Dunkelgrafen
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The Dunkelgrafen (french: Comte et Comtesse des Ténèbres, in German) is the nickname given by the locals to a wealthy couple who lived in the vicinity of
Hildburghausen Hildburghausen ( IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra riv ...
,
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
in the early 19th century. The man was identified as Leonardus Cornelius van der Valck (1769-1845), and used the alias Count Vavel de Versay. The woman was identified as Sophie Botta (c. 1777-1837).


Life

The ''Dunkelgräfin'' (Dark Countess) arrived in Hildburghausen on February 7, 1807. In 1810, they moved into the nearby but secluded Eishausen castle where they stayed until their deaths. The man presented himself as Count Vavel de Versay and kept the woman’s identity secret, making only clear that they were neither married nor lovers. They led a secretive life, particularly the Countess who ventured out only in a carriage or with a veil covering her face. At her death (November 28, 1837) she was inhumed very quickly, possibly without a religious service. The Count - later identified as ''Leonardus Cornelius van der Valck'' (born September 2, 1769 in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
), secretary in the Dutch embassy in Paris from July, 1798 to April, 1799 - gave her name as Sophie Botta, a single woman from
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 ...
; according to Dr. Lommler, the physician who constated her death, she looked about 60 years of age, placing her estimated birth c. 1777. She was buried in a grave on Schulersberg hill, in a garden which the ''Dunkelgräfin'' had bought in 1820. The Count stayed in the castle and died there on April 8, 1845. He was buried in the churchyard of Eishausen. The castle in which the ''Dunkelgräfin'' had lived was demolished in 1873.


Theories

The mysterious couple sparked much interest and speculations about the identity of the Countess started early on. The most notable – with very little support from historians though – proposes that she would be the true Marie-Thérèse, daughter of Marie Antoinette, imprisoned in the
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
and supposedly redeemed in 1795 in exchange for French prisoners. According to this hypothesis, Marie-Thérèse, traumatized by her trials or pregnant by rape, would have refused to go back in the world; her adoptive sister (and possible half sister), Ernestine de Lambriquet, would have taken her place.Nagel, Susan. ''Marie-Thérèse: The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter''. Bloomsbury, 2009. When Marie Thérèse was released from Temple in 1795 and allowed to depart for Austria,
Renée Suzanne de Soucy Renée Suzanne de Soucy née ''de Mackau'' (1758-1841), was a French court office holder. She was royal governess to the children of Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette from 1781 and 1792. Life She was the daughter of baron Marie Henri Louis ...
was chosen to accompany her on her journey to the border in Huningue after her mother
Marie Angélique de Mackau Marie Angélique de Mackau née ''de Fitte de Soucy'' (1723-1801), was a French court office holder. She was royal governess to Élisabeth of France (1764–1794) and later to the children of Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette from 1771 and ...
- who had been the first choice of Marie-Therese - was forced to decline due to health reasons. Marie-Therese, who traveled under the name Sophie, sat in the carriage with de Soucy and the guards Mechin (posing as the father of Sophie) and Gomin; the male servants Hue and Baron, the cook Meunier, as well as the maid Catherine de Varenne and a teenage boy called Pierre de Soucy, followed them in the next carriage. According to the legendary switch theory of the ''Dunkelgräfin'', Renée Suzanne de Soucy assisted Marie-Therese in changing place with Ernestine de Lambriquet during the trip to Austria in 1795-96. Among the eight people accompanying Marie-Therese during her trip through France in 1795, the maid Catherine de Varenne and the teenage boy Pierre de Soucy is mentioned in the passports, but are otherwise impossible to identify. Pierre de Soucy is stated in the passport to be the son of Renée Suzanne de Soucy, but she had no son by that name. According to the Switch theory, Pierre de Soucy (or possibly Catherine de Varenne) was in fact Ernestine de Lambriquet, who switched place with Marie-Therese during the journey with the assistance of Renée Suzanne de Soucy, after which Ernestine de Lambriquet continued to Austria posing as Marie-Therese, while Marie-Therese herself settled in Germany as the ''Dunkelgräfin''. The Austrian Emperor had, in fact, requested that Ernestine de Lambriquet should be allowed to accompany Marie-Therese to Austria, but Minister Benezch had given the reply that Ernestine de Lambriquet could not be located. In reality, however, there would not have been any trouble to locate Ernestine de Lambriquet, as she had lived under the protection of Renée Suzanne de Soucy and the Mackau family since the storming of the Tuileries on the 10th of August, 1792. The alternative suggestion is that "Pierre de Soucy" was in fact one of the daughters of Renée Suzanne de Soucy, dressed as a boy in order to make the travel group less identifiable, as Marie-Therese was estimated to have been exposed to threats not only from anti-royalists but also from agents sent by foreign powers to kidnap her during her journey to the border. It is a fact that Renée Suzanne de Soucy exposed Marie-Therese to blackmail for unclear reasons, blackmail Marie-Therese submitted to, which has been speculated to have the connection to this alleged switch. According to Mme. von Heimbruch, her lady in waiting, Queen Mary of Hanover believed that the ''Dunkelgräfin'' was a Princess of Condé.


Legacy

The Dunkelgräfin is the theme of numerous historical essays and fictions in German and French, among them a novel by
Ludwig Bechstein Ludwig Bechstein (24 November 1801 – 14 May 1860) was a German writer and collector of folk fairy tales. He was born in Weimar, the illegitimate child of Johanna Carolina Dorothea Bechstein and Hubert Dupontreau, a French emigrant who disappe ...
.


Investigation

On 15 October 2013, the remains of the ''Dunkelgräfin'' were exhumed for DNA tests. She was solemnly reburied on November 7, 2013. DNA analysis and a study of her reconstructed facial features clearly confirmed that she was not related to Marie-Therese.


Bibliography

* * Richard Boehmker: ''Das Geheimnis um eine Königstochter. Die Lösung des mehr als 100jährigen Rätsels von Hildburghausen''. Helingsche VA, Leipzig 1937 * * * * *


Further reading

*


References


External links


Madame Royale


{{Authority control 1769 births 1770s births 1837 deaths 1845 deaths Nobility from Amsterdam People from Hildburghausen People from North Rhine-Westphalia Unidentified people Duos