Countess Franziska von Hohenheim

At her parents' request, in 1765 Franziska married Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Leutrum von Ertringen (b.

On 21 January 1774, at Charles' instigation, Franziska was made Imperial Countess von Hohenheim – she was subsequently promoted to Princess by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II – and from then on bore the coat of arms of the extinct Bombaste von Hohenheim family.

Franziska's worldview was shaped by Protestant Pietistic ideas and so the nature of her relationship with the Duke to be immoral and felt guilty about it.

Charles thus not only sought to make Franziska his lawful wife but also to obtain recognition for her as his duchess, both of which goals he pursued steadily for years.

On 10 or 11 January 1785 the ducal chaplain secretly married Franziska and Charles Eugene in Stuttgart, though the marriage was only proclaimed publicly on 2 February 1786.

On Charles Eugene's death in 1793 Franziska had to leave Schloss Hohenheim and in January 1795 she moved into Schloss Kirchheim, spending summer months on her estates in Sindlingen and Bächingen an der Brenz, the latter which she had paid off but tried to sell after Charles' death, being financially strapped.

In 1906 the württembergischen Geschichts- und Altertumsverein placed a marble relief of her on the south wall of the choir and in 1962 her remains were reburied in a new oak coffin.