March 8, 2024, 6:20 am | Read time: 3 minutes
She spent nearly 50 years in captivity: Countess Constantia von Cosel was exiled to Stolpen Castle in 1716, where she remained until her death. Political interests and jealousy dramas became the downfall of the noblewoman.
Just about 30 kilometers from the Saxon capital Dresden stands Stolpen Castle, a fortress with a storied history, including serving as the long-time seat of the former bishops of Meissen. However, it gained fame not for this or its later role as a Saxon state fortress, but because of a woman who was held captive here for nearly 50 years.
The year is 1704 when the Saxon Elector Augustus the Strong meets the then 24-year-old Anna Constantia. She is a beautiful girl with a rather dubious reputation. Born as a von Brockdorff and daughter of a knight, she had lived at the court of Wolfenbüttel until 1702. She had to leave after giving birth to a child, rumored to have been fathered by a nobleman. Her subsequent marriage to the Saxon privy councilor Adolf Magnus von Hoym lasted only two years, according to the official website of Stolpen Castle, before her husband filed for divorce.
Love and Crisis
Allegedly, von Hoym personally warned Augustus the Strong about his ex-wife. Nevertheless, he made her his mistress and gave her part of the now-famous Taschenbergpalais as a residence in 1705. In a secret contract that would later become her downfall, she was declared the king’s wife in December 1705, should the official Electress, Augustus’s wife, die. In 1706, Anna Constantia was named Countess von Cosel and bore Augustus three children by 1712.
However, her temperament and attempted influence at court quickly became notorious. The tide turned definitively against her when Augustus the Strong, due to political interests, took a new mistress, Countess Maria Magdalena von Dönhoff. The liaison with her was meant to bolster Augustus’s position on the Polish throne, which he had ascended in 1697. Consequently, a dispute arose between Anna Constantia and Augustus over the contractually assured marriage promise, escalating to the point where Augustus felt compelled to act.
Life Sentence at Stolpen Castle
At just 36 years old, Anna Constantia Countess von Cosel was exiled to Stolpen Castle on Christmas Eve 1716, where she lived until 1765, a total of 49 years. She died at the age of 84. There are varying accounts and assumptions about whether she had to stay at the castle until her death or chose to remain there in her final years. Some reports mention imprisonment at the beginning of her exile. However, in her later years, Constantia von Cosel was free to move around the castle. Today, the grave of Germany’s most famous noble prisoner is located in the castle chapel. Her life has been filmed multiple times, most recently in 2005 under the title “Countess Cosel – Rise and Fall of a Mistress.”
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Today, a permanent exhibition at Stolpen Castle bears witness to the lonely life of the countess. Visitors can explore the Cosel Tower across three floors, following in the footsteps of Anna Constantia. According to the official website, the castle is visited by 100,000 people annually. Numerous cultural events take place here throughout the year, and there are guided tours with the castle spirit “Basaltus” for school classes.
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