Marie Anna of Saxony (15 November 1799 – 24 March 1832), (full name: Maria Anna Carolina Josepha Vincentia Xaveria Nepomucena Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Johanna Antonia Elisabeth Cunigunde Gertrud Leopoldina), was a

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. She became Grand Duchess of Tuscany by her marriage to

Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II, , English: ''Leopold John Joseph Francis Ferdinand Charles''. (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1824 to 1859. He married twice; first to Maria Anna of Saxony, and after her death in 1832, to Mari ...

Family

Marie Anna was born in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, one of the seven children of Maximilian of Saxony by his first wife Caroline of Bourbon-Parma. Her father was a son of

Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony Frederick Christian (; 5 September 1722 – 17 December 1763) was the Prince-elector, Prince-Elector of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony for 73 days in 1763. He was a member of the Wettin (dynasty), House of Wettin. He was the third but eldest su ...

. Her mother was a daughter of

Ferdinand, Duke of Parma Ferdinand I (''Ferdinando Maria Filippo Lodovico Sebastiano Francesco Giacomo''; 20 January 1751 – 9 October 1802) was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla from his father's death on 18 July 1765 until he ceded the duchy to France by the Tr ...

. Through her mother, Maria Anna was also the great-granddaughter of

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

Life

During her short life she showed a special interest for ancient paintings and classical poetry, acquiring the ''Liber Interitus'' by

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

for an unknown but extremely high price. She was inspired by Gnostic writings to write a short poet entitled ''Chuchotet d'Archont'', published posthumously. Along with her husband she was the founding patron of the Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata, the first female boarding school in Florence set up to educate

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

and

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

young ladies. She died in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

she passed onto Auguste, her only surviving daughter.

Marriage and issue

Her husband's granddaughter Archduchess Luise of Austria described Maria Anna as a "highly nervous girl who was so terrified at the idea of meeting her unknown bridegroom that she refused to leave Dresden unless accompanied by her sister" Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony. As her sister agreed to travel with her, Maria Anna duly married on 16 November 1817 the future

, son of

Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand III(; ; English: ''Ferdinand Joseph John Baptist''. (6 May 1769 – 18 June 1824) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1790 to 1801 and, after a period of disenfranchisement, again from 1814 to 1824. He was also the Prince-elector and Grand D ...

and his first wife

Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily Luisa of Naples and Sicily (Luisa Maria Amalia Teresa; 27 July 1773 – 19 September 1802) was List of Tuscan consorts, Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. She was born a princess of Naples and Sic ...

. During the celebrations, Ferdinand became attached to Maria Anna's sister, and they were later married. Her sister Maria Ferdinanda thus became Maria Anna's stepmother-in-law.Toscana, p. 18. They had three children, only one of whom lived to mature adulthood: * Archduchess Carolina Augusta Elisabeth Vincentia Johanna Josepha of Austria (1822–1841) *

Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria Archduchess Auguste Ferdinande of Austria (1 April 1825 – 26 April 1864) was the only daughter of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his first wife, Maria Anna of Saxony, to survive to adulthood. She married Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, ...

(1825–1864) * Archduchess Maria Maximiliana Thekla Johanna Josepha of Austria (1827–1834), died in childhood. After Maria Anna's death at

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

in 1832, her husband married Princess Maria Antonia of the Two Sicilies.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Anna Of Saxony 1799 births 1832 deaths Saxon princesses House of Wettin German classical scholars Women classical scholars Austrian princesses German Roman Catholics Grand duchesses of Tuscany Albertine branch