Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,nee Windisch-Graetz

[gem_10]

Lovely photos! Thanks for sharing. 

[Svetabel]

Back to Duchess Marie of Mecklneburg ,nee Windieschgraetz.
Two years ago I started this thread on her and still no extra info except that Duchess Marie was a keen archaeologist and was working on a dig in Czechia before WW II .

Sorry for some mistype   In fact - in Slovenia before WW I of course

There's some info on Marie on www.carantha.net  --

"Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz (Marie Gabriele Ernestine Alexandra,* 1856 Vienna - † Ludwigslust 1929) deserves special attention. She was the fourth daughter of Prince Hugo Alfred. In Schwerin, in 1881, she married Duke Paul Friedrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (* 1852 - † 1923). Then, her consort converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, and subsequently had to renounce the right of succession for himself and his descendants. Princess and Duchess Marie was an experienced archaeologist and probably has to be considered the beginner of Slovenian archaeology. Her name was well-known in the field of archaeological excavations in Lower Carniola, in the period between 1904 and 1915.  Among other projects, she was responsible for the unearthing of Magdalenska gora.
The collection of the finds were preserved at castle Bogenšperk, which was her property. After the WW1, the collection was seized and deposited in the National Museum of Lublana. However, it is said, that after Marie's death her daughter Antoinette received permission (from Belgrade) to export the collection. Why? - In 1934, at an auction in New York the precious archaeological collection was sold. (Catalogue: Treasures of Carniola, 1934). Today, most exhibits are kept in the Peabody Museum (University of  Harward) in Cambridge, Mass., USA and in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England."

There's a castle Bogenšperk, a property of Duchess Marie. Possibly this castle is mentioned as a "prison" of Marie in "Secrets of the Gotha"

[HerrKaiser]

thanks for this great information. Interesting how personal treasures have been sold and now exists in museums; do you know if Marie is credited in these museums with being the previous owner and original archeologist unearthing the items?

also, how is she related to Crown Princess Cecilie? Aunt? Thanks!

[Svetabel]

In the end she didn't get married and died in 1944 in Yugouslavia.

What's this princess story ?
Why didn't she got married ?
What was she doing in Yu during the war ?
Are there any pictures/photos of her available ?

Thanks in advance.

I revive the question .
What's her story ? What was she doing in YU in 1944 ? How did she die ?

So, due to the fact that her mother owned a castle in Slovenia then possibly Marie Antoinette inherited the property and lived there.

[Svetabel]

thanks for this great information. Interesting how personal treasures have been sold and now exists in museums; do you know if Marie is credited in these museums with being the previous owner and original archeologist unearthing the items?

also, how is she related to Crown Princess Cecilie? Aunt? Thanks!

Yes, Duchess Marie was an Aunt to Cecilie as her husband Paul Friedrich was Cecilie's father younger brother.

As for Marie's crediting in those museums, well, I didn't find any mention of her on their sites and on-line collections.

[HerrKaiser]

Not surprising she gets no credit. It is often the case when a potential kudo would be for an ethnic German.

How close was she to Cecilie? the Mecklenburgs all seemed so family-oriented and supportive of each other.

[Svetabel]

How close was she to Cecilie? the Mecklenburgs all seemed so family-oriented and supportive of each other.

Duchess Marie looks like an outcast in the Mecklenburg family , she was a Catholic, her husband converted Catholicism for love of her, and after some years of their marriage she was sent away - in the "Secrets of the Gotha" is mentioned that she became very frivolous ( she had a lover but "frivolous" sounds strange as for example GDss Anastasia, spouse of GD Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was well-khown for her frivolous nature)...Possibly she was whimsical person who knows...So she lived in Slovenia, her children lived with their father, and after all she died in Ludwigslust.

[grandduchessella]

Here she is at her archaeology site:



Her brother Ernest (father of Erzi's husband Otto) also seems to have been a collector of archaeological artifacts.

[grandduchessella]

thanks for this great information. Interesting how personal treasures have been sold and now exists in museums; do you know if Marie is credited in these museums with being the previous owner and original archeologist unearthing the items?

also, how is she related to Crown Princess Cecilie? Aunt? Thanks!

Yes, Duchess Marie was an Aunt to Cecilie as her husband Paul Friedrich was Cecilie's father younger brother.

As for Marie's crediting in those museums, well, I didn't find any mention of her on their sites and on-line collections.

The Peabody credits her--I don't know about the Ashmolean.

"The Peabody’s European collections are not extensive, but include many materials not generally available in American museums. Among these holdings are: the Duchess of Mecklenburg collection of Iron Age artifacts from Slovenia..."

[grandduchessella]

The Peabody also published a 3 volume work on the collection:

Mecklenburg Collection, Part I, Data on Iron Age Horses of Central and Eastern Europe and Human Skeletal Material from Slovenia
Sándor Bökönyi
J. Lawrence Angel
Edited by Hugh Hencken
These three volumes deal with the Iron Age grave materials from Magdalenska gora, excavated by the Duchess Paul Friedrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Duchess of Mecklenburg, a member of an Austrian royal family with estates in Slovenia, conducted her excavations in the early years of the twentieth century. The materials from Magdalenska gora were purchased by the Peabody Museum in the 1930s. Volume I presents data and analysis of the horse remains and human skeletal materials.

Mecklenburg Collection, Part II, The Iron Age Cemetery of Magdalenska gora in Slovenia
Hugh Hencken
Editorial Assistance from Peter S. Wells
Illustrated by Symme Burstein
Technical Appendix by Joanne Segal Brandford
These three volumes deal with the Iron Age grave materials from Magdalenska gora, excavated by the Duchess Paul Friedrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Duchess of Mecklenburg, a member of an Austrian royal family with estates in Slovenia, conducted her excavations in the early years of the twentieth century. The materials from Magdalenska gora were purchased by the Peabody Museum in the 1930s.

Mecklenburg Collection, Part III, The Emergence of an Iron Age Economy
The Mecklenburg Grave Groups from Hallstatt and Sticna
Peter S. Wells
Illustrated by Symme Burstein
These three volumes deal with the Iron Age grave materials from Magdalenska gora, excavated by the Duchess Paul Friedrich von Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Duchess of Mecklenburg, a member of an Austrian royal family with estates in Slovenia, conducted her excavations in the early years of the twentieth century. The materials from Magdalenska gora were punchased by the Peabodt Museum in the 1930s. Volume III presents data and analysis of the horse remains and human skeletal materials.

[Svetabel]

thanks for this great information. Interesting how personal treasures have been sold and now exists in museums; do you know if Marie is credited in these museums with being the previous owner and original archeologist unearthing the items?

also, how is she related to Crown Princess Cecilie? Aunt? Thanks!

Yes, Duchess Marie was an Aunt to Cecilie as her husband Paul Friedrich was Cecilie's father younger brother.

As for Marie's crediting in those museums, well, I didn't find any mention of her on their sites and on-line collections.

The Peabody credits her--I don't know about the Ashmolean.

"The Peabody’s European collections are not extensive, but include many materials not generally available in American museums. Among these holdings are: the Duchess of Mecklenburg collection of Iron Age artifacts from Slovenia..."

Thanks , seems I've been an    incautious reader while browsing the Peabody site. Or have you found the info elsewhere?

[grandduchessella]

I found it here:

http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/arch/Europe.htm

I googled Peabody and Mecklenburg and it brought up some information at the Peabody site and elsewhere about the collection, including the info on the 3 volumes. It seems a book was put together about the artifacts, A Noble Pursuit, but I don't know if its separate from the 3 volumes or if it puts the 3 volumes together in one.

[HerrKaiser]

thanks for the info! the comment regarding Marie as "...a member of an Austrian royal family.." refers to her father's lineage? not her husband's and her actual title, I asume, right? thanks.

[Svetabel]

the comment regarding Marie as "...a member of an Austrian royal family.." refers to her father's lineage?

Yes, refers to her Windisch-Grätz lineage as the Windisch-Grätz family was of an Austrian high nobility (not a Royal exactly).

[Svetabel]

From ebay sales a rare photo of Duke Paul Friedrich and his enigmatic wife Duchess Marie



I guess this is their 1st photo as a married couple in 1881. By the way, I'd say Paul Friedrich was the most handsome among his batallion of brothers