Recke, Elisa von der |
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BORN 20 May 1754, Schloss Schönberg, Kurland - DIED 13 Apr 1833, Dresden, Sachsen BIRTH NAME Recke, Charlotte Elisabeth Constanze Freifrau von der GRAVE LOCATION Dresden, Sachsen: Innerer Neustädter Friedhof, Friedensstraße 2 (II / Nr. 56) |
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Elisa von der Recke was the daughter of the chamberlain Count Friedrich von Medem and his wife Louise Dorothea von Korff. After her mother's death she was educated by her grandmother. After his father remarried in 1767 she lived with him. In 1771 she married the chamberlain Georg Magnus von der Recke. It was a marriage of convenience and they divorced in 1781. She worked as a diplomat for her half sister Dorothea von Kurland. In 1787 she published "Nachricht von des berüchtigten Cagliostro Aufenthalt in Mitau im Jahre 1779 und dessen magischen Operationen" which made her famous in Europe overnight. She had met Cagliostro and saw through his deceptive activities and warned Catherine the Great for him. Catherine was so grateful that she awarded her the profits of a domain estate near Mitau for life and this made her financially independent. She travelled in Europe to meet the great minds of her time and corresponded with them for many years afterwards. From 1798 onwards she lived in Dresden. Her friend Christoph August Tiedge accompanied her on many of her travels and they lived together in Dresden afterwards. She died in 1833 in Dresden. Related persons • lived with Tiedge, Christoph August |
| Images |
 The grave of August Tiedge and Elisa von der Recke at the Innerer Neustädter Friedhof, Dresden. Picture by Androom (08 Aug 2016) |
Sources • Elisa von der Recke – Wikipedia |
