Dorothea von Medem

Countess Anna Charlotte Dorothea von Medem was born a Gräfin (Countess) of the noble Baltic German Medem family and later became Duchess of Courland. Popularly known as Dorothea of Courland after her marriage to Peter von Biron, the last Duke of Courland, she hosted an aristocratic salon in Berlin and performed various diplomatic duties on behalf of her estranged husband. She would spend the rest of her life in her estate in Löbichgau, where she would invite and host many important political and cultural figures of the time. She made many acquaintances, ranging from Goethe to Napoleon I of France to Talleyrand, the latter of whom she was reportedly very close to.