Eva König (22nd March 1736 - 10th January 1778) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Life

In 1756, she married the

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

businessman Engelbert König with whom she had four children: Maria Amalie Henneberg, Theodor, Engelbert, and Fritz. In 1767, she became friends with the playwright Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, godfather to her son Fritz who looked after her when her husband died in 1769. A few years later, in 1771 they became engaged. Due to matters related to König's estate, Eva made several visits to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

over a lengthy period. She also had to accompany the young Prince Leopold of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, a future Prussian General, to Italy in 1775. As a result, the couple's mode of contact during their engagement was through written correspondence, most of which has survived. In 1776 they were married in Jork, a town near Hamburg. Eva Lessing then moved to

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

with her husband where she died in 1778 at the age of 41 of

neonatal sepsis Neonatal sepsis is a type of neonatal infection and specifically refers to the presence in a newborn baby of a bacterial blood stream infection (BSI) (such as meningitis, pneumonia, pyelonephritis, or gastroenteritis) in the setting of fever. ...

soon after the birth of their son Traugott Lessing. She was buried at Bürger Friedhof hinter der Trinitatiskirche, in Wolfenbüttel, Landkreis Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konig 1736 births 1778 deaths German letter writers Women letter writers Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Writers from Heidelberg