#theresian institution of noble ladies

[dreamconsumer]

Archduchesses Maria Annunziata (1876-1961) and Elisabeth Amalie of Austria (1878-1960). By Josefine Swoboda.

They were the daughters of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, brother of Emperor Franz Joseph. Maria Annunziata was Abbess of the Theresia Convent in the Hradschin, Prague; and Elisabeth Amalie Princess of Liechtenstein through her marriage to Prince Alois of Liechtenstein.

[ridiculus-mus]

Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria, Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies in Prague (1890)

The Theresian Stift was founded in 1755 by Empress Maria Theresa in order to serve as a religious order for impoverished noblewomen. The Institute officially opened in 1755 and was housed in Prague Castle, enrolling thirty unmarried young women from Austrian and Hungarian aristocratic families who were financially strained. The noblewomen lived as secular canonesses and were not required to take vows of celibacy and were allowed to leave the chapter in order to marry. The Institution was run by a princess-abbess, who was selected by the emperor. The Institution closed in 1919 after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of the Republic of Czechoslovakia. (Wikipedia)

[archduchessofnowhere]

On Rudolf's marriage with Maria Antonia - the thing is, if he at any point considered marrying her, it would've been very easy to court her officially! His pool of possible marriage candidates was pretty small, but Maria Antonia as an archduchess would've been considered an eligible bride even by those strict standards. And yet, no credible biographer ever mentions her even being considered. It makes absolutely no sense for Rudolph to bother with a secretly romancing a girl he could marry very publicly. I mean that's basically what he did with Stephanie. And if he somehow couldn't, because of his or her family's disapproval, we would've at least gotten a hint of that too in correspondence. But as far I can tell, no.

Which is, on some level a pity, because she was the niece to Johann Orth of all people and I am all for giving more dimensions to his weird relationship to Rudolph. On the other hand, even as a piece of fanfiction, that theory is too convoluted, so.

Yeah, the whole "forbidden love" story makes no sense when you consider Antonietta was one of the few princesses that Rudolf could've courted with little problem. Personally I don't even think her tuberculosis would've been such a deal breaker for Franz Josef if Rudolf was truly so in love. And do we even know how sickly she actually was? Alexander of Battenberg seriously considered marrying her, which I don't think he would had she truly been bedridden for years, as Pachmann's story implies.

To me it seems that the choice of Antonietta as Rudolf's beloved was "strategical": she was a Habsburg (which reinforced Pachmann's claim as head of the Habsburgs), Johann Orth's niece (wrongly believed to be Rudolf's bestie), was Princess-abess of the Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies which was housed in Prague (where Rudolf also lived around that time), died close to the date Pachmann (allegedly) was born (which ties the story nicely with a bow).

But as for actual evidence, there seems to be none. Just to name one exemple at how this whole story is indeed pretty much fanfic at this point, Judith Listowel - a biographer of Rudolf - dedicates a lot of parragraphs to the affair, narrating the tragic love story and then ranting against Pachmann's claim... apparently unaware that Pachmann himself was the first person to ever talk of this affair in the first place? It's honestly an amazing (to not say something else) piece of work, since Listowel sets aside any sort of historiographical research and just starts writing fiction:

Rudolf was heartbroken over her [Maria Antonietta's] decision to take the veil. This had been his first love, she was young and beautiful and he wanted to marry her, and was trying to get round his father - it is believed with the blessing of the Empress Elizabeth. (...) It was at this time that Rudolf developed an interest in suicide, and it is a matter for speculation whether or not Maria Antonia's sacrifice in becoming a nun had anything to do with it.

Not only there is no citation for ANY of this, but also Listowel is under the very wrong impression that Antonietta was a nun. The Princess-Abess did not take any vows and could leave her position at any point in order to get married, which is what literally half of the Institution's princesses-abesses did. This is so easy to check that it annoyed me way more than the contradiction of saying that there's no doubt of the love affair and then stating that Pachmann was a liar.

[tiny-librarian]

The Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies was founded by Maria Theresa in 1755, as a religious order for impoverished noblewomen. It was run by a Princess-Abbess, who was selected by the Emperor, and had been born an Archduchess of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. The ten women who held the position before the institution’s closure in 1919, after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire are:

Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria - Daughter of Maria Theresa and Francis I.

Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria - Daughter of Leopold II and Maria Luisa of Spain

Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria - Daughter of Archduke Charles and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg

Archduchess Hermine of Austria - Daughter of Archduke Joseph and  Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym

Archduchess Maria Karoline of Austria - Daughter of Archduke Charles and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg

Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria - Daughter of Arckduke Karl Ferdinand and  Elisabeth Franziska of Austria

Archduchess Maria Antonietta of Austria - Daughter of  Ferdinand IV and Anna of Saxony

Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria - Daughter of Archduke Karl Ludwig and Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Archduchess Karoline Marie of Austria - Daughter of Archduke Karl Salvator and Maria Immacolata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Archduchess Maria Annunciata of Austria - Daughter of Archduke Karl Ludwig and Maria Theresa of Portugal

[dreamconsumer]

Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria (1743-1808). By Eusebius Johann Alphen.