Princess Adelheid Amalie Gallitzin (also known as Amalia Samuilovna Golitsyna or in Russian as Амалия Самуиловна Голицына; 28 August 1748 – 17 April 1806) was a German salonist. She was the daughter of the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Count

Samuel von Schmettau Samuel Graf von Schmettau (24 March 1684 – 18 August 1751) was a Prussian field marshal, artilleryman, and cartographer. Life Von Schmettau was born in Berlin. His mother, Marie de la Fontaine, belonged to a Huguenot family. His father died i ...

and the mother of Prince

Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin (December 22, 1770 – May 6, 1840) was an emigre Russian nobility, Russian aristocrat and Catholic Church, Catholic priest known as The Apostle of the Alleghenies and also in the United States as Prince Galitzin. He ...

Early life

Countess Adelheid Amalia von Schmettau was born in Berlin on 28 August 1748, the daughter of Prussian Field Marshall Count Samuel von Schmettau (1684-1751) and his second wife Maria Johanna von Ruffer (1717-1771). Her father died when she was very young, and at the age of four or five, her mother placed her in an Ursuline convent school in Breslau. She was brought back home to Berlin at the age of nine, and taught by private tutors. At the age of fourteen or fifteen she attended a French finishing academy in the city for two years.Brownson, Sarah. ''Life of Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, Prince and Priest'', Fr Pustet & Co., New York, 1873
/ref> After leaving finishing school, Amalie was introduced into society and invited to become one of the maids of honor to

Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt , house = Brandenburg-Schwedt , father = Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt , mother = Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia , birth_date = , birth_place = Schwedt , death_date = , death_place = Berlin, Brandenburg , plac ...

, wife of Prince Ferdinand, brother of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. In 1768 while on an excursion with Princess Ferdinand and other ladies of court to the spa at Aachen, that she met Prince Dimitri Gallitzin. Prince Gallitzin was returning to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, having completed fourteen years serving as

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

's ambassador to France.

Princess Gallitzin

On 28 August 1768, her twentieth birthday, she married the Prince in a chapel at

Aix-la-Chapelle Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

. The couple proceeded to

, where her husband was given a posting as Imperial Ambassador to the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. On the way to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, they stopped in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where her daughter Princess Marianna was born on 7 December 1769. The family stayed there some time before continuing to The Hague, where on 22 December 1770, her son Prince Demetri was born. At the age of 24 she forsook society suddenly and devoted herself to the education of her children. She applied herself to the study of mathematics, classical

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

, and philosophy under Franz Hemsterhuis, who kindled her enthusiasm for Socratic-

Platonic idealism Platonic realism is the philosophical position that universals or abstract objects exist objectively and outside of human minds. It is named after the Greek philosopher Plato who applied realism to such universals, which he considered ideal for ...

, and later under the name of "Diokles" dedicated to her the "Diotima", his ''Lettres sur l'atheisme''.Schlager, Patricius. "Adele Amalie Gallitzin." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 11 Aug. 2014
/ref> Although a professing Catholic, she was a great admirer of

Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominen ...

."Gallitzin, Adelheid Amalie", ''Treccani''
/ref> Gedenkplakette zum Treffen Goethes mit der Fürstin Gallitzin

The educational reform introduced by

Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Fürstenberg Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Fürstenberg (7 August 1729 in Schloss Herdringen16 September 1810 in Münster) was a German politician and the most important statesman in the Principality of Münster in the second half of the 18th century. Fürste ...

Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

, induced her to take up her residence in the

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

n capital. She was able to gather around her, at Münster, a mystical-literary cenacle which had a considerable influence on German intellectual and religious life at the time. Here she soon became the centre of a set of intellectual men led by Fürstenberg. This circle also included the gymnasial teachers (whom she incited to the deeper study of Plato),

Bernhard Heinrich Overberg Bernhard Heinrich Overberg (1 May 1754 – November 8, 1826) was a German Roman Catholic ecclesiastic, educator and author. As an instructor of the teachers he shaped the educational level in Münster and Westphalia. Biography Overberg was born ...

, the reformer of popular school education,

Clemens August von Droste-Vischering Baron Clemens August Droste zu Vischering (German: ''Clemens August Freiherr von Droste zu Vischering''; 21 January 1773 – 19 October 1845) was an Archbishop of Cologne. His clashes with the Prussian government personified the conflict relat ...

, Count Leopold zu Stolberg, and the philosopher

Johann Georg Hamann Johann Georg Hamann (; ; 27 August 1730 – 21 June 1788) was a German Lutheran philosopher from Königsberg known as "the Wizard of the North" who was one of the leader figures of post-Kantian philosophy. His work was used by his student J. G. ...

, who was

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

in her garden. The poet

Matthias Claudius Matthias Claudius (15 August 1740 – 21 January 1815) was a German poet and journalist, otherwise known by the pen name of “Asmus”. Life Claudius was born at Reinfeld, Holstein, Reinfeld, near Lübeck, and studied at Jena. He spent the gre ...

of the "Wandsbecker Bote" was also a familiar visitor, and

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatis ...

said that his hours in this circle were among his most pleasant recollections. A severe illness in 1786 led her to the reading of the

Christian Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, and her return to religion. On 28 August 1786, at the insistence of Overberg, she approached the confessional for the first time in many years. Soon afterwards, she made Overberg her chaplain. Under his influence, she underwent a complete change which affected all her surroundings. Her religious life took on a larger importance. She became the centre of the Roman Catholic religious and literary revival in Münster. In those revolutionary times, she provided for the spread of Christian writings, proved a support for the religious faith of many of her friends, and persuaded others, among them Count Stolberg, to make their peace with the

Catholic Church in Germany , native_name_lang = de , image = Hohe_Domkirche_St._Petrus.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cologne Cathedral, Cologne , abbreviation = , type = Nati ...

. In 1797

Johann Theodor Katerkamp Johann Theodor Katerkamp (January 17, 1764 – June 9, 1834) was a German Catholic church historian born in Ochtrup. Life Johann Theodor Katerkamp was the son of a wealthy farmer, Johann Heinrich Eberhard and his wife Maria. Johann Theodor re ...

joined her household as a private tutor. She was known for gentle charity, particularly towards refugee priests, intellectuals, and members of the

French nobility The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napoléo ...

fleeing from the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

.Sudhof, Siegfried, "Gallitzin, Amalia Fürstin", ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' 6 (1964), S. 51-53
/ref> Portions of her correspondence and diaries were published by Scheuter (Münster, 1874–76) in three parts. She was the mother of the well-known American missionary Prince Demetrius Gallitzin. She died in Angelmodde.

Notes

References

External links

* http://viaf.org/viaf/5722315/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20041103085410/http://www.uni-muenster.de/Rektorat/veranst/vst0229.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallitzin, Adelheid Amalie 1748 births 1806 deaths German princesses Adelheid Amalie Russian Roman Catholics German Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism 18th-century German people People from Berlin German salon-holders Russian princesses by marriage

Early life

Princess Gallitzin

Notes

References

Further reading

External links