Just like the mausoleum on my hometown's old cemetery is a monument to friendship, the building on the hill is a monument to love.
It is a sepulchral chapel, built between 1820 and 1824 by King Wilhelm I in memory of his beloved wife Katharina. Of course, the location was no coincidence: The top of the hill with beautiful views of the river Neckar's valley was one of Queen Katharina's favourite spots. Also, being King and Queen of Württemberg, the couple felt a close connection to the place, as on this very hill the original House of Württemberg once stood.
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| View from the chapel. |
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| This is in the middle of the floor, separating the ground floor from the underground room where the coffins and busts are. |
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| The same grill, seen from underneath. |
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| Behind these doors is the altar. The chapel is still used for Russian-Orthodox services. |
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| For Mum! |
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| Statues of the four Evangelists Luke, Matthew, Marc and John adorn the chapel. As you probably know, each of them has their own symbol. The lion is Mark's. |
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| Busts of Katharina and Wilhelm are placed near their tombs. |
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| Other kings of Wuerttemberg (Wilhelm's family). |
Katharina, daughter of the Russian Tsar Paul, was actually Wilhelm's cousin. She was his second wife and had two daughters with him, Marie and Sophie. They married in 1816, and only three years later, Katharina died - she was 31 years old.
Her husband must have felt responsible for her death, as it was his affair with an Italian noble lady who made her rush after the two (or away from them - sources differ) in a carriage, wearing only a thin dress in spite of it being January and very cold. She caught a bad feverish cold, made worse by an infection she had been suffering from since November, and died a few days later.
Maybe he really did love her as much as he professed, but not enough to stop him having affairs. Anyway, he had the chapel built, with the words "Die Liebe höret nimmer auf" above the entrance: "Love never ends".
When Wilhelm died in 1864, his coffin was placed next to Katharina's, in spite of him having remarried a year later (another cousin of his, Pauline).
Their first daughter, Marie, was put to rest there as well.
There's certainly enough drama in the lives of this couple - and everyone else in their families - for a few books and even films, but as far as I know, nobody has ever turned their stories into a film. It is sad to think of them, as they had everything they would nave needed to be happy, but somehow never really seem to have found happiness.
Thanks for the angels! I remember very well the whispering echo in the hall, only if you stand right in the middle of it, just on the grill. That was a little spooky, wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! The whispering is a lot clearer underground, when you stand in the middle of the floor surrounded by the tombs and busts, right underneath the grill. Unfortunately, on that day there were so many people about, it was impossible to get a spooky moment to ourselves.
DeleteI really enjoyed today's post. Thank you for it. I feel envious sometimes when I read your blog (and a few others) and see how much beauty and history there is all around you to be enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteAmerica has very little to compare, history wise, being such a young nation. We do, however, have a continent's worth of beautiful wild land.
You do indeed have a lot more space than we do over here! America is just so incredibly HUGE when compared to tiny Germany, and our area is particularly densely populated.
DeleteI'm glad you liked today's post; thank you for letting me know!
That's a lovely spot and a really fascinating story, well told. Thank you - I thoroughly enjoyed it. You're right; someone should consider making a film - over to you..!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Mike; I'm glad you enjoyed my extremely brief account of the events leading to the chapel being built. I could have said a lot more not only about the lives of the people involved but also about the building itself, which the architect modeled on Rome's pantheon.
Delete"Love never ends"...no it never does when you keep having affairs! HA!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous spot to visit. Please forgive my first line I wrote, I am a cynical old thing in my old age now.
No need to apologize, Kay. I suppose it was simply considered normal for men with power (and/or money) to have affairs, especially as their marriages were usually not based on love but on politics, and often arranged by their parents when they were very young. All the more does it seem strange that Wilhelm professed to have loved his wife so much and yet refused to let go of his affair(s).
DeleteReading Mike's comment above, you should consider making a movie!
DeleteIf someone should come around the corner with tne necessary money, I'd gladly go ahead with it :-)
DeleteI am so impressed with all the historical background you offer.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like reading about it, Nan! I often wonder how much history really to include in such posts; too much, and it could become too long and boring. Too little, and it would lack some detail I find is important to "understand" a place.
DeleteFascinating if pretty sad story. Only married a few years, mother of two children, quite pretty, and her husband (whose love never ends) is having affairs. The little memorial is very pretty and still interesting people. I have never heard of it before.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same, Kristi - fascinating but sad.
DeleteKing Wilhelm I does not look like a stud in the painting. In fact, he looks a bit of a wimp. "Love Never Ends"? I guess it doesn't when you have several mistresses lined up.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting story. Thanks for sharing it.
It does have a cynical ring to it, doesn't it? But of course we shall never know how Wilhelm really felt about Katharina. For a lot of people, sex and love are two different things, and affairs do not necessarily mean they don't love their spouses. Maybe he was one of them.
DeleteHe was very young in that painting. On later ones, he looks a lot more... shall I say "filled in".
I'm glad that you showed the panorama from the monument Meike. I enjoyed seeing that.
ReplyDeleteI was going to say what you said in the last comment above. Love and sexual desire are two different things and love comes in many many forms. In my view and experience it is possible to love more than one person at the same time although, usually, in different ways.
The panorama is great, isn't it? My sister's phone can take really good pictures; my camera does not have a panorama option.
DeleteI suppose we all wish to find "everything" in that ONE person that is right for us, preferably "for ever", and how lucky we are if we do! But many never do find that one person, and for some I also suspect it's a question of the grass always being greener elsewhere.
I didn't know about these royals so that was interesting. The lives of the great and good in history are never without drama or scandal of some kind though, are they? But my goodness that view from the top! It's breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteI doubt "our" royals are known to many outside our area - well, not even many citizens of Baden-Württemberg know about the history of their county and its (former) leaders!
DeleteYes, that view was spectacular, and I am so glad my sister suggested going there that day.
Sounds like it would be a tragic film, though... Perhaps a risky project! ;)
ReplyDeleteTragic indeed, with love and jealousy, a good portion of political intrigue thrown in, and imagine the costumes...!
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