Pauline Christine Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Bernburg (also: Princess Pauline of Lippe; 23 February 1769 – 29 December 1820) was a princess consort of Lippe, married in 1796 to Leopold I, Prince of Lippe. She served as the regent of Lippe during the minority of her son from 1802 to 1820. She is regarded as one of the most important rulers of Lippe. On 1 January 1809, she abolished serfdom by princely decree. She managed to keep the principality independent during the Napoleonic Wars. She wrote a constitution, in which the power of the estates was reduced. In the collective historical consciousness of the Lippe population, however, she is best remembered for her social goals. Influenced by French reformist writings, she founded the first day care center in Germany, a labor school for neglected children, a voluntary work camp for adult charity recipients and a health care institution with first aid center.
Life
Pauline was born in Ballenstedt, the daughter of Prince Frederick Albert, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg and his wife Louise Albertine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön. A few days after her birth, her mother died of the measles. She had an elder brother, Alexius Frederick Christian (1767–1834), who was Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg from 1807. It was noticed at an early age that Pauline had an alert mind. Her father, Prince Frederick Albert personally took over the upbringing of his daughter Pauline and his son and heir Alexei. She was a good student and learned French in addition to Latin, history and political sciences. Already at 13 years of age, she assisted her father in the business of government. First she took over the French correspondence, and later the entire correspondence between the residence in Ballenstedt Castle and the government offices in Bernburg. Her education was strongly influenced by Christian ethics and the ideas of the Enlightenment. Later Pauline continued to practice what she had learned in her youth, such as the teachings of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
On 2 January 1796 Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg married Prince Leopold I of Lippe. The wedding was celebrated in Ballenstedt, and on 21 January 1796 the couple returned to Detmold, under great cheers of the population. Leopold of Lippe had been asking for her hand for years, but Pauline had repeatedly rejected his suits. The marriage took place only after Leopold's health improved. Previously, he had been put under guardianship for a short time because of mental confusion. In the following years, Pauline spoke positively about their marriage and her "loving" husband. She confessed in a letter to her trusted cousin Frederick Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg:
Pauline gave birth to two sons, Leopold (born 6 November 1796) and Frederick (born 8 December 1797). A third child, a girl named Louise, died shortly after birth on 17 July 1800.
Leopold I died on 4 April 1802 and on 18 May Pauline took up the regency for her minor son, the later prince Leopold. In the marriage contract between Leopold and Pauline from 1795, it had been agreed that Pauline, as the future mother, should take both the guardianship and the regency of a minor prince. The Estates of Lippe fiercely opposed this rule. However, no appropriate male guardian was available and Pauline had also already demonstrated that she would be a suitable regent. Her reign lasted nearly two decades, and is regarded as a happy chapter in the history of Lippe.
Pauline held from 1818 until her death in 1820 the office of Mayor of Lemgo, overlapping the period she ruled Lippe. After the Napoleonic Wars, the city was heavily indebted. When mayor Overbeck died in 1817, no suitable new mayor could be found, and the magistrates and citizens decided on 4 January 1818 to ask Pauline ... to take a period the police and financial posts of the government of the city under her immediate direction for a period of six years .... Pauline answered on the same day and, contrary to everyone's expectations, she accepted the invitation. Locally, she was represented by the talented and dedicated lawyer Kestner, acting as Commissioner. She managed to improve the financial and social situation by taking some unpopular measures, but always with respect for the parliamentary rules of the city. Like in Detmold in 1801, she founded a workhouse for the poor and a service club under her own direction.
She planned to retire to the Lippehof, a baroque palace built in Lemgo in 1734, but she died on 29 December 1820, a few months after she had handed over government business to her son Leopold II on 3 July 1820.
Character, personality and theory of government In comparison with her contemporary Queen Louise of Sweden Pauline has in the historic context not been glorified as idealistic. She held her position publicly and privately, and often reacted quite violently when she disagreed. This led to quite a few angry and ironic commentaries during her lifetime.Internetportal Westfälische Geschichte - Pauline zu Lippe, viewed on 21 April 2010
Her biographer Hans Kiewning has described her as the regent of Lippe, who was far superior to all those around her, who would also have been an unusual phenomenon in a larger context. The historian Heinrich von Treitschke called her one of the cleverest women of her time. Her contemporary Ferdinand Weerth described her in his sermons as Princely in her whole being, an unusual degree of mental strength, the clear light mind, [...] and her tireless work.
Pauline was challenging her two sons, especially Leopold, the heir apparent. She carefully selected teachers, however, she considered herself to be too impatient in dealing with their sons, which sometimes led to violent confrontations.
The Prince and the state government had to agree with the Estates, the nobility as landowners and representatives of the cities, on important political issues. Before Pauline's rule, the sovereign, the government and the Estates had usually been able to work out a compromise, despite their often conflicting interests. Pauline, however, was accustomed to the absolute monarchy as practiced in Anhalt-Bernburg, where the Prince ultimately takes the decision. She did not want to allow the Estates to talk her out of realizing her well-intentioned social plans. She felt that she knew what was best for the country and its inhabitants. In 1805, the Estates rejected her plan to introduce a tax on liquor to finance a hospital for the insane. After that, she rarely summoned the Estates and mostly ruled by decree.Tobias Arand: Fürstin Pauline zur Lippe, in: Adelheid M. von Hauff (ed.): Frauen gestalten Diakonie, vol. 2: Vom 18. Jahrhundert bis zum 20. Jahrhundert, Stuttgart, 2006, p. 62 ff
The government of Lippe had been presided over by a chancellor or prime minister since the 18th century. Their weight grew over time. They rarely came into conflict with Princess Pauline, since their reform ideas of both sides were largely compatible with hers. Pauline regularly participated in meetings of the cabinet or the parliament and made her decisions there. Such sessions were often dominated by her impatience and her desire to lead. Her main focus was on foreign policy, however, because she spoke and wrote better French than any of her officials. She broke through the male monopoly, which in those days was only possible due to her Princely rank. No other females were active in the Lippe government, until some female councillors were elected after 1945. She took over the foreign ministry in 1810 and in 1817 the Princess also took up the management of the "madhouse" (as it was called at the time), the house of correction and the distribution of subsidies. In the relationship to her subjects, she was often close to the people, but ultimately, she had an autocratic style of government.
Social Policies The publications of Count Rumford inspired Pauline to put into practice her ideas on the state organization of the poor relief. She believed the cause of poverty and begging in her country was mainly to be found in the Lippe national character with his penchant for laziness and idleness. From the scientific literature on poor relief available to her, she gathered that real improvement could only be achieved through labor, voluntary or otherwise, and not through financial handouts.
Inspired by this, Pauline continued the policies introduced by her late stepmother-in-law Casimire of Anhalt-Dessau, (1749–1778), in accordance with the socio-political beliefs of their time. Among the institutions founded by Pauline were a vocational school (1799), a day care center (1802), the hospital (1801–1802), the voluntary workhouse (1802). An orphanage already existed since 1720, and a teacher training college had been founded in 1781. She grouped these six institutions under the term nursing homes and housed them in a former convent. They formed the nucleus of today's Princess Pauline Foundation in Detmold. The nursing home claimed that they could provide assistance "from the cradle to the grave". It was considered unique and was often visited by foreign guests, who praised especially the day care center. The services were, however, only available to residents of Detmold.
The people liked Pauline mainly because of her social institutions. The integrated charitable institutions were viewed as a model at home and abroad and were visited by foreign delegations, most of them British. Her care for the poor was evident. She relieved the famine in the years 1802 to 1804, by creating granaries. She was personally responsible for the softening the impact of military activities, such as quarterting and positioning of troops.
She was also responsible for the improvement of the infrastructure of the country. She built new roads and introduced street lighting in Detmold, using 26 oil lamps. She did not build any important monuments herself, but the construction of the neo-classical houses on the avenue in Detmold began during her reign. She initiated the merger in 1819 of several existing collections of books into a public library. Today's Lippe State Library at Detmold is a direct continuation of this library.
Vocational School In the summer of 1798, Pauline had turned to the social tasks. There was great poverty in Lippe and the Princess accepted that this was due to a lack of education of the population. Many parents did not send their children to school out of economic necessity, instead letting the children work or beg. Simon Ernst Moritz Krücke, the inspector of the teacher seminary, was Pauline's closest advisor on social questions. He recommended the establishment of a vocational school; children should learn the theoretical knowledge but also practical skills. Leopold I agreed and the new school was opened in the orphanage at Bruchtor in Detmold. There, Krücke taught the children of poor people together with the orphans. Legally, the school became equivalent to an elementary school.