Princess Marianne de Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn died Sunday in Munich. Princess Marianne – nicknamed Mamarazza by Princess Caroline de Hanover – had a busy life. Mamarrazza, a widow at 45, organized the wildest evenings of the nobility in her Austrian residence, photographing each of her guests and leaving behind an incredible collection of photos of celebrities who have attended her evenings.
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Décurry De Lin Prince Marianne the Say-Wittgen stones
Baroness Marianne Von Mayr-Melnhof was born in Salzburg, Austria, December 9, 1919. According to information from the Austrian newspaper Krone, Marianne was died on May 4, 2025, at the venerable age of 105 years. Marianne became a princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn by her marriage in 1942 with the hereditary prince Ludwig. The latter became the head of the family on the death of his father in 1953. Princess Marianne had been a widow since 1962. She has since been known as the dowager princess, while her eldest son, Prince Alexander has been the 7th prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn since the age of 17.
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A few months ago, in December 2024, we reported that Princess Marianne, nicknamed Princess Manni or Mamarazza, had managed to bring her descendants in her Munich apartment. Marianne had five children. The Austrian newspaper also recalls that Manni “Marked the Salzburg festival’s festival elite for many decades. In addition, his residence in Fuschl was a high meeting place for nobility, high society and jet set. »»
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A jetteuse princess and photographer
German magazine Bunte recalls that Mamarazza was not only “A dazzling personality of Austrian high society”she was also an excellent photographer, a passion she started when she was only nine years old. It was his passion for photography that earned him this nickname Mamarazza, referring to his paparazzi talent to photograph his guests during his events. The nickname would have been invented many years ago by Princess Caroline of Hanover, the sister of Prince Albert II of Monaco. We speak of several tens of thousands of photos which would have been taken by the princess during her evenings by which have been countless members of European royal families. A permanent exhibition has been devoted to him in Salzburg since 2003.
Marianne was the great-granddaughter of Franz, Baron de Brandhofen, made count of Meran. This title had been granted to him as a offspring resulting from the morganatic relationship of the Archduke Jean of Austria-Toscane, himself grandson of the Emperor Léopold II. The county of Sayn was created in 1387, located in the vicinity of Cologne. In 1607, the county was divided into several territories, divided between several brothers. In 1834, King Frédéric-Guillaume III of Prussia granted the princely title to the branch of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (established in Sayn), a branch of which was also incorporated into the Russian nobility.
The Château de Sayn, located in Bendorf, in the Mayen-Coblence district, is still the property of Prince Alexander, the current head of the family, who lives there with his wife, Princess Gabriella. Prince Alexander, 81, has been married since 1969 to the Countess Gabriela de Schönborn-Wiesentheid. The couple had seven children. The dynastic heir is his eldest son, the hereditary prince Heinrich. One of his sons, Prince Casimir, is known to have been married to Corina Larsen, now known as Corinna de Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who regularly makes the front page of the scandal press because of his relationship with King Juan Carlos.
Princess Marianne leaves behind her four of her five children, Princess Yvonne, Prince Alexander, Princess Teresa, Countess Von Kageneck, and Prince Peter. One of her daughters, Princess Elisabeth, Baronne Schuler von Senden, died in 1997.
Nicolas Fontaine
Editor
Nicolas Fontaine was designer-editor and author for many Belgian and French brands and media. A specialist in the news of royal families, Nicolas founded the Royal Stories site of which he is the editor. [email protected]
