Charlotte Wahl née Mundel, (1817–1899), was a Latvian philanthropist who founded of many charitable organizations and is said "to have been the most decorated woman of her time."

Life and work

Charlotte Mundel was born in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Latvia, on 16 November 1817. She was the daughter of city architect Georg Mundel and studied at the Annen Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1837 she married Friedrich Wahl, a young Swabian manufacturer and the couple moved to

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, Germany, in 1849. The Wahl couple had no children. Charlotte Wahl worked to clothe the poor families in her city sometimes collaborating closely with Queen

Olga Nikolaevna of Russia Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (11 September 1822 – 30 October 1892) was a member of the Russian imperial family who by marriage to Charles I of Württemberg became Queen consort of the Kingdom of Württemberg until Charles' death. ...

, who lived much of the time at her summer home Villa Berg in

. According to Fränkel, Wahl continued "for many years to dress poor country folk," even in times of conflict.

She provided plenty of food and drink, clothing and comfort for many of the wounded of both nations. Their rulers, the first two German emperors, princes of
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
,
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, and Russia, decorated he philanthropistspartly personally, partly by handwriting, partly by medals; she is said to have been the most decorated woman of her time.

Wahl assumed leadership of several charitable associations, co-founded the Cannstatter Olga crèche, in addition to the St. Nicholas home for blind children, a house for mercy, institutions supporting nurses for small children, the orthopedic hospital for the poor and the local

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

house. Over the years, the Wahl financial fortune collapsed leaving her destitute. In response, she took on the role of Mother superior of the women's home in Kirchheim unter Teck and died there on 21 July 1894 after suffering stomach ailments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wahl, Charlotte 1817 births 1899 deaths 19th-century Latvian people Baltic-German people Latvian philanthropists 19th-century philanthropists 19th-century Latvian women People from Riga