Bust of a young woman
Maria Pavlovna, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Museums, inv. no.: KPI/00159.

Digital Edition: The correspondence between Hereditary Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and her mother, Empress Dowager Maria Fedorovna of Russia, 1818-1819

The project idea consists of the digital edition of the personal correspondence between Hereditary Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (1786-1859) and her mother, Empress Dowager Maria Fedorovna. This correspondence, which is kept in the Main State Archives in Weimar, provides unique insights into the Weimar relationship during Goethe's time and the international significance of the Weimar court after the reorganisation of Europe following the Congress of Vienna. At the centre of the letters are key dramatic events such as the Weimar press feud, the assassination of August von Kotzebue and the subsequent Carlsbad Resolutions, which are understood as a manifestation of the "Restoration period".

The aim is the open access publication of a selected number of letters using the workflow already developed and taking into account digital editing standards. The publication is being carried out in collaboration with the Thuringian cultural heritage institutions. It is intended to deepen the digital infrastructure and provide the impetus for subsequent large-scale edition specifications emanating from Thuringia.

The project follows on directly from the pilot study, which was realised as a joint project between the University of Jena (Professor Dr Carola Dietze, building on the research of PD Dr Franziska Schedewie) and the Thuringian University and State Library (ThULB) thanks to funding from the Thuringian State Chancellery in 2022-2023. The difference in content to the pilot study, which focussed on the news from the Wartburg Festival in 1817, is that the current project includes the period 1818-1819, which is highly critical for Weimar, in the edition.

Duration: 1 October 2024 to 31 July 2025

Funding organisation: Thuringian State Chancellery, as part of the guideline for the promotion of culture and Arts

 

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