Anna von Fürstenberg

Anna von Fürstenberg (* before 1568 ; † November 29, 1626 ) had been the abbess of the Oelinghausen women's monastery from 1621, the former Premonstratensian monastery in Oelinghausen .

family

She was the seventh child of Friedrich von Fürstenberg and his wife Anna von Westphalen. Her siblings included the later Landdrost Kaspar von Fürstenberg , the Prince-Bishop Dietrich von Fürstenberg and the Abbess Ottilia von Fürstenberg .

Like her sisters Ottilia, Anna was given to the Oelinghausen monastery when she was less than ten years old. However, the widowed mother and other younger sisters lived there at times. Close relationships with the family continued even later. Anna and Ottilia took care of the couple's children after the death of Kaspar von Fürstenberg's first wife and played an influential role in the family in drawing up the marriage contracts. The sisters were in constant contact with Kaspar and took a considerable part in the management of the family property, especially at the headquarters near Ense . The relationship with the episcopal brother was also close. He gave the two sisters a house in Soest and they often visited him together in Neuhaus Castle or Wewelsburg .

Life in the convent

Her sister Ottilia became prioress in Oelinghausen in 1585 and later also head of the monastery in Neuenheerse . Anna mostly supported the sisters. When the sister stayed in Neuenheerse for a long time in 1589, other members of the convent in Oelinghausen tried in vain to turn Anna against the sister. During Ottilia's often long absence in Neuenheerse, Anna actually represented her in Oelinghausen. In 1599 this was confirmed by the convent by being elected waitress . Since then, her name can be found on some of the monastery's documents. There is little evidence of their precise activity. But through her work she made a significant contribution to the economic recovery of the facility.

After the sister's death, Anna was elected the new headmistress. On March 23, 1621 she took her oath to the elector Ferdinand of Bavaria on the statutes of the chapter.

In the church of the monastery, Anna had her sister and her mother erect a grave monument above the cross altar. She also established a priesthood in 1622. This resulted in the Oelinghauser Kuratbenefikum in 1805. For the benefit of her sister's salvation, she also donated a memorial in Paderborn Cathedral . She had the tomb of her late brother Dietrich gilded and painted in color. In the chapel belonging to the monastery in Hachen she had services held again and donated another bell for the monastery church in Oelinghausen. She also increased the monastery's land holdings.

After her death, Anna left a considerable personal fortune. These included houses in Oelinghausen and Soest, fifteen courtyards or cottages, a mill, lands and three boxes containing silver and jewels. In addition, there were 48,000 Reichstaler in cash or in debt claims. Parts of the property were self-generated, parts came from the legacy of Ottilias and Dietrich.

She was buried under the tomb she had built for her sister and mother.

literature

• Helmut Richtering: Ottilia and Anna von Fürstenberg . In: Helmut Lahrkamp and others / among others: Fürstenberg history. Vol. 3: The history of the von Fürstenberg family in the 17th century. Münster, 1971 pp. 44-55