Amalie Zephyrine of Salm-Kyrburg
Encyclopedia
Amalie Zephyrine of Salm-Kyrburg (Paris
, 6 March 1760 – Sigmaringen
, 17 October 1841) was a daughter of fürst
Philip Joseph of Salm-Kyrburg
(first prince
of Salm-Kyrburg
) and Maria Theresa of Hornes
, eldest daughter and heiress of Maximilian, Prince of Hornes. She was their eighth child.
, was busy with the building of the Hôtel de Salm as the Paris residence of the Salm-Kyrburg family and a gathering place for many members of the high nobility. During the French Revolution
, her brother Frederick III and her lover Alexandre de Beauharnais were guillotine
d, but Amalie Zephyrine knew how to survive the Revolution. In 1797, she bought the cemetery in which her brother and lover had been buried in a mass tomb. Despite everything, the princess maintained good relations with a number of influential figures of the Revolution, as Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand and Joséphine de Beauharnais
, widow of her lover Alexandre and later wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.
A few years later Amalie Zephyrine successfully used her contacts at the court of Napoleon to broker the Mediatisation
of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
and Hohenzollern-Hechingen
. She also became guardian to her nephew Frederick IV of Salm-Kyrburg (1789-1859) during his minority, who had become the prince of Salm-Kyrburg in 1794 after his father's downfall.
After twenty years in Paris the princess returned in 1822 to Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, where she first lived in an annex of the former monastery Inzigkofen and later on in a residence called Prinzenbau, that her husband had built for her at Sigmaringen. A cliff face in the Donautal in Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is named the Amalienfelsen after her.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 6 March 1760 – Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district....
, 17 October 1841) was a daughter of fürst
Fürst
Fürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
Philip Joseph of Salm-Kyrburg
Philip Joseph, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg
Philip Joseph, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg was the first prince of Salm-Kyrburg, from 1743 to 1779. He was the second son of Hendrik Gabriel Joseph, regent of Salm-Kyrburg from 1696 to 1716, and his wife Maria Theresia of Croÿ...
(first prince
Fürst
Fürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
of Salm-Kyrburg
Salm-Kyrburg
Salm-Kyrburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire located in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, one of the various partitions of Salm. It was twice created: the first time as a Wild- and Rhinegraviate , and secondly as a Principality...
) and Maria Theresa of Hornes
Principality of Hornes
The Principality of Hornes was created on the October 16, 1677, and was awarded to Count Eugene Maximillian of Hornes. He was elavated to the rank of Prince, as Prince Eugene Maximilien of Hornes, second prince of the Empire. He was the son of Count Ambrosius of Hornes. This Royal House was...
, eldest daughter and heiress of Maximilian, Prince of Hornes. She was their eighth child.
Life
In 1782, on her parents' request, she married erbprinz Anton Aloysius of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Her new home city was not to her taste, however, and three weeks after the birth of her son Karel she returned in 1785 to her native city of Paris. There her brother, who would become prince Frederik IIIFrederick III, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg
Frederick III John Otto Francis Christian Philip, prince of Salm-Kyrburg, Hornes and Overijse, Gemen and Count of Solre-le-Château. Frederick was the eldest son of Philip Joseph, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg and Princess Maria Theresa of Hornes. He grew up at the French court...
, was busy with the building of the Hôtel de Salm as the Paris residence of the Salm-Kyrburg family and a gathering place for many members of the high nobility. During the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, her brother Frederick III and her lover Alexandre de Beauharnais were guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
d, but Amalie Zephyrine knew how to survive the Revolution. In 1797, she bought the cemetery in which her brother and lover had been buried in a mass tomb. Despite everything, the princess maintained good relations with a number of influential figures of the Revolution, as Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand and Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...
, widow of her lover Alexandre and later wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.
A few years later Amalie Zephyrine successfully used her contacts at the court of Napoleon to broker the Mediatisation
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
-Noble jurisdictions:Prince Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and descendants of his nephew Ferdinand ruled over the Kingdom of Romania, as Karl Eitel did not have children...
and Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Hohenzollern-Hechingen was a county and principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to a branch of the senior Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty.-History:...
. She also became guardian to her nephew Frederick IV of Salm-Kyrburg (1789-1859) during his minority, who had become the prince of Salm-Kyrburg in 1794 after his father's downfall.
After twenty years in Paris the princess returned in 1822 to Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, where she first lived in an annex of the former monastery Inzigkofen and later on in a residence called Prinzenbau, that her husband had built for her at Sigmaringen. A cliff face in the Donautal in Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is named the Amalienfelsen after her.