Countess Palatine Maria Francisca of Sulzbach (''Maria Franziska, Pfalzgräfin von Sulzbach''; 15 June 1724 – 15 November 1794), was a Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld by marriage to
Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.
Born in
Schwetzingen
Schwetzingen (; pfl, Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim.
Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-si ...
, she was the fifth child of
Joseph Karl, Count Palatine of Sulzbach and
Countess Palatine Elizabeth Auguste Sophie of Neuburg. From her six siblings, only she and two older sisters survive adulthood:
Elisabeth Auguste and Maria Anna.
Life
Her father was the designated successor both of his own father
Theodore Eustace, Count Palatine of Sulzbach and of his father-in-law
Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine, but he never took possession of his inheritance due to his early death in 1729. Maria Franziska's older sister Elisabeth Auguste later married the next heir of the Palatinate Electorate,
Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
Charles Theodore (german: link=no, Karl Theodor; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) reigned as Prince-elector and Count Palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as prince-elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777 to h ...
. After the death of Charles Theodore in February 1799 without surviving legitimate offspring, the Palatinate and Bavaria were inherited by Maria Franziska's youngest son Maximilian IV Joseph (later King Maximilian I of Bavaria); thus, Maria Franziska became the ancestor of all the Bavarian Kings until 1918 and the still living royal branch of the Wittelbachs.
On 6 February 1746, Maria Franziska married
Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. From 1760, after having given birth to five children, the relationship with her husband began to deteriorate.
According to herself she was seduced "by the bad example of the court", and began an affair with an actor from Mannheim. When she became pregnant, Maria Franziska was banished from the court. In
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
she gave birth to a son. She was then confined to a semi-detention in a series of monasteries, firstly at the Ursuline in
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
and then to the Augustinians of
Bonnevoie in the
Duchy of Luxembourg
The Duchy of Luxemburg ( nl, Luxemburg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg; lb, Lëtzebuerg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg, now Duke of Limburg, b ...
. After the death of her husband in 1767, she was allowed to return to Sulzbach Castle.
Maria Franziska died in
Sulzbach and was buried in the local parish church. Her heart was
buried separately and since 1983 was located in the
Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting.
Issue
Ancestry
References
Bibliography
*Oskar Klausner: ''Die Familienzweige der pfälzischen Wittelsbacher. Die ersten Wittelsbacher, die Kurlinie, die Seitenlinien''. Editorial Schimper, Heidelberg 1995.
*Karl Weich: ''Mannheim - das neue Jerusalem. Die Jesuiten in Mannheim 1720–1773''. Palatium-Editorial, Mannheim 1997, p. 142, 151.
External websites
thePeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Franziska of Sulzbach, Countess Palatine
1724 births
1794 deaths
People from Schwetzingen
House of Wittelsbach
Countesses Palatine of Sulzbach
German royalty
Countesses Palatine of Zweibrücken