Agnes of Hesse

Agnes von Hessen with her husband Moritz, double portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder. J. (1559), Dresden

Agnes von Hessen (born May 31, 1527 in Marburg , † November 4, 1555 in Weimar ) was Electress of Saxony .

Life

Agnes, daughter of Landgrave Philipp von Hessen and his first wife Christine von Sachsen , was with Erich Ii. von Braunschweig-Calenberg , who dissolved the engagement in 1543. Instead, she married the Duke and later Elector Moritz of Saxony on January 9, 1544 . Their marriage resulted in two children: Anna von Sachsen (* December 23, 1544; † December 18, 1577) and Albrecht (* November 28, 1545; † April 12, 1546). The marriage of the two was not arranged, but rather managed by Moritz and Agnes themselves, which was extremely unusual at the time. The letters that have been preserved document the lasting friendship and mutual trust of the couple. Agnes was also informed of her husband's political plans. After the death of her mother Christine in 1549, she tried very hard to bring up her younger siblings.

Elector Moritz died on July 9, 1553 as a result of his wounding in the battle of Sievershausen . His widow Agnes was married to Duke Johann Friedrich II of Saxony on May 26, 1555 , but was already in poor health at that time and died six months later as a result of a miscarriage. In the choir of the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Weimar , however, an unknown author accuses him of poisoning. The actual cause of death can only be speculated at the moment. The fact that Agnes von Hessen was married into the rival prince dynasty speaks for a murder. Therefore, the Albertines or individual family members may have feared that Agnes might carry secrets into the warring Ernestine camp .

literature

Hans-Joachim Böttcher : Princess Anna of Saxony 1544–1577 - A life tragedy , Dresden 2013, ISBN 978-3-941757-39-4 .

source

Political correspondence of Duke and Elector Moritz of Saxony, 6 vols., Berlin 1902–2006

Web links

Commons : Agnes von Hessen - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Kerstin Schiefner: Agnes, Electress of Saxony (1527–1555) . In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): Saxon Biography .
Saxony, Duchess Agnes and Electress of. Hessian biography. (As of February 5, 2020). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

Individual evidence

↑ Karl Braun: Was the Electress murdered? In: Thüringische Landeszeitung , April 28, 2009, p. 2 (report on the thematic city tour of Weimar with Dieter Kunkel: "Criminal cases and difficult fates" from April 25, 2009 in the city church of St. Peter and Paul in Weimar ).

Predecessors	Office	Successors
	Duchess of Saxony 1541–1547	merged into the new Electorate of Saxony
Sibylle von Jülich-Kleve-Berg	Electress of Saxony 1547–1553	Anna of Denmark and Norway

personal data
SURNAME	Agnes of Hesse
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German nobles, by marriage Electress of Saxony
DATE OF BIRTH	May 31, 1527
PLACE OF BIRTH	Marburg
DATE OF DEATH	November 4, 1555
Place of death	Weimar

[1] Karl Braun: Was the Electress murdered? In: Thüringische Landeszeitung , April 28, 2009, p. 2 (report on the thematic city tour of Weimar with Dieter Kunkel: "Criminal cases and difficult fates" from April 25, 2009 in the city church of St. Peter and Paul in Weimar ).