Johanna von Puttkamer
Johanna, Princess of Bismarck, Duchess of Lauenburg was a German noblewoman and the wife of the first Chancellor of Germany, Otto von Bismarck.
Early life
She was born at Viartlum manor near Rummelsburg in the Prussian Province of Pomerania, the daughter of Heinrich von Puttkamer and his wife, Luitgarde Agnes von Glasenapp. Her ancestors of the Puttkamer family, first mentioned in the 13th century, belonged to the circle of Uradel families of Farther Pomerania and were known for their devoted pietism. Johanna grew up in neighbouring Reinfeld palace, which her father acquired shortly after her birth.Life
Johanna met Otto von Bismarck, then owner of Kniephof estate, in 1844. The Prussian Junker had associated with Pomeranian pietist circles around Adolf von Thadden-Trieglaff, mainly because he had desperately fallen in love with Thadden's daughter Marie. The young woman appreciated his advances, nevertheless, as she was already engaged to Bismarck's school friend Moritz von Blanckenburg, she introduced him to her friend, Johanna von Puttkamer, at her wedding ceremony. However, not until the married couple took both Otto and Johanna on a journey to the Harz mountains in 1846 did the two seem to become closer to each other. Marie's sudden death from meningitis in November 1846 tipped the scales and Bismarck finally asked Heinrich von Puttkamer for the hand of his daughter.Marriage and issue
On 28 July 1847 Johanna married Otto von Bismarck in the parish church of Alt-Kolziglow near Reinfeld. The couple had three children:- Marie, married in 1878 to Count Kuno zu Rantzau
- Herbert, diplomat and politician, had an affair with Princess Elisabeth zu Carolath-Beuthen, née Countess von Hatzfeldt-Trachenberg, married Countess Marguerite Hoyos von und zu Stichsenstein
- Wilhelm, administrative official, married his cousin, Sibylle von Arnim