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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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[[Image:Vasilchikov Diaries.jpg|right|Cover of "Berlin Diaries"]] |
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The family fled Russia in 1919, following the [[Bolshevik]] [[October Revolution]]. They took refuge first in France, where she and her sister [[Marie Vassiltchikov]] (1917–1978), called Missie, were educated at the Lycée of [[St Germain-en-Laye]].<ref name="obituary" /> She studied painting in [[Munich]]. In the 1940s she moved to Berlin, together with her sister Missie. She was employed by the [[Foreign Office (Germany)|Foreign Office]]. Tatiana and Missie joined a circle of civilian members of the [[German resistance|resistance]] to the regime. Tatiana met her future husband there, whom she married on 6 September 1941. Her sister described these years in her memoirs ''Berliner Tagebücher 1940-1945'', translated ''Berlin Diaries 1940-1945''.<ref name="obituary" /> |
The family fled Russia in 1919, following the [[Bolshevik]] [[October Revolution]]. They took refuge first in France, where she and her sister [[Marie Vassiltchikov]] (1917–1978), called Missie, were educated at the Lycée of [[St Germain-en-Laye]].<ref name="obituary" /> She studied painting in [[Munich]]. In the 1940s she moved to Berlin, together with her sister Missie. She was employed by the [[Foreign Office (Germany)|Foreign Office]]. Tatiana and Missie joined a circle of civilian members of the [[German resistance|resistance]] to the regime. Tatiana met her future husband there, whom she married on 6 September 1941. Her sister described these years in her memoirs ''Berliner Tagebücher 1940-1945'', translated ''Berlin Diaries 1940-1945''.<ref name="obituary" /> |
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Revision as of 20:23, 25 June 2011
Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg (Tatiana Hilarionowna Princess of Metternich-Winneburg, born Princess Tatiana Hilarionovna Vassiltchikov (Татьяна Васильчикова), 1 January 1915 – 26 July 2006) was a German Patron of the arts of Russian birth. She published her books and watercolours under the name Tatiana von Metternich. She supported charity, especially the Red Cross and the Order of St. Lazarus, which she served as Grand Bailiff for Germany. She was a founding member of the Rheingau Musik Festival, made Schloss Johannisberg available as concert venues for the festival and served as the president of its Kuratorium until her death.
Family
Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg was born in Saint Petersburg, the second daughter of Prince Hilarion Sergueïevitch Vassiltchikov (1881–1969), a member of the Russian Imperial Parliament Fourth Duma, and his wife, the former Princess Lidiya Leonidovna Vyazemskaya (1886–1946).[1][2] Married to Paul Alfons von Metternich-Winneburg (1917–1992), she was the last member of the House of Metternich.[1]
Biography
The family fled Russia in 1919, following the Bolshevik October Revolution. They took refuge first in France, where she and her sister Marie Vassiltchikov (1917–1978), called Missie, were educated at the Lycée of St Germain-en-Laye.[1] She studied painting in Munich. In the 1940s she moved to Berlin, together with her sister Missie. She was employed by the Foreign Office. Tatiana and Missie joined a circle of civilian members of the resistance to the regime. Tatiana met her future husband there, whom she married on 6 September 1941. Her sister described these years in her memoirs Berliner Tagebücher 1940-1945, translated Berlin Diaries 1940-1945.[1]
The couple lived in Vienna and then in the Metternich family's Schloss Königswart in the Egerland. After the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia in 1945 they lived in Schloss Johannisberg, the family's estate in the Rheingau, which had been destroyed by bombing in 1942. They rebuilt the estate and ran the winery. In collaboration with the company Henkell & Söhnlein, a winery for sparkling wine, member of the Oetker Group, they created the sparkling wine "Fürst von Metternich".[1] In 1974 they sold the Schloss and the winery to the Oetker Group.
Tatiana von Metternich published several books, some of them illustrated with her own watercolours.[1] She published her memoirs in 1976 under the title Tatiana: Full Circle in a Shifting Europe, summarizing her experience of the war:
When all was over, we learnt that horror was not the sum of human experience. Those who survived would only remember the flashes of light in the darkness: the warm comradeship, the selfless gesture of love or courage which seemed the last reality in a world gone mad, where finally simplicity and gentleness remained the only valid sounds in a man's heart.[3]
concerts of sacred music in the Basilika,
chamber music in the Fürst-von-Metternich-Saal (East wing),
open air concerts in various courts
In 1987 she was a founding member of the Rheingau Musik Festival, together with Michael Herrmann, Walter Fink and others.[4] She made Schloss Johannisberg available as concert venues for the festival She served as the president of the festival's Kuratorium until her death. She sponsored charity projects, especially in the Order of Saint Lazarus, which she joined in 1978. After ther husband's death in 1992, she succeeded him as the organization's "Grand Bailiff" in Germany until her death.[1][5]
She died on 26 July 2006 at Schloss Johannisberg in Geisenheim.
Awards
- 1970 "Ehrenzeichen" of the German Red Cross
- 1990 Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland I. Klasse
- 1999 "Georg-August-Zinn-Medaille" (Georg August Zinn medal)
- 2001 "Wilhelm-Leuschner-Medaille", (Wilhelm Leuschner medal), the highest award of the state of Hesse
- 2003 "Ehrenring" (Ring of Honour) of the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis
Literature
- Tatiana Metternich: Bericht eines ungewöhnlichen Lebens, Goldmann, München 1976, ISBN 3-442-03922-3
- Tatiana Metternich-Wassiltchikow: Was wird aus Russland? Der dornige Weg in die Demokratie, Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-548-34999-4
- Marie Wassiltschikow: Die Berliner Tagebücher der Marie 'Missie' Wassiltschikow 1940–1945, Siedler, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-88680-238-8
- Tatiana Metternich: "Pfauenthron / Peacock Throne: Reisetagebuch / Travelling Chronicle Johannisberg, Teheran, Persepolis, German/English, Modul-Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2002, ISBN 3-9806679-5-2
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Princess Tatiana von Metternich". Daily Telegraph. 19 August 2006. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Princess Tatiana Hilarionovna Wassiltchikov". genealogics.org. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Sisters Brave and True". newyorksocialdiary.com. 21 August 2006. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Vor 20 Jahren wurde Rheingau-Musik-Festival gegründet" (in German). Blasmusik. 4 December 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ "Großbailli" (in German). Order of Saint Lazarus. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
External links
- Literature by and about Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg in the German National Library catalogue
- Tatiana Fürstin von Metternich-Winneburg / Ein Leben für Musik und gute Taten (A life for music and charity) obituary, henkell-sektkellerei.com Template:De-icon
- Tatiana Metternich Amazon.com
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