Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies
The Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies, officially the Imperial and Royal Theresian Stift for Noble Ladies in the Castle of Prague, was a Catholic monastic chapter of secular canonesses in Hradčany that admitted women from impoverished noble families from 1753 until 1918.
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History
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The Theresian Stift was founded in 1755 by Empress Maria Theresa in order to serve as a religious order for impoverished noblewomen.[1] The Institute officially opened in 1755 and was housed in Prague Castle, enrolling thirty unmarried young women from Austrian and Hungarian aristocratic families who were financially strained.[2] The noblewomen lived as secular canonesses and were not required to take vows of celibacy and were allowed to leave the chapter in order to marry.[3]
The Institution was run by a Princess-Abbess, who was selected by the Emperor. Each Princess-Abbess was, by birth, an Austrian archduchess from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.[4] With the closing of the neighbouring St. George's Abbey in 1782, the Princess-Abbess of the Theresian Institution inherited the privilege of crowning the Queens of Bohemia.[5] Other administrative roles within the Institution included a deaconess, a sub-deaconess, and two canoness assistants.
The Institution closed in 1919 after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of the Republic of Czechoslovakia.
Princess-Abbesses
Notable Princess-Abbesses of the Institution include:
- Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1766–1789)
- Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1791–1800)
- Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (1834–1835)
- Archduchess Hermine of Austria (1837–1842)
- Archduchess Maria Karoline of Austria (1844–1852)
- Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (1875–1879)
- Archduchess Maria Antonietta of Austria (1881–1883)
- Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria (1886–1893)
- Archduchess Karoline Marie of Austria (1893–1894)
- Archduchess Maria Annunciata of Austria (1894–1919)
References
- "Maria Theresa: the empress who left a mixed impression on the Czech lands - Radio Prague". Radio Praha. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- Trollope, Anthony (7 June 1870). "Saint Pauls Magazine". Virtue and Company. Retrieved 7 June 2019 – via Google Books.
- www.fg.cz, 2019, FG Forrest, a s. "Prague Castle - Rožmberk Palace–Institute of Noblewomen (Rožmberský palác – Ústav šlechtičen)". Prague.eu. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- Timms, Elizabeth Jane (27 May 2018). "Maria Amalia of Austria, Duchess of Parma in Prague". Prague Post. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- Pacovský, Karel (2017). "Úloha svatojiřských abatyší při korunovacích českých královen" [The Role of St. George's Abbesses in Coronations of Bohemian Queens]. Folia Historica Bohemica (in Czech). 35 (1–2): 177. ISSN 0231-7494.