Germany
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Prester John
In the time of the crusades, Europeans were looking for any allies in their battles against the Muslims for the Holy Land. Medieval writings often feature a fabulously wealthy Christian king in the East. This was Prester John. He was believed to be a member of the Nestorian Church, which was an independent Eastern Christian church that did not fall under the purview of the patriarch in Constantinople. He was supposed to be an ally against the Muslims for the crusaders to take advantage of. The story of Prester John was first recorded by Bishop Otto of Freisling Germany in his Chronicon published in 1145. It was based on…
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A German Texas- Mainzer Adelsverein
When most people think of Texas they think of wide open spaces, cowboys and oil rigs. They do not think of oompah bands. However, that is what you will find in the German Belt of Texas. This is an area of towns founded by the The Mainzer Adelsverein at Beibrich am Rhein or Adelsverein for short. This was a society set up to fund the immigration of Germans to Texas to start a New Germany. Wait, Germans in Texas? How does this work? Germany in the 19th century was divided into more than thirty independent kingdoms, principalities, and free cities. Adding to this chaos was the birth of the industrial…
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Princess Elisabeth of Austria- Sisi of the Sorrows
The Wittelsbachs had a history of crazy. Both Ludwig I and Ludwig II had their foibles (See posts on both of them here: http://www.historynaked.com/spanish-dancer-king/ and here: http://www.historynaked.com/ludwig-mad-king/ ) However, Ludwig II’s cousin, Elisabeth or Sisi as she was known, had a life more tragic than crazy. On the surface, Sisi had it all- beauty, wealth, a good marriage- but it was all a sham. The lady had a life full of sorrow. Born Her Royal Highness Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie on Christmas Eve 1837, Sisi as she was called by the family was the fourth child of Duke Maximilian in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. As was customary with…
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Sophia Dorothea of Celle- The Lady in the Tower
Born the only child of the Duke George William of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1666, Sophia Dorothea was illegitimate. Her mother was the Duke’s long standing mistress, Éléonore Marie d’Esmier d’Olbreuse, an exiled French Protestant aristocrat. They weren’t even supposed to be together, and Sophia Dorothea was not supposed to exist. George William was supposed to marry Princess Sophia, daughter of the Palatine King of Bohemia (For more on her, please see this post: http://www.historynaked.com/sophia-of-hanover/) George William was so repulsed by the “mannish” Sophia, he traded his claim to the duchy of Hanover to his brother, Ernst Augustus, so he’d take her off his hands. Item: If you look at her picture,…
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Anna Anderson- The Fake Anastasia
News of the execution of the Romanov family in 1918 rocked the world. (For more on this please see this post: http://www.historynaked.com/assassination-tsar-nicholas-ii-romanovs/ ) However, in the face of this devastation people tried to keep the faith that someone may have made it out. European newspaper ran stories that one or more of the Romanov children had escaped. The one name that kept coming up was Anastasia Romanov. However, there was no proof. Only hope. Then in 1920, a young woman was fished out of a the water after jumping off a bridge in Berlin. Her suicide attempt failed and the young woman had no identification and refused to tell her…
