Franz, Helene, Freifrau von Heldburg |
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BORN 30 May 1839, Naumburg an der Saale, Sachsen-Anhalt - DIED 26 Mar 1923, Meiningen, Thüringen GRAVE LOCATION Meiningen, Thüringen: Parkfriedhof, Am Steinernen Berg |
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Known as Ellen Franz. She was the daughter of a school director from Naumburg an der Saale. She grew up in Berlin where Hans von Bülow was her piano teacher. Through him she met Cosima Liszt and they became lifelong friends. She took acting lessons from Frieb Blumauer and Heinrich Marr and debuted as an actress in Gotha in 1860. She worked in Stettin, Frankfurt an der Oder, Oldenburg and Mannheim before Friedrich von Bodenstedt engaged her at the Court Theatre in Meiningen. In 1868 she became the mistress of Duke Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen who was also the artistic director of the theatre. Around 1870 Oscar Bages painted her portrait. In 1873 she married duke George II and shortly before the marriage he gave her the title of Freifrau von Heldburg. She ended her acting career, but the German emperor Wilhelm II was so shocked by the marriage that he never visited Meiningen again. She died in 1923 and her grave monument at the Parkfriedhof in Meiningen was created by Adolf von Hildebrandt. Family • Husband: Georg II, herzog von Sachsen-Meiningen (1873-1914, Liebenstein) Related persons • was painted by Begas, Oscar • was pupil of Bülow, Hans von • was a friend of Wagner, Cosima |
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 The grave of Georg II, Herzog von Sachsen-Meiningen and Helene, Freifrau von Heldburg at the Parkfriedhof, Meiningen. Picture by Androom (30 Aug 2013) |
 The grave of Helene, Freifrau von Heldburg at the Parkfriedhof, Meiningen. Picture by Androom (30 Aug 2013) |
Sources • Ellen Franz - Wikipedia (DE) |
