Maria Pavlovna (; – ) was a grand duchess of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

as the daughter of Paul I, Emperor of all the Russias and Empress Maria Feodorovna and later became the Grand Duchess of

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach () was a German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was raised to a grand duchy in 1815 by resolutio ...

by her marriage to Charles Frederick of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1783–1853).

Early life

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna Romanova of

was born on 16 February 1786 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

as the fifth child and third daughter of

Tsesarevich Tsesarevich (, ) was the title of the heir apparent or heir presumptive, presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the Eastern Slavic naming customs, given name and patronymic. Usage It is often confused with the much ...

Paul Petrovich of Russia and his second wife,

Tsesarevna Tsesarevich (, ) was the title of the heir apparent or heir presumptive, presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the Eastern Slavic naming customs, given name and patronymic. Usage It is often confused with the much ...

Maria Feodorovna (1754–1801), born

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

Sophie Dorothea of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

(1759–1828). She was named after her mother. Maria Pavlovna spent her childhood in the

Pavlovsk Palace Pavlovsk Palace () is an 18th-century Russian Imperial residence built by the order of Catherine the Great for her son Grand Duke Paul, in Pavlovsk, within Saint Petersburg. After his death, it became the home of his widow, Maria Fe ...

and the Great Gatchina Palace. As a child, she was not considered pretty as her face had been disfigured as a result of being variolated. She was a talented pianist, for which her paternal grandmother,

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

(1729–1796) admired her, even though she thought that Maria Pavlovna would have been better off had she been born a boy. Her music instructor was Giuseppe Sarti, an Italian composer and the

kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

of the Russian court. From 1798, she was taught music by Ludwig-Wilhelm Tepper de Ferguson.

Life in Weimar

On 3 August 1804, Maria Pavlovna married Charles Frederick, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1783–1853). The couple stayed in Saint Petersburg for nine months before departing for

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

. There, Maria Pavlovna was greeted with festivities as described by

Christoph Martin Wieland Christoph Martin Wieland (; ; 5 September 1733 – 20 January 1813) was a German poet and writer, representative of literary Rococo. He is best-remembered for having written the first ''Bildungsroman'' (''Geschichte des Agathon''), as well as the ...

: "The most festive part of all the magnificence of balls, fireworks, promenades, comedies, illuminations was the widespread and genuine joy at the arrival of our new princess". As grand duchess, she took care of the poor of the country. She last visited Russia at the occasion of the coronation of her nephew,

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...

in 1855.

Patronage of arts and sciences

Maria Pavlovna was interested in both

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

and

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

. She maintained a lifelong correspondence with

Vasily Zhukovsky Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (; – ) was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century. He held a high position at the Romanov court as tutor to the Grand Duchess Alexan ...

, and

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

dedicated one of his last poems to her. Schiller praised her "talents in music and painting and genuine love of reading", while

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

hailed her as one of the worthiest women of his time. According to Mary Leveson-Gower, the duchess by the 1820s had grown "very deaf, but had delightful manners". Most famously, she held "literary evenings" ''("Literarische Abende")'' where scholars both from and outside of the neighbouring

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

were invited to give lectures on various topics. The grand duchess herself attended ten courses at the university, some delivered by

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

(1769–1859). Several collections of the institution benefitted of her patronage, among them the Grandducal Oriental Coin Cabinet founded in 1840 by the orientalist Johann Gustav Stickel (1805–1896). She also played an instrumental role in establishing the Falk Institute in Weimar. In her later years, Maria Pavlovna invited

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

to her court and appointed him ''"

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

extraordinaire"'' in 1842. In 1850,

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's opera ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...

'' premiered in Weimar, but her growing

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is writte ...

prevented the grand duchess from enjoying it.

Issue

Maria Pavlovna had four children by her husband, Charles Frederick of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1783–1853), three of whom survived to adulthood: *Paul Alexander Karl Constantin Frederick August of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (25 September 1805 – 10 April 1806), died in infancy * ''Maria'' Louisa Alexandrina of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (3 February 1808 – 18 January 1877), who married

Prince Charles of Prussia Prince Frederick Charles Alexander of Prussia (; 29 June 1801 – 21 January 1883) was a younger son of Frederick William III of Prussia. He served as a Prussian general for much of his adult life and became the first ''Herrenmeister'' (Grand M ...

(1801 –1883) and had issue. * ''Augusta'' Louisa Catherine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (30 September 1811 – 7 January 1890), who became

German Empress The German Emperor (, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdication of Wilhelm II wa ...

after marrying

William I, German Emperor Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

(1797–1888) and had issue. * ''Charles Alexander'' Augustus John, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (24 June 1818 – 5 January 1901), who inherited his father's throne, married Princess Sophie of the Netherlands (1824–1897) and had issue.

Letters

Maria Pavlovna's letters to her maternal grandfather, Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg written between 1795 and 1797 are preserved in the State Archive of Stuttgart. Her letters from between 1800 and 1859 are preserved in the ''"Maria Paulowna letters"'' collection of the

Hoover Institution Library and Archives The Hoover Institution Library and Archives is a research center and archival repository located at Stanford University, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. Built around a collection amassed by Stanford graduate Herbert Hoover p ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Ancestry

References

* Jena, Detlef, Maria Pawlowna. Großherzogin an Weimars Musenhof, Regensburg 1999. * ''Ihre Kaiserliche Hoheit''. Maria Pawlowna. Zarentochter am Weimarer Hof, ed. Stiftung Weimarer Klassik und Kunstsammlungen, Weimar, Weimar 2004. * Jeanne Huc-Mazelet, ''Je suis moi, ils sont eux. Lettres et journal d'une gouvernante à la cour de Russie, 1790-1804'', :fr:Ethno-Doc, 2018, 256 p. (). (Jeanne Huc-Mazelet was at Maria Pavlovna's service).

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Pavlovna Of Russia, Grand Duchess 1786 births 1859 deaths Grand duchesses of Russia Grand duchesses of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Hereditary grand duchesses of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Princesses of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 18th-century women from the Russian Empire 19th-century women from the Russian Empire Daughters of Russian emperors Children of Paul I of Russia Mothers of Saxon monarchs Daughters of dukes Daughters of counts