Countess Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann (29 May 1673 – 24 November 1741) was a
Viennese Viennese may refer to:
* Vienna, the capital of Austria
* Viennese people, List of people from Vienna
* Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna
* Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city
* Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance
* V ...
Court lady. The daughter of Imperial Court Chancellor Count
Theodor Heinrich von Strattmann, she was married to
Hungarian nobleman and
Ban of Croatia
Ban of Croatia ( hr, Hrvatski ban) was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) an ...
Ádám II Batthyány until his early death in 1703. For more than twenty years after becoming a widow she was
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...
confidante, companion and some have suggested
Éminence grise
An ''éminence grise'' () or grey eminence is a powerful decision-maker or adviser who operates "behind the scenes", or in a non-public or unofficial capacity.
This phrase originally referred to François Leclerc du Tremblay, the right-hand man ...
. One of the most respected women in 18th century Viennese society, she was known as 'Beautiful Lori'.
Early life and family
Countess Eleonore Magdalena Ursula von Strattmann was born in 1673 in the
Palatinate, the daughter of Imperial Minister
Theodor von Strattman
Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor.
List of people with the given name Theodor
* Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher
* Theodor Aman, Romanian painter
* Theodor Bluege ...
and his first wife Marie Mechtilde Freiin von Mollard. The Strattmann were a German noble family from the
Duchy of Cleve where Eleonore's father was in the service of the
Electorate of Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...
. In 1683 the family had moved to Vienna, where Theodor had arranged
Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...
's third marriage to
Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg
Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg (Eleonore Magdalene Therese; 6 January 1655 – 19 January 1720) was a princess of the House of Wittelsbach who became Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia as the ...
. In 1685 Theodor von Strattman was raised to the rank of count by Emperor Leopold I and appointed Austrian court chancellor, the functional Habsburg foreign minister. Eleonore had five brothers and two sisters.
Eleonore married Count
Adam II. Batthyány
Count Adam II. Batthyány ( hr, Adam Baćan, 3 June 1662 – 26 August 1703) was a Hungarian general and nobleman. He served as ban (viceroy) of Croatia from 1693 to 1703.
Career
Adam II. Batthyány was born in 1637, the son of Christoph II Ba ...
(1662-1703) on the 25th November 1692, the
Batthyány Family
The House of Batthyány () is the name of an ancient and distinguished Hungarian Magnate family. Members of this family bear the title Count/Countess ( Graf/Gräfin) Batthyány von Német-Ujvar respectively, while the title of Prince (Fürst) vo ...
were like many Hungarian aristocrats loyal to the
Habsburg dynasty
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
and served in the Habsburg military conflicts against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Count Ádám II Batthyány came from
Németújvár in the frontier region of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary, after he had rendered outstanding and valuable military service to Emperor Leopold I, most notably during the Siege of Stuhlweissenberg and the
Siege of Buda in 1686 where he fought alongside a young Prince Eugene; in 1693 Adam became
Ban of Croatia
Ban of Croatia ( hr, Hrvatski ban) was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) an ...
and was rewarded with the
Bóly
Bóly (german: Bohl; hr, Boja) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary. Until the end of World War II, the Inhabitants was Danube Swabians, also called locally as ''Stifolder'', because there Ancestors once came at the 17th century and 18th century ...
Estate in the year 1700.
After Adam died at a young age on 26 August 1703, Eleonore, who survived her husband for almost 40 years, look after the extensive Batthyány property and took over the guardianship of their two sons Ludwig Ernst (b.1696) and Karl Josef (b.1697). The Stranmann Palace was built by the famous Baroque master builder Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlau, her father's estates, after his death, were merged with those of the Batthyány family. Her residence was
Rechnitz
Rechnitz ( hr, Rohunac, hu, Rohonc, Rohoncz, Romani: ''Rochonca'') is a municipality in Burgenland in the Oberwart district in Austria.
Geography
The municipality is located in southern Burgenland, on the border with Hungary, near Bozsok and ...
Castle, at the time in Hungary, after she sold another Batthyány building in Vienna, the palace at Renngasse 4, to the Bishop of Bamberg. In 1718 she acquired the former Palais Orsini Rosenberg at 2 , known today as ''the Batthyány-Strattmann Palace'', close to the
Winter Palace of Prince Eugene
The Winter Palace of Prince Eugene (german: Winterpalais Prinz Eugen), also known as the City Palace (german: Stadtpalais), is a high-Baroque palace in the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria. Located on a narrow street at Himmelpfortgasse 8 ...
on in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
![Batthyány Palais-Bankgasse 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Batthy%C3%A1ny_Palais-Bankgasse_2.JPG)
Very active and respected in Imperial Viennese society, Eleonore Batthyány-Stratmann became one of the most esteemed women at court where she was known as: (The Beautiful Lori) as she was often described as an extremely attractive beauty. Her correspondence characterises Eleonore as a self-confident woman who knew very well what she wanted and who seeks to enhance her knowledge with strength and determination. Eleonore had a brother called Heinrich Stratmann (1662-1707), after his early death he left a widow with the same first name as hers, Eleonore (1677-1738), daughter of the Imperial Field Marshal and Commander Schellart von Obbendorf. This “” organised elegant soirees and assemblies, as the evening parties were called at the time, in her palace on , today's in Vienna.
Eugene's Egeria
Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann never remarried but was
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...
closest companion and some have said mistress. Eugene was, for the last twenty years of his life, a guest at Rechnitz Castle as well as Eleonore's Vienna palace which was very close to his Winter Palace. Eugene and Eleonore met almost every day till his death in 1736. Prince Eugene had known the Strattmann family for years, as he and Eleonore's father, the court chancellor, had, incidentally, arrived in Vienna at the same time in 1683. It is not known precisely when their relationship began, but his acquisition of a property in Hungary after the
Battle of Zenta
The Battle of Zenta, also known as the Battle of Senta, was fought on 11 September 1697, near Zenta, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Senta, Serbia), between Ottoman and Holy League armies during the Great Turkish War. The battle was the most decis ...
, near Eleonore's Rechnitz Castle, made them neighbours.
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...
called Eleonore's children "Eugene's codicils". Some Viennese gossips suggested that he was the father of the Countess two sons. In the years immediately following the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
Eleonore began to be mentioned regularly in diplomatic correspondence as “Eugene's
Egeria”, the soulmate of Prince Eugene, and the lady of his heart. When asked if she and the Prince would marry, Countess Batthyány replied: "I love him too well for that, I would rather have a bad reputation that deprive him of his". It has been said that it is through her influence on Eugene that, after the
Peace of Passarowitz, Hungary was spared another "
coup d'etat", her great influence on Prince Eugene is mentioned by the
Duke of Richelieu
Duke of Richelieu (french: duc de Richelieu) was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Roman Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it down ...
in his memoirs. Prince Eugene spent his last evening playing cards with the Countess, he died on 21 April 1736. Countess Batthyány-Strattmann lived the rest of her life quietly in Vienna, she died on 24 November 1741.
Issue
Ádám II and Eleonore had two children: Ludwig (Lajos) and Karl Josef (Károly József)
#
Ludwig Ernst Batthyány (1696–1765), Hungarian Court Chancellor and
Palatine of Hungary
The Palatine of Hungary ( hu, nádor or , german: Landespalatin, la, palatinus regni Hungariae) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were represe ...
. Married to Theresia Countess Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau.
#
Karl Josef Batthyány (1697–1772),
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 ...
,
Ban of Croatia
Ban of Croatia ( hr, Hrvatski ban) was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) an ...
and
Chief Chamberlain. He took part in the campaign against the Ottoman Empire under Prince Eugene. Empress Maria Theresa elevated him to the rank of prince (imperial title) on 3 January 1764. Married to Maria Anna Barbara von Waldstein, then to Maria Theresa Countess von Strattmann, and finally to Maria Antonia Nemetujvari Countess Batthyány.
In 1755, 14 years after her death, her sons Ludwig Ernst and Carl Joseph obtained the imperial concession to pass on the hyphenated double surname () Batthyány-Strattmann to their descendants, in consideration of their mother's dominant role in their inheritance.
References
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External links
Batthyány's family websiteDirectory of the Batthyány family with biographical data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batthyany-Strattmann, Eleonore
1673 births
1741 deaths
18th-century women of the Holy Roman Empire
18th-century Austrian people
17th-century women of the Holy Roman Empire
17th-century Austrian people
German countesses
Hungarian nobility
Nobility from Vienna