Agathe von Trapp (center), the eldest daughter of Captain Georg von Trapp, and a member of the singing family made famous by ‘The Sound of Music’ died on Tuesday evening in Towson, Maryland of congestive heart failure. She was 97 years old.
Agathe, who is remembered by her youngest brother Johannes as a “quite shy and very private person” who was “talented in painting and graphic arts” is probably best known as her fictional character in the popular musical, Liesel.
In ‘The Sound of Music’ Liesel is presented as the oldest child of Captain von Trapp, however she was actually the second oldest, behind her brother, Rupert. Agathe also did not have a boyfriend when she was 16 – or 17 for that matter.
“That’s entirely in the minds of Rogers and Hammerstein,” Johannes said [via the Burlington Free Press]. “That is Broadway. And then Hollywood magnified it.”
Though the von Trapp family did leave their beloved Austria in 1938, the year Hitler occupied the country, they did not climb over the alps, as was depicted in the film. Instead, the family of singers took a train from Austria to Italy, ultimately traveling to the United States.
The von Trapps first settled in Philadelphia, before purchasing the Stowe property in Vermont in 1942.
“Vermont was similar to Austria,” Johannes said. “It had villages, with churches with steeples. The villages were surrounded by farms, and the forested mountains went up from there. So my family felt at home here.”
Led by her step mother, Maria, (who was played by Julie Andrews in the film) Agathe joined her family in a singing group, ‘The Trapp Family Singers’ and the group performed together until 1956.
Though Agathe later settled in Baltimore, Stowe remained an important part of her life, and she visited the property for a month or so every summer.
Agathe will reportedly be buried in the family plot at the lodge.
Need a coffee break? Check out CafeMom to meet other moms, chat, and get advice and support. Join CafeMom now!
