Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen
| Maria Christina | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Martin van Meytens, 1765.
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| Duchess of Teschen | |
| Reign | 1766–1798 |
| Predecessor | Joseph II |
| Successor | Albert Casimir |
| Born |
13 May 1742 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 24 June 1798 (aged 56) Vienna, Austria |
| Burial | Imperial Crypt, Vienna |
| Spouse | Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen |
| House | Habsburg-Lorraine |
| Father | Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Maria Theresa of Austria |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (Maria Christina Johanna Josepha Antonia; 13 May 1742 – 24 June 1798), was the fifth child of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Married in 1766 with Prince Albert of Saxony, they received the Duchy of Teschen and also was appointed Governor of the Austrian Netherlands jointly with her husband during 1781–1789 and 1791–1792. After two expulsions from the Netherlands (in 1789 and 1792), she lived with her husband in Vienna until her death.
The fifth child and fourth (but second surviving) daughter, Maria Christina was born on the 25th birthday of her mother, on 13 May 1742 at Vienna, Austria. The next day she was baptized in the Hofburg with the names Maria Christina Johanna Josepha Antonia; however, at the Viennese court and her family she was always called Marie or Mimi. She was Maria Theresa's favourite child, as can be seen in the letters that the Empress wrote to her. Little is known about her early childhood. In a letter dated 22 March 1747 the Prussian ambassador in Vienna, Count Otto Christoph von Podewils, described the then five-year-old Maria Christina as pretty and witty.
The Archduchess, capricious and spirited in her youth, received a particularly loving education from her parents. That notorious preference that Maria Christina received from her mother caused the intense jealousy of her brothers and sisters, who avoided her and criticized her prominent position within the family more and more vehemently. Maria Christina, too, understood herself very badly with her governess, Princess Maria Charlotte Trautson. However, the Empress only agreed with her desire to change her governess only in 1756, when she appointed the widowed Countess Maria Anna Vasquez née Kokosova, as a new governess. Maria Christina's relationship with her was much better, and a few years later Countess Vasquez was even named Obersthofmeisterin on Maria Christina's household.
Beautiful, highly intelligent but also artistically gifted, Maria Christina enjoyed a conscientious education. The Jesuit Father Lachner taught her several languages and history. The Archduchess learned, among other things, perfect Italian and French, which, according to Podewils, she particularly liked to speak, as well as quite good English. She also proved very early as a talented painter. In Schönbrunn Palace were exhibited drawings of the imperial family who testify her great artistic talent. She painted some family members including herself and also copy Genre painting of Dutch and French masters. One particular portrait made by Maria Christina in Gouache about 1762 showed the Imperial family celebrating Saint Nicholas: there the Emperor is showed reading the newspaper and the Empress serving the coffee, while her three youngest siblings (Ferdinand, Maria Antonia and Maximilian) were with their gifts.
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