Leopoldine Eleonora of Neuburg (Leopoldine Eleonora Josepha; 27 May 1679 – 8 March 1693), was by birth Countess Palatine of Neuburg and member of the House of Wittelsbach. Born in

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, Neu ...

, she was the youngest of seventeen children of Philip William, Duke of Neuburg, Berg and Jülich, Elector Palatine of Neuburg and his wife Landgravine

Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt en, Elizabeth Amelia Magdalena of Hesse-Darmstadt , image= Elisabeth Amalia Magdalena im Jahr 1705.jpg , caption= Portrait by Jan Frans van Douven, c. 1705. , succession = Electress Palatine , consort=yes , reign=26 May 1685 - 2 September 1690 , ...

Life

Leopoldine's oldest sister, Eleanor Magdalene, became the Holy Roman Empress in 1676, as the third wife of Leopold I; this even helped her numerous siblings to secure brilliant careers and marriages. After her father's death in 1690, Leopoldine was under the legal guardianship of her older brother Johann Wilhelm, who also supervised her education. In addition to language, religion, and handicrafts, the young princess learned music from the ''Kapellmeister'' Sebastiano Moratelli. In the summer of 1691, Leopoldine became ill after a difficult trip from Neuburg to Düsseldorf. It was there that, thanks to the care and affection of her sister-in-law,

Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (11 August 1667 – 18 February 1743) was an Italian noblewoman who was the last lineal descendant of the main branch of the House of Medici. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medicis' large art collection, in ...

, her condition improved again. In March 1693, she was formally betrothed to

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459� ...

,Gustav Prümm: ''Ein Gewinn fürs ganze Leben'', Books on Demand, 2009, p. 40. whose first wife,

Maria Antonia of Austria Maria Antonia Josepha Benedicta Rosalia Petronella of Austria (18 January 1669 – 24 December 1692) was an Electress of Bavaria as the wife of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. She was the eldest daughter and only surviving child o ...

, had died in December 1692. However, shortly after, Leopoldine died in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

, aged 13, after seven days of fever. She was buried in the Church of St. Andreas in Düsseldorf; however, her heart was placed in the Electoral crypt of Neuburg, and with the heart of her brother Philip William August (who died just one month later, on 5 April), were later placed in the coffin of their mother when she died in 1709. Today, Leopoldine's coffin is in the Mausoleum of St. Andreas. In 2007, the coffin was opened for decontamination; the mummified remains of the princess were buried in silk stockings, a fact that suggests that she died of tuberculosis.

References

Bibliography

* Linda Maria Koldau: ''Frauen-Musik-Kultur: ein Handbuch zum deutschen Sprachgebiet der Frühen Neuzeit'', Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2005, p. 181.

External links

Wolfgang Kaps: ''Leopoldine Eleonore (Josepha) von Pfalz-Neuburg (1679 – 1693)'' in: pfalzneuburg.de
etrieved 5 March 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Leopoldine Eleonora of Neuberg, Countess Palatine 1679 births 1693 deaths 17th-century German people Countesses Palatine of Neuburg House of Wittelsbach Royalty and nobility who died as children Daughters of monarchs