What does the eldest daughter of King Frederick William I of Prussia (the "Soldier King") and Sophia Dorothea, Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Hanover, have to do with Erlangen? She made her mark at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and at the Markgrafentheater, which has now oldest recorded Baroque theater Southern GermanyThe listed building is now one of three venues of "Theater Erlangen." The art patron, composer, and opera director has played a significant role in the cultural life of her hometown of Bayreuth to this day.
The noblewoman received a thorough education based on humanistic teaching and the French spirit. However, as her memoirs reveal, she grew up in a violent and troubled environment, having been used as a pawn for political interests even as a child. She was initially groomed for her position on the royal throne. However, this never happened. For political reasons, her marriage was rather a "marriage item" to Hereditary Prince Frederick of Bayreuth, with whom she nevertheless had a happy marriage.
She painted, acted, wrote her memoirs and an extensive correspondence, including with the French philosopher Voltaire. Her library contained around 4.000 booksHer greatest passion was music, in fact, it is one of the few Female composers of her era who wrote operas. She wrote several opera librettos. In 1751, she was even admitted to Rome's Accademia dell'Arcadia – an international literary academy – with a diploma.
The university, which was founded in Bayreuth in 1742, was renamed after one year Secondary residence Erlangen relocated. Today, it bears the name Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and is the third-largest university in Bavaria. Wilhelmine's personal physician, Daniel de Superville (a Dutch physician), whom she allegedly bought from her father for two tall fellows (soldiers of unusual average height), became her chancellor in 1743. His estate included the memoirs of the Margravine, who bequeathed her library to FAU.
She was also at Reconstruction of the Margrave Theatre (1743/44). However, the furnishings that testify to princely absolutism were largely absent. While comparable buildings such as the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth or the Cuvilliés Theater in Munich primarily served to represent the court, the Erlangen Theater was primarily a house for everyone, and the prince was merely the "primus inter pares (first among equals)."
Built as an opera and comedy house, it now seats 1998 people after its last renovation (2000 to 570). A municipal theater ensemble was established as early as 1973. Since then, the house has operated according to the so-called "three-pillar model" with in-house productions, guest performances, and concerts.
Traces of Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth in Erlangen:
- Since 1935, a street in the Buckenhof settlement has been named after her.
- Her opera “Argenore,” composed in 1740, was performed in 1993 to mark the 250th anniversary of the Friedrich-Alexander University.