Tsearevich Alexander Nikolaevich and Princess Maria Hesse Darmstadt
In 1837, the son of Emperor Nikolai I, a nineteen-year-old Tsearevich Alexander, took a journey in Europe: at the insistence of the Father, who wanted the Son to see the world. To get to London, Zesarevich wanted to strike out the least significant capitals of the German Confederation from his route, but the ruler of the Kurichircraft of Hessian, Ertzgerci Ludwig II insisted that Alexander appeared in his palace at least for several hours. Not wanting to quarrel with the horsepower erzgercog, Cesarevich agreed and on March 12, 1838 came to Darmstadt. Where I saw the fifteen-year-old daughter of Ertzgezzog, Princess Maximilian-Wilhelmin-August-August-Sophia Maria and fell in love with her at first glance. In any case, already by the same evening, he stated Orlov's adjutants and Cavelin that "all my life I dreamed of only about her" and that "not marrying him, except her."
Cesarevich immediately wrote to St. Petersburg Father with a request to allow him to ask for the hands of the princess Mary Hesse Darmstadt ... and received a decisive refusal. Nicholas I ordered the son to continue the journey. Cesarevich obediently went to London, but he could not forget Maria - and returned to Darmstadt, where he was located at how much decency allowed. He stated his adjutant that he would rather refuse the throne than from Mary. Apparently, they came to the sovereign, because shortly after the return of Alexander in St. Petersburg, Nikolai I seriously talked to his son and explained to him the reasons why he considered the marriage of Cesarevich with the princess of Hesse Darmstadt Impossible.
Alexander learned that the mother of his adorable Mary, Princess Wilhelmina Badenskaya, after the birth of the second son took a relationship with her husband, lived separately, changed lovers ... And the third son, and she did not give birth to him from Ludwig Darmstadt: the whole Darmstadt was sure yard and all europe! Just Erzgertzog, not wanting a scandal, admitted her younger children, for the presence of two sons, in whose origin he did not doubt, made a practically impossible situation in which the son of Wilhelmini from her unknown lover could claim the throne.
Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich. Artist V. I. Gau
However, even the truth about the dubious origin of the princess of Hesse-Darmstadt was not embarrassed by Cesarevich. He was too in love and tuned too seriously. And in the end, the sovereign had to agree with the choice of his son. And when Maria arrived at the Russian court, she fascinated all their adorable appearance and impeccable upbringing. She moved to Orthodoxy under the name of Maria Aleksandrovna and on April 16, 1841, was combined with a marriage with Cesarevich Alexander.
Freillina A. I. Utermark led detailed memories of this celebration:
"The sixteenth of April 1841, at 8 o'clock in the morning, the five cannon shots of the capital was announced that the highest marriage had to be today.
We are all, both duty and free, appeared in the service early in the morning. We were in white dresses and we just got the diamond fermoars received from Cesarevich as a gift.
When dressing the bride, the wedding toilet was attended by Stat-Ladies and Freillins.
The white sundress was richly embroidered with silver and was decorated with diamonds. Through the shoulder lay a red ribbon; Punchy velvet mantle, beaten by white atlas and ermine-covered, was attached on his shoulders. On the head of the diamond diadem, earrings, necklace, bracelets - diamonds.
Accompanied by his state, the Great Princess came to the room of the Empress, where she was put on a diamond crown.
Princess Maria Gessen-Darmstadskaya. Unknown artist
The Empress was aware that not precious diamonds should decorate the innocent and pure young princess on this day: she was not kept from the desire to decorate the bride's head with a flower, serving emblem of purity and innocence. The Empress ordered to bring a few branches of living orange colors and herself stuck them between diamonds in the crown; Little twig of the jacket on the chest. A pale flower was not noticeable among regalia and precious diamonds, but the symbolic brilliance was lost to many.
At the appointed hour, the entire royal surname entered the hall, where she was expected by the entire court state. However, the procession was moving forward along the halls, the courts are arrogantly adjacent to it. In the church, invited foreign guests, envoys and representatives of foreign courtyards, in brilliant court costumes, ladies in the rich court dresses of their yards were already taken to the church.
On the choir those halls for which the march should have passed, the mass of the public was crowded. It was all that only had the opportunity to get a ticket, everyone wanted to have the honor and happiness to attend the Holy Marriage of the Heir to the Russian throne.
The audience was in the richest toilets. It happened, however, that the same lady was hoping a black lace cape. He immediately is the height, finds the lady and asks Olsufyev on behalf of Gofamarshala to remove the black cape. The lady, of course, instantly performs the desire of Gofamarshal, drops the cape and keeps her in his arms. The sword appears again, asking for or so hide so that nothing black is visible at all.
After the crown great Princess Returned into the rest of the Empress, where we hurried to congratulate the empress and Zesarevna. Having congratulations to their approximations, she took off the mantle and, half a walk on the couch, rested in anticipation of an hour appointed for the front dinner.
When the sovereign was conveyed that all invited to the solemn dining table took their places, the royal surname moved to the hall and took its places.
On the front dinners behind the chairs of the members of the royal surname, the court ranks are standing in rank, which make dishes handed down by metals. The proclamation of toasts for the health of the sovereign, the sovereign and newlyweds was accompanied by the sounds of pipes, Litavr and cannon shots, music played on the choir and singing was heard. The ringing bells did not cease all day.
When it was dark, the whole city was flooded with fires of magnificent illumination. In the evening was the ball to which only the first three classes of ranks were admitted, the first two guilds of merchants and foreign merchants.
For the order and avoidance of thrust and misunderstandings, everyone was appointed not only the hall, where the emergence of the royal surname was to expect, but also the entrance from which it was necessary to enter the palace.
The crowd stood a wall, moved in many places was almost impossible. The music was heard in all halls, for which the royal surname passed several times.
The end of the ball, the Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich and the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna retired half of Cesarevich; After that, the sovereign and the sovereign, accompanied by the suite, conducted newlyweds on their half. "
Alas, as often happens, the fabulous start of history has not received an equally excellent continuation. Cesarevich, at first surrounding the young spouse with a care and tenderness, soon it was disappointed in it, and then it was blinked at all. The tender and mysterious princess turned out to be a woman closed and prim. True, the external arrogance was actually explained by the shyness of a young woman, but Cesarevich did not understand this: he dreamed of passionate love, and he received a spouse with which he did not have a trustful spiritual relationship.
I knew Maria Aleksandrovna Freilin of the courtyard A. F. Tyutchev wrote about her: "Grounding in solitude and even some negligence in the small castle of Yugenedheim, where she even rarely had to see her father, she was more frightened than blinded when it was suddenly transferred to the yard , the most magnificent, the most brilliant and most secular from all European courtyards. She told me that many times after a long effort to overcome shyness and embarrassment She at night in the privacy of her bedroom indulged in tears and a long restrained sobbies ... She was careful to extremes, and this caution did it weak in life ... She possessed the prestige of the sovereign and The charm of the woman and knew how to own these means with great mind and art ... Many were tried and condemned, often not without reason, for the lack of initiative, interest and activity in all areas where she could make life and movement. "
Maria Alexandrovna gave birth to eight children: Sons of Nicholas, Alexander, Vladimir, Sergey, Alexey, Paul, daughters Alexander and Maria. Frequent births exhausted its body, and the St. Petersburg climate was perfectly affected by the lungs.
Tsearevich Alexander rose to the throne on the day of the death of his father on February 18, 1855 - as the emperor Alexander II and entered the story under the nicknamed liberator, because he canceled the serfdom. The wife always kept in his shadow. At the insistence of physicians, Maria Alexandrovna led a lowactive lifestyle, and next to her husband was only at official events.
The ladies approximate to Marya knew that the Empress suffered because of the cooling of her husband and his love hobbies, which was a lot, but did not know how to show her spouse with her experiences, nor even his love for him. She died from tuberculosis on June 8, 1880. For the spouse, her death became the liberation and opportunity to marry his young beloved Princess Catherine Dolgorukova.
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Future russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the wife of the emperor, was born on July 27 (according to the old style) of 1824 in Darmstadt. Her parents were the duke of Ludwig II Hessian and Great Duchess Maria Wilhelmina Badenskaya. The girl was given a long name Maximilian Wilhelmina Augustus Sofia Maria Hessian and Prievinskaya.
At the courtyard, rumors were spread that the daughter was born of the extramarital connection between Mother and Baron Augustus Senarklen de Granci. But to prevent rumors, the Duke of Hessen recognized the illegitimate girl Maria and the boy Alexander his heirs and gave them his surname. Children settled together with her mother in the palace in Heiligenberg.
The priest of the Protestant Church of Cimmerman was engaged in the upbringing of Mary, since her parent died when the girl was only 12 years old. From Mary's loved ones, only a native brother remained. The nominal father did not attend a small semi-desert castle and the children were not interested. Advanced years spent in privacy explains the calm and unlike the nature of the princess. She did not love magnificent balls and crowded social society, both in youth and in adulthood.
Personal life
At the age of 14, the biography of Princess Mary has changed forever. In one of the visits to the local opera house, Russian Tsearevich Alexander met through Darmstadt. Despite the fact that Princess Hessénskaya did not enter the list of European brides for the Russian heir, he imbued with a sincere feeling precisely. Maria answered him with reciprocity. For a long time, his parents were against the candidacy of princess because of her origin. But the son was adamant.
Alexander's mother, even came to a personal meeting with Maria to Germany. A cute serious girl unexpectedly liked the future mother-in-law, and she agreed to marry. For two years, it was decided to postpone the wedding in connection with the young age of the bride. At that time she managed to get comforted in Russia. The German princess adopted Orthodoxy, replacing his real name to the Russian - Maria Alexandrovna, after which he immediately wounded with Zesarevich. In the spring of 1841, Maria and Alexander were responsible for the Cathedral Church of the Tsarskoye Palace.
Her imperial majesty
In 1856, at the age of 32, Maria Alexandrovna, together with his spouse, joined the throne. Coronation took place in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Moskovsky Kremlin. But after the end of the throne, the new Empress of the Romanov family was avoided by noisy events. She preferred the society of approximate, and also talked a lot with the clergy.
Many representatives of the highest society reacted contradictory to its rule. Some condemned Maria Alexandrovna for small participation in the imperial affairs of foreign and domestic politics. But many contemporaries rightly appreciated its role in the development of Russian society. According to the close Freilina Empress Anna Tyutcheva, Maria Alexandrovna carried a heavy cross of serving the Russian people.
Achievements of Empress
It is impossible to underestimate the results of the activities of the Queen of Mary Alexandrovna and, above all, its role in the development of charitable medical organization Red Cross, which began broad activities during the Russian-Turkish war.
Empress, saving on departures to Europe and on the number of outfits, invests the funds of the royal family in favor of building hospitals for the treatment of soldiers, as well as support for orphans and widows. On her behalf was sent a large number of Medikov to the Balkans to help the Slavs Brothers during the Turkish invasion. Under its management across the country, new allests and shelters opened.
Maria Alexandrovna played a big role in the education reform. It earned 2 higher educational institutions, about 40 gymnasiums, more than 150 educational institutions lower steps. The Queen contributed to a new twist in the organization of women's education, which was mainly funded on the means of charity.
Under its patronage, scientists K. D. Shushinsky developed a number of pedagogical methods, which all the gymnasiums of the period were adhered. The obligatory primary education program began to include the objects of the law of God, Russian, geography, history, cleaning, arithmetic, gymnastics. Girls were additionally taught needlework and housekeeping. At the highest level, the foundations of physics, algebra and geometry were added.
Patronized Empress and High Art. With it, the building was now built by the world famous Mariinsky Theater, whose troupe always supported a high professional level and adequately represented Russia in the international arena. The theater was founded by a ballet school, headed by the legendary ballerina Agrippina Vaganov in a few years. These institutions were kept on personal money Maria Alexandrovna.
A great contribution made Queen to the liberation of peasants, in every way supporting the reforms of her husband.
A family
The most important achievement of the empress was that she gave Russia a large number of heirs. In marriage with Alexander II Maria Alexandrovna gave birth to six sons and two daughters. At the very beginning of marriage imperial family He experienced a heavy tragedy - at the age of 7 years old, their eldest daughter Alexandra died from meningitis. Young spouses mourned loss for a long time.
Another blow to the mother was the end of the hot-beloved son Nikolai, who was preparing to the heirs of the throne. In 1865, at the age of 22, Zesarevich died from the tuberculous spine damage. It happened suddenly, and after his funeral Maria Alexandrovna had already lost interest in life forever. The second son, Alexander, in a rush order was prepared on the throne, and ultimately he managed to become one of the wisers and peace-loving rulers on the Russian throne.
The presidential son Sergey distinguished himself as general-governor of Moscow, who married in his time at the Princess Elizabeth Fedorovna. Subsequently, they fell from the hands of Bolsheviks: Sergey in 1905, and Elizaveta - in 1918. Princess also belonged to the Darmstadian yard, and her native sister became his wife, the last king of the house of Romanov. Another three sons of Maria Alexandrovna, Vladimir, Alexey and Paul, held high military positions. Mary's daughter married Prince Edinburgh, the son of Queen Victoria, thereby somewhat strengthening Russian-British relations.
Religion
Maria Alexandrovna was a pious man. She combined the best features of the Protestant ministry to people and the depths of the Orthodox faith. The Empress studied the works of the holy fathers, the lives of the saints. She read Holy Maria Magdalene and Saint Seraphim Sorovsky. With the biography of the Russian ascetic faith, Maria Alexandrovna introduced her Freulin Anna Tyutchev.
Soon the heman of the righteous appeared in the royal family, which Native Maria Alexandrovna carefully retained, among others, the shrines of the family. The Tsarina was led by theological conversations with Parfacy Kiev, Philaret, Moscow, Vasily Pavlovo-Posadsky. After her death in memory of the mother of her sons built in Jerusalem the temple of Mary Magdalena, in which now the relics of Elizabeth Feodorovna are resting.
Death
The last years of the life of Mary Alexandrovna were overshadowed by the disease, the death of a beloved son, as well as numerous treason of loving husband. The queen never externally showed his discontent with the behavior of a spouse and did not blame him.
It is known that the main favorite of Alexander II, Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova, lived together with illegitimate children a floor above the entrances of the crowded Empress. In many ways, this was done for security reasons: 7 attempts were made on the Tsar reformer, the last of which turned out to be fatal.
The Queen was seriously experienced all terrorist acts, each time its condition had deteriorated. Personal doctor Mary Alexandrovna, Sergey Petrovich Botkin, taking care of her well-being, recommended to live in Crimea periodically. But the last six months of his life Maria Alexandrovna, contrary to the prescriptions of the doctor, spent in St. Petersburg, which had a negative impact on her health.
Sarcophagus Empress Mary Alexandrovna The Empress died at the beginning of the summer of 1880 due to the complications of tuberculosis. The tomb of the Queen is located in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of St. Petersburg.
Memory
The memory of the Empress Mary Alexandrovna is immortalized by the descendants to the name of cities, streets and educational institutions. In the Mariinsky Theater, a bust of the queen with a memorable board was recently installed. The Mariinsky Temple today is the main cathedral of the Women's Monastery in Hepsimania.
In the newsreel, Mary Alexandrovna is captured in documentary and in artistic cinema. The roles of Alexander II's wife at one time played such actresses as, Tatiana Korsak and Anna Isaikina. Especially great visual similarity with the Empress reached, which can be seen in the photo frames ribbons with participation russian actress.
Irina Kunetkko in the role of Empress Mary Alexandrovna in the TV series "Emperor's love" Spectator love enjoy the films "Roman Emperor", "Emperor's Love" and the series "Poor Nastya". In the film "Matilda, which is devoted to the era of sunset at home Romanov, starred russian actors , and foreign stars of game cinema - ,.
Maria Alexandrovna (July 27 (August 8) 1824, Darmstadt - May 22 (June 3) 1880, St. Petersburg) - Princess of the Hessian House, Russian Empress, the wife of Emperor Alexander II and the mother of Emperor Alexander III.
Need princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augustus Sofia Maria Hessian and Priev (it. Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie Von Hesssen und Bei Rhein, 1824-1840), after the adoption of Orthodoxy 5 (17) December 1840 - Maria Alexandrovna, after collapse 6 (18) December 1840 - Great Princess with the title of Imperial Highness, After marriage 16 (28) of April 1841 - Zesarevna and the Grand Duchess, after the adoption of the spouse on the Russian throne - Empress (March 2, 1855 - June 3, 1880).
Biography
Youth. Marriage
Princess Maria was born on July 27 (August 8) of 1824 in the Duke of Ludwig II Hessian. Biographers of Mother Princess Mary Wilhelmina Badenskaya, Great Duchess of Hessian, are convinced that her younger children were bored with the Baron Augustus Searclen de Granci. Wilhelmin's husband, Great Duke Ludwig II Hessian to avoid scandal and thanks to the intervention of high-ranking brothers and sisters Wilhelmines, officially recognized Mary and her brother Alexander with his children. Despite recognition, they continued to live separately in Heiligenberg, while Ludwig II occupied the Great Palace in Darmstadt.
In March 1839, traveling around Europe, the heir of the Russian throne, the son of Emperor Nikolai I Alexander, being in Darmstadt, fell in love with 14-year-old Maria. The first meeting of Cesarevich and Princess occurred at the Opera House, where the statement of "Vestniki" was set. Earlier, one of the princesses of Hesse-Darmstadt has already married Russian Cesarevich, she was Natalia Alekseevna, the first wife of Paul I; In addition, the aunt of the bride on the motherboard was the Russian Empress Elizabeth Alekseevna (wife Alexander I). Arriving to Russia, Alexander Nikolaevich decided to marry Mary, the scandalous origin of the girl did not confuse him, he wrote his mother in a letter: "Cute mom that I am to the secrets of Princess Mary! I love her, and I will rather refuse the throne than from her. I'm marrying only on her, here is my decision! "
Empress Alexander Fedorovna embarrassed the origin of the future daughter-in-law and she refused to bless the marriage of the Son. Yet, after Alexander's persuasion and Nikolai I, the Empress herself went to Darmstadt to meet Maria, which was never never under the Romanov dynasty. Consent to marriage was obtained. The ratio of the emperor and the empress to the daughter-in-law became very warm.
"Marie won the hearts of all those Russians who could meet her. Sasha [Alexander II] was tied to her more and more, feeling that his choice fell on God this. Their mutual trust grew as they learned each other. Dad [Nikolai I] always started his letters to her words: "Blessed your name, Maria".<…> Dad with joy watched the manifestation of the strength of this young character and admired the ability of Marie to own himself. This, in his opinion, balanced the lack of energy in Sasha, that he was constantly worried "Olga Nikolaevna. Son of youth. Memories of the Great Princess Olga Nikolaevna
In September 1840, Princess arrived in Russia. Impressions about St. Petersburg, she shared in a letter to relatives: "Petersburg is much more beautiful than I thought; It contributes a lot to the Neva; This is a wonderful river; I think it's hard to find a more majestic city: at the same time he is animated; The view from the Winter Palace on the Neva is exceptionally good. "
5 (17) December 1840, Princess adopted Orthodoxy with the name "Maria Aleksandrovna". "Next day, December 6, there was a Cesarevich's engagement with the Great Prince Maria Alexandrovna. With the same solemnity and luxury was a front door. The engagement was accomplished in the presence of the entire royal surname, the entire yard, the whole Russian nobility and many noble foreign guests, and representatives of foreign states. "
Darmstadt, Motherland of Landgraphs, Kurfürst, and then the Grand Dukes of the Hessian and Rhineski, is associated with Russia long-standing dynastic uzami. Four Hesse Darmstadt Princesses became part of the Russian and German history - Natalia Alekseevna, the first wife of the Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, subsequently Emperor Paul I, Maria Alexandrovna, Alexander II's wife, and the mother of Alexander III, Elizaveta Fedorovna, the wife of the Grand Prince Sergey Alexandrovich, and finally , Alexander Fedorovna, Nikolai II spouse.
Two of them were crowned, and Elizaveta Fedorovna, the 150th anniversary of which was noted last year, cannonized by the church as a presovicariator.
Why Darmstadt? Is it an accident or yet in the choice of this small town on the German "Brides Fair" there was some regularity? It seems that it is also true, if, of course, in order to categorize the accidents at first glance, lying at the basis of (at least) three of the four Hesse Darmstadt marriages of the heirs of the Russian throne. But there were more fundamental considerations. Since Peter I, who committed to the "blood insulation" of Romanovs, in the choice of the bride for the heir to the throne prevaled the motives of political feasibility. If Alexei Peter's son was married to Sophia Charlotte Braunschweig-Tolfenbuttious, the sister of the future German emperor Charles VI, then he was looking for the grooms for her daughters and the niece in Severogrman's principles, continuing the master of mastering the coast of the Baltic, started by the Northern War.
Catherine II moved away from the Petrovsk tradition to use dynastic marriages as a means of strengthening Russian influence along the Baltic coast. The vector of her policies was aimed south - in the direction of the Black Sea, Crimea, Balkans, Constantinople. Perhaps, therefore, both spouses of her son Pavel Petrovich, as well as grandchildren's wife - Alexander and Konstantin, were chosen Catherine in the principles of Central and South Germany - Darmstadt, Württemberg, Baden and Saxen Koburg. He played his role and relatives in which the Empress was with the royal houses of Prussia, Denmark and Sweden.
From left to right: Great Princess Natalia Alekseevna, Empress Maria Aleksandrovna, Great Princess Elizaveta Fedorovna
Natalia Alekseevna: hostage of political struggle
The choice of the bride for Pavel Petrovich, who in 1773 turned 19 years old ("Russian Adeline"), Catherine instructed a Danish diplomat in the Russian service Baron Asbeburg. The task is not easy. And not only because the relationship of the Empress with the Son, who considered that the mother was usurped by the throne belonging to him, never differed mutual trust. The point is different: 1773 was perhaps the most difficult in the 34-year-old reign of the Great Empress. The first section of Poland, Pugachev Uprising, the fifth year of war with Turkey continued, the conclusion of the world with which depended on the relationship with Prussia and Austria, jealously followed the military successes of Russia. From the German princesses, approaching the age for the Grand Prince, Catherine's attention was stopped on Louise Saxen-Koburg, but she refused to change the religion from Lutheran to the Orthodox. Princess Württemberg Sofia-Dorothea, who later became the second wife Paul, was still a child - she was barely for 13 years. So the turn has reached the daughters of Landgraf Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig. The Landgrant, who served in the Austrian army, was a zealous Protestant, but his wife, Carolina-Louise, called for his outstanding qualities of the Great Land Graph, perfectly understood the benefits of Russian marriage. The marriage union between Hesse Darmstadt and St. Petersburg wished and the Prussian King of Friedrich II, whose nephew, the Crown Prince of Prussia Friedrich-Wilhelm, was married to the eldest daughter of Landgraf, Frederica.
In mid-June 1773, Carolina with three daughters - Amalia, Wilhelmina and Louise - arrived in St. Petersburg. The wedding of the heir to the throne with the second daughter named during the transition in Orthodoxy Natalia Alekseevna, took place in September of the same year. At the wedding, Denis Didro and Friedrich-Melchior Grimm, held in many years of correspondence with the Semiray of the North, were present at the wedding.
Catherine II.
Catherine tied with Darmstadt marriage and far-reaching dynastic plans. It was about creating a family pact of Northern Europe sovereigns - Russia, Prussia, Denmark and Sweden by making marriages of Landgraf Hessian's daughters with the Danish King of Christian VII and the brother of the Swedish king Duke Karl Zütermandlyand. With Catherine, the Family Covenant Plan, however, could not be implemented.
The fate of Natalia Alekseevna was tragic. Closely taking to the heart the humiliating position of her husband who did not admitted to Catherine to state AffairsShe was closely mixed in the struggle of political groups, which unfolded at the foot of the Russian throne. Her reputation destroyed Andrei Razumovsky, the son of the last hetman of Ukraine, so closest with a grand-pendant couple that lived on their half in the Winter Palace. On April 15, 1776, Natalia Alekseevna died in childbirth. After her death, Catherine showed the son of the intercepted intimate correspondence of Razumovsky with the Great Princess ...
Maria Aleksandrovna: liberator spouse
Maria Alexandrovna was both in nature, and in relation to politics with the full opposite of the first spouse Paul I. Alexander II, being another heir to the throne, passionately fell in love with it, when in 1838 he visited Darmstadt during the European trip. Hesse Darmstadt Princess was not even in the list of brides approved by his father, Nikolai I. Alexander Fedorovna, Nikolai I spouse, so closely accepted the ambiguous circumstances of her birth (from 1820 Mary Alexandrovna Princess Wilhelmina Badensky lived separately from his spouse Ludwig II, her father was considered to be Elsassan Baron August de Granci) that herself went to Darmstadt to get acquainted with the bride. The wedding was played on April 16, 1841 Maria Alexandrovna gave birth to 8 children, of which 5 sons, having decided the problem of the throne for a long time.
To be the wife of the Tsar reformer is a difficult cross. Having lived to coronation for 15 years in Nikolaevsky Russia, Maria Alexandrovna deeply felt the need for change, sympathized with the liberation of the peasants who followed on February 19, 1861. Having a wide range of friends not only in the court circles, but among the intellectual elite of Russia (K. Ushinsky, A. Tyutchev , P. Kropotkin), she knew how to not advertise his undoubted influence on the spouse. Her Freillina, Anna Tyutchev, the daughter of the Great Poet, close to Slavophil, was in vain sought from her in the tragic days of the end of the Crimean War at least indirect condemnation of the Nikolaev Orders, who led Russia to a military catastrophe. "She or holy, or wooden", - in despair recorded Tyutchev in his diary. In fact, Maria Alexandrovna, as subsequently, and Elizabeth Fedorovna, possessed an indispensable quality to be inconspicuous, completely dissolve in her husband, to create good in silence.
Wedding ruble on the marriage of the heir to Alexander Nikolayevich and Maria Alexandrovna. 1841.
The name of Mary Alexandrovna in Russia is tightly connected with the history of noble charity, the roots of which are directly related to the traditions of Darmstadt. In the formation of the spiritual appearance of Mary Alexandrovna, like other Darmstad Princesses, two wonderful women who lived in Hesse in the XII-XIII centuries were a special role - Haldegard from Bingen, the abundant of the monastery in Rupertsberg, who saw the place in the Christian church where the peoples were treated, " and sv. Elizabeth Turing, who founded the first hospital in Marburg. In the charitable activity of Mary Alexandrovna, the social ministry of Protestantism and the deep spirituality of Orthodoxy were united. First Chairman russian society The Red Cross, founded by Alexander II after the Crimean War, she personally established 5 hospitals in Russia, 8 was virtied, 36 shelters, 38 gymnasiums, 156 professional schools.
Mary Alexandrovna behaved with an exceptional dignity in difficult, sometimes critical circumstances. recent years Alexander II reign. After the birth of the eighth baby, the emperor started the second family. Ekaterina Dolgorukova, who gave him four children, lived in the winter palace floor above Maria Alexandrovna. Three months after the death of the Empress in 1880, she had achieved an official marriage from the emperor. Only the death of Alexander II from the bomb of the terrorist on March 1, 1881 was prevented by implementing the coronation plan of the bright princess Yuryevskaya.
After the death of Mary Alexandrovna, her sons, including Emperor Alexander III, built a temple of St. Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem Hepsimania. Now there is English conventStores the memory of two Darmstadt princesses - Maria Alexandrovna and Elizabeth Fedorovna, the remains of which rest at the right cleir. Maria Alexandrovna, who perceived Orthodoxy, not canonized, but sisters pray to her on a par with Elizabeth Feodorovna. They believe that Maria Aleksandrovna crushed her husband from six attempts on his life, the seventh, who had happened after her death, became fatal for him.
Alexandra and Elizabeth: on the eve of the disaster
Marriages of the last two Darmstadt Princesses, Ella and Alice (future Elizabeth Fedorovna and Alexandra Fedorovna), with the son and grandson of Maria Alexandrovna were autonated by the inner nobility of this outstanding woman. The wedding Elizabeth Feodorovna and Sergey Alexandrovich took place in April 1884, 10 years before her marriage younger sister With Zesarevich Nikolai, the future emperor Nikolai II. But the acquaintances of both great princes with Darmstadt princesses were assessed from the first meeting of their father and grandfather with Maria Alexandrovna in Darmstadt. Nikolay met Alexander Fedorovna at her wedding senior sister Ella. Alexandra Fedorovna gave consent to marriage at the wedding of his older brother Ernsta-Ludwig and Victoria-Melita in April 1884 in Koburg. The guardian of their marriages, each of which was happy, became Maria Alexandrovna.
Nicholas II with family in Hesse Darmstadt in relatives
Elizaveta Fedorovna and Alexander Fedorovna, deeply tied to each other, lived very similar, but at the same time very different Life. Both were trying to maintain and strengthen their husbands. But if Sergey Alexandrovich was a convinced anti-liberal conservative, then Nicholas II was rather a victim of historical circumstances than a monarch that could direct the course of history in the era of a deep crisis.
