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Pauline Christine Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Bernburg (also: Princess Pauline of Lippe; 23 February 1769, Ballenstedt – 29 December 1820, Detmold) 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. 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 the daughter of Prince Frederick Albert, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg of Anhalt-Bernburg and his wife Louise 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 November 6, 1796) and Frederick (born December 8, 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 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 month after she had handed over government business to her son Leopold II on 3 July 1820.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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