Marianne, Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn

[2] Maria Anna, commonly known as Marianne or simply Manni, was born on 9 December 1919 in Salzburg, the eldest of nine children of Baron Friedrich Adalbert Mayr von Melnhof (1892–1956), owner of the Glanegg Castle near Salzburg, and his wife, Countess Maria-Anna of Meran (1897–1983), granddaughter of Franz, Count of Meran, head of a morganatic branch of the imperial House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Through her mother Marianne is a direct descendant of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa.

[4] Apart from Schloss Glanegg, Mayr von Melnhof family owned town palaces in Graz and Vienna, as well as several other castles across Austria, such as Kogl, Neu-Pfannberg, Jagdschloss Hochalm, which served as their country residencies.

She photographed celebrities from Maria Callas to Gianni Agnelli to Luciano Pavarotti and published travel reports.

"[8] Baroness Marianne married Ludwig, 6th Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn on 12 March 1942 at Schloss Glanegg, who was born in 1915 and died accidentally at Sayn in 1962.

Family Coat of arms of Barons Mayr von Melnhof in the Austro-Hungarian Empire granted by Franz Joseph I of Austria (1872)
Glanegg castle, near Salzburg , where Marianne spent her childhood, was owned by her father Friedrich Adalbert Baron Mayr von Melnhof (1892–1956)
Marianne's eldest son and Head of the House: Alexander 7th Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (b. 1943)