What "Sound of Music" Left Out About Maria Von Trapp

Melodious Facts About Maria Von Trapp, The Singing Sensation
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Melodious Facts About Maria Von Trapp, The Singing Sensation
Dec 23
PEOPLE
Luke B.
Maria von Trapp: nun, singer, mother, refugee... and the inspiration for The Sound of Music . The life of von Trapp was heroic, shocking, tragic, and almost unbelievable. It seems fairly safe to say that their story will not be forgotten anytime soon. This is truly a case where life is stranger than fiction. Here are 50 melodious facts about Maria von Trapp and her legendary family.
1. She Made An Entrance
Maria von Trapp, then Maria Kutschera, was born in peculiar circumstances. Her mother gave birth to her on a train, mid-journey! Von Trapp’s parents were taking the train from their little Austrian village to Vienna, where the nearest hospital was located. Unfortunately, little Maria couldn’t wait and was born halfway there. What a fitting introduction to the unexpected twists her life would bring.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks
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2. Her Early Years Were Tragic
Von Trapp’s mother, Augusta Rainer, contracted pneumonia and passed when she was just two years old. After this untimely passing, Karl Kutschera, von Trapp’s father, left his daughter in the care of a cousin. Unfortunately for the young girl, this was just the first in a series of devastating childhood tragedies.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks
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3. Her Father Was Not Around
After her father left Maria with his cousin, he spent most of his time traveling the world. Occasionally, Maria was lucky enough to visit him when he was in Vienna. As a result, the young girl did not have much of a relationship with her parents. She would spend most of her childhood with various relatives.
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4. She Became An Orphan
From an early age, von Trapp must have known that her life was unusually unlucky. She’d already lost her mother when, in 1912, Karl Kutschera passed on. Maria was just seven years old. The poor girl became an orphan. Maria then passed into the care of her foster mother’s son, a man known as Uncle Franz. Unfortunately, Uncle Franz was not the perfect guardian.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks
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5. Her Uncle Was Cruel
Von Trapp had a complicated relationship with her new guardian, Uncle Franz. At times, Franz was a thoughtful man and cared intensely about social inequality. However, he also had a terrifying dark side. He suffered from mental illnesses and treated Maria rather cruelly. Oftentimes, he would punish her for acts that she had not actually committed.
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6. She Made A Great Escape
At 15 years old, shortly after graduating from high school, Maria ran away from home. She stayed with a friend and tried, unsuccessfully, to find work as a tutor. Eventually, Maria managed to secure a job and began to save money. She used it to pay for teacher’s college. However, her teaching career was short.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks
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7. She Made A Life-Changing Decision
The former class clown decided that a life change was in order. After graduating from teacher’s college in 1923, von Trapp moved into a convent and began to live the life of a nun. Though she eventually changed her opinion about having an exclusive marriage to God, von Trapp’s candidacy for the Benedictine novitiate changed her life forever.
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8. She Was Given An Assignment
This is where the story might start to sound familiar. In 1926, Maria received orders to go to Baron Georg von Trapp’s house. She worked as a governess. Though she was hired to tutor one of his seven children, she eventually began to take care of them all. When the Baron saw how much she meant to the children, Maria’s entire life was thrown off-kilter.
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9. She Received An Unexpected Offer
Not long after she came to his house, Baron von Trapp shocked Maria right to her core. To her complete surprise, he proposed to her. Von Trapp was 25 years older than her. Maria was confused and scared, and she ran back to the convent. After a crisis of faith, and a little prompting from her convent, the nun-to-be chose to marry the Baron. However, there was a minor catch in this unusual love story…
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10. She Did Not Love Her Husband
Maria von Trapp has said that she did not love the Baron. She did, however, love his children deeply. Effectively, she married into the von Trapp family so that she could be a mother to the children. Her love for her husband developed as years passed. Once it did, she said that it grew into a true and all-encompassing love.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks
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11. She Did Not Teach The Children To Sing
Despite what the well-known movie depicts, Maria von Trapp did not actually teach the children to sing. Instead, the seven von Trapp kids grew up in a musical household. Georg encouraged and loved song. Later, the band received training from a classical singing teacher and priest named Father Franz Wasner who came to live with them.
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12. Her Husband Was A Catch
Maria was not taken by her groom. However, the former nun’s new husband was quite a catch. Von Trapp was a decorated submarine captain and a national hero. He was an officer in the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Navy, and received a number of awards and medals for his service. In fact, he was actually knighted, and also received the highest military honor in the nation.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks
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13. She Got Sick
On a family hike, the von Trapp’s took a much-needed rest at a farmer’s house— but there was a dark twist to the innocent encounter . What they didn’t know was that the farmer’s family had scarlet fever. Maria and two of the children contracted the deadly illness. The children recovered, but Maria was left with serious complications and was left with lifelong kidney problems.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks
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14. Her Husband Had Money
Most of the Baron’s money actually came from an inheritance… from his first wife. Before he was married to Maria, Georg was married to a woman who contracted scarlet fever and did not survive. Prior to this tragic event, his wife collected a very sizable inheritance. Before their singing careers, the von Trapps lived off of this money.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks
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15. She Lived Under Authoritarian Rule
In 1938, the Germans annexed Austria. Like the rest of the country, the von Trapps were forced to live under authoritarian rule. Georg von Trapp was offered a respectable position in the navy, which was tempting because of their financial situation. However, the Baron was ideologically opposed to the government and refused.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks
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16. Her Family Went Broke
Though the Baron was a rich and famous man when Maria met him, the family soon fell on hard times, like much of the world, during the 1930s. The country was in crisis. Due to financial hardship, the family dismissed the many servants that kept the von Trapp estate running. The family moved into the top floor of their house and rented out the rest.
Biography (1987– ), A+E Networks…

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