Anna Plochl

Anna Plochl was born on January 6, 1804, as Anna Maria Josepha Plochl in the post house at Aussee, today Bad Aussee. She was the eldest of thirteen children of the postmaster, freight forwarder, and iron merchant Jakob Plochl and his wife Maria Anna, née Pilz. Her father came from Lower Styria and had acquired civic rights in Aussee, while her mother’s family had lived in the Salzkammergut for several generations. When her mother died in 1821 after giving birth to her thirteenth child, the seventeen-year-old Anna took over management of the household and care of her younger siblings. A decisive encounter took place on August 22, 1819, when Anna, aged fifteen, met the already 37-year-old Archduke Johann of Austria at Lake Toplitz. Johann had noticed her earlier at a dance. A close relationship developed between them, but their marriage met with considerable opposition. Johann initially wanted to marry Anna at Strechau Castle in 1823, but his brother, Emperor Francis I of Austria, refused to give his consent. A marriage between a member of the imperial family and a commoner was regarded as unsuitable to their respective social ranks. Despite these obstacles, Anna moved to Vordernberg in September 1823. There she took charge of the household in the mining estate house belonging to her future husband. Johann was frequently away in Styria because of his many activities and regularly visited the Viennese court. Meanwhile, Anna managed the household in Vordernberg and, from 1824, also Schloss Brandhof, an exemplary estate belonging to the archduke near Gußwerk. After a six-year struggle for imperial permission, Anna Plochl and Archduke Johann married at midnight on February 18, 1829, in a morganatic marriage. Johann was not permitted to announce the union publicly until 1833. During the first years of their marriage, Anna had no official family name. In 1834, she was elevated to the rank of Baroness von Brandhofen, named after her husband’s estate. Their son Franz was born in 1839. Johann persuaded State Chancellor Metternich to grant Franz the title of Count of Meran. Five years later, in 1850, Anna was also made Countess of Meran. Anna was not only the archduke’s partner and the manager of his household; she also became known for her excellent Styrian cooking. Several dishes based on her recipes are still regarded as regional specialties. Together with Johann, she lived in a period when social barriers between the nobility and the bourgeoisie were particularly pronounced. Their marriage therefore combined a personal love relationship with the legal and political restrictions imposed on a union considered unsuitable to their social standing. After Johann’s death in 1859, Anna lived as his widow for another 26 years. She continued his commitment to Styria and devoted herself especially to social and economic causes. The Anna Children’s Hospital in Graz was named in her honor. A diploma from 1872 describes her as the founder of the Styrian Sericulture Association. In 1873, she received a certificate of recognition at the Vienna World’s Fair for agricultural products. In 1883, she became an honorary member of the Red Cross Society and vice president of the Patriotic Association for Styria. During her widowhood, Anna was also in contact with Empress Elisabeth. In 1870 and 1871, Elisabeth spent several months in Merano with her daughters Gisela and Marie Valerie. Anna’s daughter-in-law, Theresia, Countess of Lamberg, had been appointed one of the empress’s ladies-in-waiting and accompanied Elisabeth on several journeys. Anna Plochl died on August 4, 1885, aged 81, in her birthplace in Aussee. She was buried beside her husband in the mausoleum at Schenna near Merano. Members of her son’s family, as well as representatives of the bourgeoisie and the nobility, attended her funeral; among those present was the later heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Anna and Johann had only one son, Franz von Meran, who married Theresia von Lamberg in 1862. Anna’s memory is commemorated, among other places, by Anna-Plochl-Straße in Stainz and Anna-Plochl-Weg, established in 2023 in Sankt Lorenzen im Mürztal. Her relationship with Archduke Johann has also been adapted for film several times, including productions in 1928, 1950, and 2009.