In the early morning of Monday, 20 June 1757, a courier arrived at Schönbrunn at a breakneck gallop. Moments later, news swept through the corridors like a breeze: two days earlier, on the 18th, Field Marshal Daun had defeated the Prussians at Kolin, near Prague! The city was free! King Frederick had fled with the remnants of his troops!
The newly awakened palace burst into a buzz like a beehive. Maria Theresa, wrapped in her dressing gown and with tears in her eyes, received the congratulations of ministers and courtiers. That very same day she decided to found a new military honour — the famous Order of Maria Theresa. The first person to be rewarded with it was, of course, the victorious Field Marshal.
The news spread like lightning through Vienna, filling the streets with cheering crowds. On the Empress’s orders, all the churches rang their bells to summon people to solemn masses. That was the overwhelming peal Archduchess Marianne and Countess Christalnigg happened to hear while walking in the park at Hetzendorf.
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