Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (11 September 1822 – 30 October 1892) was Queen of Württemberg from 25 June 1864 until 6 October 1891 as the wife of

Charles I of Württemberg Charles (; 6 March 18236 October 1891) was King of Württemberg from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891. Charles I married Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia in 1846 and ascended to the throne in 1864. Despite their marriage, the couple h ...

. Olga was the second daughter of

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

and Charlotte of Prussia. She was thus a sister of

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 ...

. She married Charles I of Württemberg in 1846, with whom she had no children.

Early life

Grand Duchess Olga of Russia was born on 11 September 1822 in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

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 ...

. Her father was Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, the son of

Emperor Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules that lasted ...

and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (née Duchess Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg). Her mother was Empress Alexandra of Russia (née Princess Charlotte of Prussia), the daughter of

King Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

and Queen Louise of Prussia (née Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz). Olga grew up as part of a close family of seven sisters and brothers. She had two elder siblings: Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Grand Duchess Maria of Russia; and four younger siblings: Grand Duchess Alexandra of Russia,

Grand Duke Constantine of Russia Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), s ...

, Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia and Grand Duke Michael of Russia. Attractive, cultured and intelligent, she was considered to be one of the most eligible princesses in Europe. She spoke several languages, and was fond of

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Marriage

Olga met '' Kronprinz''

Karl of Württemberg Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cach ...

in early 1846 in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and land are ...

. Her parents wished that she make a dynastic marriage, especially since her siblings Alexander,

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

and Alexandra had married relatively insignificant royal partners. There had already been several marriages between members of the

Russian Imperial Family The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russia. Ni ...

and members of the Württemberg Royal Family (in addition to the marriage between Olga's paternal grandparents): Olga's future father-in-law, King Wilhelm I of Württemberg, married Olga's paternal aunt, Grand Duchess Catherine of Russia; Olga's paternal uncle, Grand Duke Michael of Russia, married Wilhelm I's niece,

Princess Charlotte of Württemberg Princess Charlotte of Württemberg (9 January 1807 – 2 February O.S. 21 January">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 21 January1873), later known as Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, was the ...

. Olga gave her consent to Karl's proposal of marriage after only a few meetings, on 18 January. The wedding was held in great splendour on 13 July 1846 at the

Peterhof Palace The Peterhof Palace ( rus, Петерго́ф, Petergóf, p=pʲɪtʲɪrˈɡof; an emulation of German "Peterhof", meaning "Peter's Court") is a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof, Saint Petersburg, Russia, commissioned by Peter th ...

. The couple came back from Russia to the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

on 23 September. They lived mostly in the Villa Berg in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

and in the Kloster Hofen in

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...

. The couple had no children, probably not because of Karl's

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

, which he lived openly in his later age, but of his other health problems. Olga's husband became the object of scandal several times for his closeness with various men. The most notorious of these was Charles Woodcock from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, a former chamberlain whom Karl elevated to being ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

'' Woodcock-Savage ( English:

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Woodcock-Savage) in 1888. The resulting outcry forced Karl to renounce his favourite. In 1863, Olga and Karl adopted Olga's niece, Grand Duchess Vera of Russia, the daughter of Olga's brother Grand Duke Constantine. On 25 June 1864, after the death of his father, Karl acceded the throne and became the third

King of Württemberg King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

, making Olga the fourth Queen of Württemberg. The new King was enthroned on 12 July 1864.

Work and influence

Olga dedicated her life to social causes. She was especially interested in the

education of girls Female education is a catch-all term for a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

, and also supported wounded

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

s and the

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

assisted in part by philanthropist Charlotte Wahl of Stuttgart. A

children's hospital A children's hospital (CH) is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults from birth up to until age 18, and through age 21 and older in the United States. In certain special cases, the ...

, the ''Olgahospital'', was named for her in 1849; and an order of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s of Stuttgart, the ''Olgaschwesternschaft'', was named for her in 1872. These charitable enterprises made her very popular among her subjects, much more so than her husband. Olga was fond of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and was keenly interested in all happenings on her farming estate which was located in the German

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

colony of Russia. She received detailed reports from her ward Karl Alexander Wieler, a Württemberg orphan, who managed her estate and would rise to prominence in Russia's Imperial government owing to this Imperial association. Olga was also very interested in

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

and collected

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

s systematically. Her collection was left to the '' Staatliche Museum für Naturkunde'' in Stuttgart. As of 2011 part of the collection is still on display. Her name is attached to a geological formation in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, Australia. In 1871, King Karl I elevated the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-born Australian

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

Ferdinand Mueller to being "''

'' von Mueller". He repaid the compliment as follows. A series of massive rock formations was discovered by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-born Australian explorer

Ernest Giles William Ernest Powell Giles (20 July 1835 – 13 November 1897), best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer. He led five major expeditions to parts of South Australia and Western Australia. Early life Ernest Giles was born in Bris ...

in central Australia in 1872. Mueller was Giles' benefactor. Giles had wanted to name the tallest peak ''Mt. Mueller'', but Mueller prevailed on Giles to name it ''Mt. Olga'', in honour of the queen. The entire geological formation then became known as "The Olgas", before the indigenous name "

Kata Tjuta Kata Tjuṯa ( Pitjantjatjara: , lit. 'many heads'; ), also known as The Olgas and officially gazetted as Kata TjutaMount Olga, is a group of large, domed rock formations or bornhardts located about southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern p ...

" was officially proclaimed in the 1980s.

Later life

Queen Olga was noted for her dignity and queenly demeanor. On a visit by the royal couple to

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

in July, 1873, a lady-in-waiting to

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

noted, "He is most insignificant. She makes a most imposing appearance ... the only one who is a queen ..." In 1881, Olga wrote a memoir called ''Traum der Jugend goldener Stern'' (translated as ''The Golden Dream of My Youth'') which described her childhood at the Russian Imperial Court, her grief at the loss of her sister Alexandra, and her early adult life, ending with her wedding to Karl. It is dedicated to her nieces, Grand Duchess Olga of Russia and Grand Duchess Vera of Russia. When her husband died on 6 October 1891, Olga became queen dowager. She died one year later, on 30 October 1892, in

, aged 70. She was buried in the crypt of the ''Altes Schloss'' ( Old Castle) in

Honours

*: Dame of the Order of Queen Saint Isabel, ''28 June 1865'' * : Dame of the Order of Olga, ''1871''''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg'' (1886/7), "Königliche Orden" p
104
/ref>

Ancestry

References

External links

Koenigreich-Wuerttemberg.de
{{Authority control 1822 births 1892 deaths Grand duchesses of Russia House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Crown princesses of Württemberg Queens consort of Württemberg Princesses of Württemberg Memoirists from the Russian Empire 19th-century writers from the Russian Empire 19th-century women writers from the Russian Empire Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel Daughters of Russian emperors Children of Nicholas I of Russia Daughters of dukes