The Princess and the Jägermeister

Rewriting the Story of Auguste of Brunswick and Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann

An unfortunate but feisty princess sought the help of empress Catherine the Great to escape an abusive marriage and flee to Estonia. What could go wrong?

In her extensive exploration of the truth behind the tragic story of Princess Auguste¹ of Brunswick, Riëtha Kühle writes:

“Hopefully, this work will serve to clear Auguste’s name – and the name of her trusted friend Reinhold von Pohlmann – of the slander and lies that their legacies have been burdened with for more than two hundred years.”²

Portrait of Princess Auguste Caroline Friederike — “A portrait of Princess Auguste Caroline Friederike (1764-1788), daughter of Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, wife of Friedrich II of Württemberg, half length, wearing a blue dress with a lace collar.” Unidentified painter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The narrative of misadventure, promiscuity, sinister love affairs and an ending cloaked in mystery have undoubtedly tempted many writers of Auguste’s story. The trope is familiar – a woman straying beyond her confines was, and still is, subjected to rumours that take on a life much bigger than her own. The majority of accounts about her, perhaps relying on a common source for information, perpetuate a narrative painting her as an erratic, uncouth character, even blaming the mental instability running in her family for her behaviour. The fact that her life became intertwined with that of the upstanding Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann pulled him with equal surety into a stubborn web of lies that would endure for centuries.

Kühle’s 2021 book, titled Princess Auguste: On a Tightrope Between Love and Abuse, however, looks firmly at historical evidence rather than conjecture to paint as accurate a picture as possible of Auguste’s life.

A match made in Brunswick

Auguste Caroline Friederika Luise was born on 3 December 1764³ to Duke Charles Wilhelm Ferdinand, a military commander and Hereditary Prince of Brunswick,⁴and his wife Princess Augusta of Great Britain, sister of King George III. Auguste was the couple’s first child; she had six younger siblings, and a less than ideal childhood. Witnessing the tumult in her parents’ relationship owing to her father’s mistresses would have left a mark about the institution of marriage on her impressionable mind. Though her education was lacking, she had a clever mind and independent soul.

At the age of 15, desperate to leave home, Auguste was married to a prince ten years her senior. Frederick of Württemberg would later go on to become, according to Napoleon, “the brightest ruler in Europe”⁵, but at this time he was known for his intelligence as well as his problematic temperament. Significantly, he was the brother-in-law of Paul I, heir to the throne of Russia and son of Catherine the Great.⁶

Portrait of Friedrich I of Württemberg (1754-1816). Johann Baptist Seele, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The couple’s first home was in Lüben in Eastern Prussia⁷, where their son Frederick William (Fritz) was born in 1781.⁸ In 1782, they moved to St. Petersburg, where Auguste gave birth to three more children in quick succession between 1783-84 – causing one remark that she was “eternally pregnant”⁹. Of the four children, three survived to adulthood, and two would eventually become a king and queen.¹⁰ The final childbirth left Auguste with a complication for which she would likely be treated for the next several years.

Every account written about Auguste at least agrees on one fact – that her marriage was abusive. The young wife was regularly subjected to physical violence at the hands of her husband, who was prone to depressive episodes and renowned for his foul temper and jealousy; their quarrels were publicly known. Later, Auguste would state that there had never been four weeks of calm throughout her marriage.

Becoming Zelmire

When Frederick and Auguste first came to St. Petersburg, they received a warm and lavish welcome from Empress Catherine – partly for political reasons, partly because she intended to use them to get information about her son,¹¹ and partly because they were related to her and from her home country. ¹² The tensions between the couple soon became the talk of the town; Frederick was treated with wariness, and Auguste was the subject of unjust gossip.¹³However, the more Catherine looked into the matter – and she took great pains to do so – the more she concluded that Auguste was innocent and needed protection.

Portrait of Catherine II — Catherine II in front of a mirror, 1762-4, Vigilius Eriksen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In the spring of 1783, Frederick was away¹⁴ and Auguste spent the summer with Catherine at the Empress’ summer palace, where Catherine learnt more about Auguste and became rather fond of her. The Empress often mentioned her in letters to her confidant Baron Melchior von Grimm¹⁵, disguising Auguste as “Zelmire” – a name she borrowed from the protagonist of a 1762 drama by Pierre Laurent Buiret de Bellois.¹⁶ Later in 1783, Auguste received the Order of St. Catherine for assisting with the birth of the Empress’ first granddaughter.

Things went rather rapidly downhill in 1785, with more than one alarmingly violent episode between Frederick and Auguste. Catherine, deeply concerned for Auguste, tried to separate the couple for over a year, without much cooperation from Auguste’s father or the daughter herself. Finally, in December 1786, Duke Charles finally relented¹⁷ mere days before Auguste herself came to the same decision – she had discovered her husband’s horrific plan to have her raped – and Catherine was supportive and granted her asylum.¹⁸

Catherine took this opportunity to have Frederick banished from Russia to Brunswick, but the separation agreement he drafted wasn’t agreeable to Auguste on several counts – he sought the removal of all her children from her care¹⁹, her silence about what had transpired before the separation, and her assurance that she would live under the eyes of her parents and effectively his own. Auguste refused to sign the papers or return home. Catherine, who was leaving on a grand tour, didn’t want Auguste staying in St. Petersburg by herself, surrounded by gossip, possibilities of scandals, and the wrath of her sister-in-law Maria Feodorovna, who had taken the news of Frederick’s banishment rather bitterly.

An Estonian alternative

In a letter to Baron Grimm dated September 1787, Catherine wrote:²⁰

“She says, first of all, that she has nothing but grief and quarrels to expect, that as her maintenance must depend on her husband, she regards it as a thing beyond doubt that he will give her nothing, that she would be dependent only on her parents, and that they would persecute her to return to her husband all the days of life, and that to return to him, she would believe that her life would not even be safe; ergo so, she prefers to stay where she is, where she is safe from all persecution, living very small, but in great tranquillity.”

Koluvere Castle, where Augusta was under protection, Laima Gūtmane (simka), CC BY-SA 3.0

Catherine had come up with a third option – sending Auguste to Lohde, an estate owned by the crown in Estonia.²¹ It was here that Auguste’s path crossed with that of Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann, a 59-year-old retired and recently widowed jägermeister²² who had been in the Empress’ service for over two decades and was highly regarded. In addition to his successful years in the military, he had been a founding member of Catherine’s Free Economic Society, supervisor of the construction of Gatchina Palace, and Chief Administrator of Tsarskoye Selo – the Empress’ summer palace. She knew him well and trusted him implicitly. Letters between the Empress and Baron Grimm indicate that they thought of Pohlmann as a careful and prudent man.

“My friend Mr. Pohlmann, who takes care of Zelmire’s small household, prudent and provident, and who has only the good of Zelmire in view […]”²³

Read more about Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann’s life and career in his biography at Polmanarkivet:

Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann (1727 – 1795)

Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann, sometimes known only by the name Wilhelm, descended from nobility in Westphalia. He was born on 9 April 1727 at Ereda, Võrnu in Estonia to Reinhold Wilhelm I von Pohlmann and Charlotte von Brackel. In 1751, at the age of 27, he married Dorothea Johanna von Wrangell, with whom he had six known children – Reinhold Wilhelm, Peter, Gregor, Otto Heinrich, Margarethe and Catherine.…

Catherine’s well-considered plan of sending Auguste away with a guardian was undoubtedly also a means to settle tensions arising within her own court and family. Though her concern for her protégé seems to have been genuine, she had an empire to rule. Pohlmann was summoned by imperial decree in December 1786 and given the guardianship of the princess and the (figurative) keys to Lohde; the revenue from the estate was to cover their expenses.

Auguste, though wary of being controlled, was out of options. In addition to Pohlmann, she was accompanied to Estonia by her own maid and a Mrs. Wilde, engaged by Catherine; they were later joined by Pohlmann’s two daughters.²⁴ Auguste lay low in Pernau for two months while Lohde was prepared for its new tenants, meeting practically no one, and passed off as Pohlmann’s niece if the need arose. In September 1787, Catherine confirmed to Grimm:²⁵

Plan of Koluvere (Lohde) Castle — *Plan of the castle from the 16th century: 1-courtyard, 2-north-east wing, probably location of the chapel and refectory, 3-main tower and gate, 4-cannon tower from the beginning of 16th century*. Photo from Medievalheritage.eu.

“Zelmire will stay in Lohde as long as she pleases, and she will return to her parents when she pleases too, and since she is happy to stay in Estonia, so am I […] Zelmire having only me in the world, I swear in your hands that I will not abandon her. She is gentle as a lamb in Lohde, and she is adored by the few people around her. Pohlmann became her friend; Madame Wilde too; her people swear by her; she reads or works, or makes music, or walks; with that she is courageous and firm.”

“I am very glad that you are satisfied with what I have done for him, and that my friend Pohlmann, whom you knew by his prudence, thwarted the shenanigans of the dad and husband.”
Catherine the Great in a letter to Friedrich Melchior Grimm

Catherine paints a very positive picture of Auguste, who was busy minding her own business, on good terms with the people who surrounded her. She did entertain hopes of returning to St. Petersburg, but these were soon dashed by the Empress. Messengers from Auguste’s husband and father once found her in Estonia, but Wilhelm took his guardianship seriously, as Catherine approvingly told Grimm:²⁶

“I am very glad that you are satisfied with what I have done for him, and that my friend Pohlmann, whom you knew by his prudence, thwarted the shenanigans of the dad and husband.”

Yet soon enough rumours began to surface. Frederick had been spreading tales about his wife to whoever would listen, managing also to somewhat influence her formerly supportive father and gain his sympathy. With the dismissal of Frederick’s envoy – though all indications were that Auguste simply did not want to see him and had asked Pohlmann to refuse on her behalf, which he had done most politely – Frederick claimed that she was being held captive by the Empress, unable to contact the outside world. Meanwhile, the hopeless Auguste was sinking slowly but surely into melancholy and illness.

Founders of the Imperial Free Economic Society with Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann on the far left — Founders of the Imperial Free Economic Society, 1765. Reinhold Wilhem is on the far left. Photo from Free Economic Society of Russia

Lies larger than lives

Denied the option of St Petersburg and afraid to return home, Auguste chose to remain in Estonia. In August 1787, Catherine wrote to Pohlmann:²⁷

“I have become so accustomed to the solitude, that it will be easy for me to live like this forever.”
Auguste, writing to her mother

“Of course, the princess made the wisest and calmest decision to stay in Lohde in the summer and in Reval in the winter. […] The princess says: if the people in Reval are as affable as Jägermeister Pollman and Madame Wilde, she will be well satisfied with them. Care for your little household like a father…”

Contrary to many accounts that circulate about this period of her life being one depraved party followed by another, Auguste seemingly desired no company. She wrote to her mother,²⁸

“I have become so accustomed to the solitude, that it will be easy for me to live like this forever. […] It seems to me the best option for the moment to live far from the big world; I think nobody can blame me…my decision is irrevocable.”

Portrait of Augusta von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel — Augusta von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Unidentified painter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Having lost her children, her family, her home, her status and even the city she had come to love, she was “most likely already suffering from depression.”²⁹ She would reiterate this wish for solitude a few months later after visiting Reval, where Catherine had hoped she would spend her winters among society and liveliness, but which Auguste didn’t seem to desire.

The permission to remain at Lohde was accordingly extended, and Pohlmann’s house in Reval was prepared too. He had been offered the opportunity to leave, but chose to stay in his position, as did Mrs Wilde – the latter until the end of the winter – and they seemingly got along like a family. A drought caused Lohde trouble, but the sale of Auguste’s house in St. Petersburg, facilitated by Catherine, brought some relief and she loaned Pohlmann money for the expenses. Auguste also planned to sell her jewels and rewrite her will.³⁰

Throughout this time, she was being treated for amenorrhea and briefly for an infection, and perhaps other undisclosed physical or mental ailments. In February 1788, she wrote to Catherine that she had been ill “for weeks”, later confirmed by Mrs. Wilde and Pohlmann. In May, Mrs. Wilde was replaced by Mrs. Bistram, a friend of Pohlmann’s chosen by Auguste and approved by Catherine, who declared that “being a friend of Pohlmann is a great recommendation.”³¹Pohlmann’s daughters Margarethe and Katharina kept her company too.

However, on 27 September 1788,³² Auguste died suddenly under mysterious circumstances – the cause was uncontrolled vaginal bleeding, but what led to it is unknown. It took over six hours for her doctor to arrive, by which time it was too late to save her. Three days later, Pohlmann wrote to Catherine about Auguste’s demise, followed by a report and medical receipt. She was temporarily placed in a coffin in a church in nearby Kullamaa while a very agitated Pohlmann awaited further instructions.

The suddenness of the death created a frenzy, both within the little household as well as in Russia and Germany, where crossed correspondence, delays and miscommunications, and purposely destroyed missives create a slight gap in the narrative. Catherine – who had been corresponding with Auguste with concern for her health almost until her death – wrote to Grimm:³³

“It seems that M. de Feronce is curious to know what I told you about Zelmire’s death: hey! What could I say except that Zelmire is dead? […] First factotum sent to Lohde; the doctor said that Zelmire sent for him several times to consult him about her health, that he made her remedies for the disease from which she died.”

It was probably at this time that the majority of the rumours that still surround Auguste and Pohlmann took flight. Silenced forever, Auguste bore the burden of a story that was more myth than truth. It is said that Auguste threw lavish parties and courted many men; that Pohlmann, her confidante, was also her lover despite being nearly three times her age; and even that she had likely deserved the treatment she received at the hands of her husband. Other speculations included her death being plotted by her husband or by Catherine herself.

Portrait of Wilhelm I of Württemberg (1781-1864). Unidentified painter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The lack of clarity around the reason for her death bred a story that Auguste had been pregnant with Pohlmann’s child and had died from a miscarriage; some accounts change this to childbirth, whispering that he had a hand in her death to avoid the scandal. This unfortunate rumour was disproved only in 1819³⁴ , when Auguste’s son, then the King of Württemberg, ordered a discreet enquiry whereupon her coffin was examined and no traces of a pregnancy or a baby were found. This was not made public, however, and the rumours persist to this day.

Despite years of steadfast and honest service, Pohlmann had to live out the rest of his days with this tarnished reputation. After fulfilling his duties, clearing his debts and selling his house in Reval – all the while communicating with Catherine and obtaining her approval – he retreated to his home and children in Kodila,³⁵ where he died on 22 January 1795. ❦

Princess Auguste: On a Tightrope between Love and Abuse

Princess Auguste: On a Tightrope between Love and Abuse – Kindle edition by Kühle, Riëtha. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Princess Auguste: On a Tightrope between Love and Abuse.

To read more about the story of Princess Auguste, you can buy Riëtha Kühle’s e-book, Princess Auguste: On a Tightrope Between Love and Abuse, on Amazon.

Footnotes

1
Some sources spell the name Augusta
2
Riëtha Kühle, Princess Auguste: On a Tightrope Between Love and Abuse (Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, 2021), Preface
3
Dates in this article follow the Gregorian calendar, which was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar used in Russia in Auguste’s time.
4
He was considered a hero of the Seven Years’ War, and feared and admired accordingly.
5
Kühle, chapter 3
6
Frederick’s younger sister, Sophie Dorothea – later known as Maria Feodorovna – was the second wife of Paul I. They were married in 1776, four years before Frederick and Auguste.
7
Now Lubin, Poland
8
He would be crowned William I, King of Württemberg, in 1816.
9
Kühle, chapter 7
10
Catherine (b. 21 February 1783; future Queen of Westphalia by marriage), Dorothée (b. 14 December 1783; died 3 October 1784), and Paul (b. 8 January 1785).
11
Catherine was not overly fond of her eldest son, heir to the throne, and viewed him as a threat to her life as well as incapable as a potential ruler.
12
Catherine had, in fact, spent many summers in Brunswick while growing up.
13
Catherine had the couple’s correspondence intercepted and found that the Goertzes, who were close to Frederick, were largely responsible for spreading these lies.
14
Letters did indicate that he cared for the health of his wife and children at least during this time, and missed them when he was away; however, he wanted his own way with most things, and was still prone to a temper – his children treated him with respect, but not with affection or closeness.
15
Grimm was a German journalist, art critic and diplomat who lived in Paris and wrote in French (letters between him and Catherine were in French too). He played the role of mediator between the courts of Prussia (Auguste’s father) and Russia. He was among several intellectuals that Catherine corresponded with, including Voltaire and Diderot, and her trusted friend for life.
16
Zelmira was later turned into an opera by Rossini. In the opera, Zelmira is framed for murder but eventually has a happy ending.
17
The Duke’s letter, however, only arrived in January, by which time the plan was already in motion.
18
Auguste asked the Empress for help in the presence of witnesses, but this was staged in order to absolve Catherine’s role in the matter; the two had already discussed the plan in confidence prior to Auguste’s escape.
19
According to their marriage agreement, she couldn’t have custody of her sons, but she assumed she would be allowed to at least keep her daughter.
20
Catherine II to Friedrich Melchior Grimm, 13 September 1787, in Iakov Grot, ed., Sbornik imperatorskago russkago istoricheskago obshchestva, 148 vols (St. Petersburg: Tipografiia imperatorskoi akademii nauk, 1867-1916), v. 23, 1878, p. 416, translated from French, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000108539531&view=1up&seq=432&skin=2021, accessed: 1 August 2023
21
Now known as Koluvere, Lohde was formerly owned by Catherine’s ex-lover and close advisor Grigory Orlov; she bought it after his death.
22
Pohlmann was the son of Reinhold Wilhelm I von Pohlmann and Charlotte von Brackel. He was born in 1727, and married Dorothea Johanna von Wrangell in 1751, with whom he had six children. Dorothea died in 1786.
23
See footnote 19
24
Liam Foley, “September 27, 1788: Death of Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Duchess of Württemberg. Part II”, European Royal History, https://europeanroyalhistory.wordpress.com/2021/09/28/september-27-1788-death-of-augusta-of-brunswick-wolfenbuttel-duchess-of-wurttemberg-part-ii/, accessed: 1 August 2023; Kühle, chapter 11
25
See footnote 19
26
Catherine II to Friedrich Melchior Grimm, 19 April 1788, in Iakov Grot, ed., Sbornik imperatorskago russkago istoricheskago obshchestva, 148 vols (St. Petersburg: Tipografiia imperatorskoi akademii nauk, 1867-1916), v. 23, 1878, translated from French, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000108539531&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021 , accessed: 1 August 2023
27
Catherine II to Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann, 13 August 1787, in Pis’ma imperatritsy Ekateriny Velikoi k Reingol’du Vilgel’mu von Pol’manu, Russkii Arkhiv, 1 (1888), 1-22., 1-16 (pp. 7-9, Letter 6), translated from German, https://runivers.ru/bookreader/book408968/#page/1/mode/1up, accessed: 1 August 2023
28
Kühle, chapter 13
29
Kühle, chapter 13
30
The latter she was unable to do because her husband refused to send the document to her.
31
Kühle, chapter 13
32
16 September according to the Julian calendar.
33
Catherine II to Friedrich Melchior Grimm, 24 January 1790, in Iakov Grot, ed., Sbornik imperatorskago russkago istoricheskago obshchestva, 148 vols (St. Petersburg: Tipografiia imperatorskoi akademii nauk, 1867-1916), v. 23, 1878, pp. 479-80, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000108539531&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021, accessed: 1 August 2023
34
His father had forbidden any mention of Auguste, so William was only able to look into it after Frederick’s death.
35
A manor that Pohlmann bought in 1772. See “Kodila Manor”, Estonian Manors, http://www.mois.ee/english/harju/kodila.shtml

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