gustava von Willebrand, daughter of Baron Ernst Gustaf von Willebrand and wife Wendla Gustava Wright and related to

Adolf Fredrik Munck Adolf Fredrik, Count Munck (Mikkeli, Finland, 28 April 1749 – Massa, Italy, 18 July 1831), was a Swedish and Finnish noble during the Gustavian era. His family name is sometimes inaccurately given as "Munck af Fulkila" because his father usurp ...

and

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military commander, aristocrat, and statesman. He served as the military leader of the White Guard (Finland), Whites in the Finnish Civil War (1918), as List of ...

. Her father was a high official in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

and became the First Governor of the

Viipuri Province Viipuri Province was a Historical provinces of Finland, historical province of Finland from 1812 to 1945. History The predecessor of the province was Vyborg Governorate, which was established in 1744 from territories ceded by the Swedish Empi ...

in 1812. Following Stjernvall's death in 1815, Karamzin's mother remarried and became the wife of Finland's Procurator, Carl Johan Walleen (1781-1867). Karamzin had an older brother, Emil Stjernvall Walleen, who added his stepfather's name to his own and later became a Finnish Minister of State and a

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 ...

. She also had two sisters, Emilie Stjernvall and Alexandra (Aline) Stjernvall. She was a close relative of Finnish writer Marie Linder. Emilie married Count Vladimir while Alexandra became the second wife of 1st Baron of Seisal José Maurício Correia Henriques, later 1st Viscount of Seisal and 1st Count of Seisal. They also had three half-brothers from their mother's second marriage to Walleen, of them Vladimir Alfons became a Major General and a Governor.

Life

Aurora was appointed as a

to Empress Alexandra Fedorovna the elder (consort to Tsar

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

), and a lady of the bedchamber of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna the younger and Empress Maria Feodorovna. She was made a dame of the

Order of Saint Catherine The Imperial Order of Saint Catherine () was an award of Imperial Russia. Instituted on 24 November 1714 by Peter the Great on the occasion of his marriage to Catherine I of Russia. For the majority of the time of Imperial Russia, it was the onl ...

, the highest honour for ladies in Imperial Russia.

Evgeny Baratynsky Yevgeny Abramovich Baratynsky ( rus, Евге́ний Абра́мович Бараты́нский, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈbraməvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈtɨnskʲɪj, a=Yevgyeniy Abramovich Baratynskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 11 July 1844) was lauded by Alexander ...

dedicated a poem to her, as he did to her sister Countess Emilie. In

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

on 9 January 1836, she married Pavel Nikolayevich Demidov. In 1846, after Demidov's death, she remarried to Colonel Andrei . After the death of Aurora's second husband, she occupied herself with the practical matters of her Järvenperä (Träskända) manor in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland and with her growing interest in charity. Karamzin used the immense wealth inherited from her first husband to create benevolent institutions in

, such as schools, public kitchens and the Deaconess Institution of Helsinki fi in 1867, which was the first institution in Finland for educating nurses. She was considered a great benefactor in many cities such as

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 ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Her native language was Swedish and she was fluent in French and spoke also Russian and Finnish. Karamzin's only child was Pavel Pavlovich Demidov (1839–1885). In 1870, Pavel succeeded his childless uncle, Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, as the 2nd Prince of San Donato. Her granddaughter and namesake Princess Aurora Pavlovna Demidova married Arsen Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia and became the mother of the Yugoslav regent,

Prince Paul of Yugoslavia Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, also known as Paul Karađorđević (, English transliteration: ''Paul Karageorgevich''; 27 April 1893 – 14 September 1976), was prince regent of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the minority of King Peter II. Paul w ...

. Demidova's granddaughter is Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, now living in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, and the mother of

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

and

Christina Oxenberg Christina Oxenberg (born December 27, 1962) is an American writer, humorist, and fashion designer. She has written seven books, and her writing has been featured in magazines and publications like '' Allure'', ''The Sunday Times'', ''Huffington ...

. She died aged 93 in

on 13 May 1902. Aurora Karamzina in shawl

Places named after Aurora Karamzin in the Helsinki metropolitan area

* Aurora Street (Helsinki,

Töölö Töölö (; , formerly spelled ''Thölö'') is the collective name for the neighbourhoods Etu-Töölö () and Taka-Töölö () in Helsinki, Finland. The neighbourhoods are located next to the city centre, occupying the western side of the Helsin ...

) * Aurora Hospital (Helsinki) * Aurora Hall, (Helsinki Deaconess Institute) * Karamzinin Street (Helsinki,

) * Auroragate (street in Espoo, Järvenperä) * Aurora Karamzin Park (Espoo) * Aurora Kindegarden (Espoo) * Aurora School (Espoo) * Aurora House (Espoo) * Aurora Chapell (Espoo) * Aurora reception home (Espoo) * Karamzin School (Espoo) * Art House Little Aurora (Espoo)

References

External links

Alexandra (Aline) Stjernevall from Geneall.net
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karamzin, Aurora 1808 births 1902 deaths People from Ulvila Russian princesses by marriage Philanthropists from the Russian Empire Russian women philanthropists Ladies-in-waiting from the Russian Empire 19th-century philanthropists 19th-century Finnish nobility Finnish people from the Russian Empire Finnish philanthropists Finnish women philanthropists Swedish-speaking Finns 19th-century Finnish women State Ladies from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of Saint Catherine