Christine of Hesse
Christine von Hessen (born June 29, 1543 in Kassel , † May 13, 1604 in Kiel ) was Princess of Hesse and by marriage Duchess of Holstein-Gottorf . Christine is both the grandmother of the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf and the ancestral mother of the Russian imperial family .
Life
Christine was a daughter of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse (1501–1567) from his marriage to Christine (1505–1549), daughter of Duke George of Saxony . Christine, whose mother died at the age of six, was brought up carefully and strictly reformist by her aunt Elisabeth , widow of Duke George of Saxony. In 1543, King Eric XIV of Sweden applied for her hand, but Christine's father chose one of his confidants to be her husband.
She married on December 17, 1564 in Gottorf Duke Adolf I of Holstein-Gottorf (1526–1586). The wedding was more of a degrading event that degenerated into a big drinking bout. Many of the princely guests invited did not appear at all. Duchess Anna Sophia von Mecklenburg reports on the wedding: “ ... The bride was married straight away and then without any knight games taking place, she was always drunk quickly. ”
Shortly after the wedding, on New Year's Day 1565, the wing of Gottorf Castle , in which the couple had their private rooms, burned down completely; personal effects and cash were destroyed. Through his marriage, Adolf remained in contact with the Protestant princes of Germany, among whom he held an important position as colonel of the Lower Saxony district.
Christine took great care of her children. It promoted church and school systems and supported theology students with scholarships. She dealt intensively with medicine and also made her own medicines. After the death of her husband, she defended the interests of her home. Above all, she supported her son Philipp in gaining ducal dignity against the estates.
The castle in Kiel was assigned to her by her sons as a widow's residence. Christine wrote the writing Spiritual Psalms and Songs (Schleswig, 1590) and a prayer book (Lübeck, 1601).
progeny
From their marriage, Christine had the following children:
- Friedrich II. (1568–1587), Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf
- Sophie (1569-1634)
- ⚭ 1588 Duke Johann VII of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1558–1592)
- ⚭ 1592 King Charles IX. of Sweden (1550-1611)
- Elisabeth (1574–1587)
- Johann Adolf (1575–1616), Archbishop of Bremen, Prince-Bishop of Lübeck, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf
- ⚭ 1596 Princess Augusta of Denmark (1580–1639)
- Anna (1575-1625)
- ⚭ 1598 Count Enno III. from East Frisia (1563–1625)
- Christian (1576–1577)
- Agnes (1578-1627)
- Johann Friedrich (1579–1634), Archbishop of Bremen, Bishop of Verden
literature
- Ludwig Aegidi : The succession right of Duke Friedrich VIII. To the Duchies of Schleswig . Kiel 1865, p. 49 ( digitized version )
- Karl Bernhardi: Christine . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 218 f.
- Johannes Voigt : The inheritance claims of the Brandenburg house to the Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein , in: Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Geschichte , VII (1847), p. 193-261, here in particular: p. 218 f. ( Digitized version )
Web links
- Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf, Christine Duchess of. Hessian biography. (As of February 12, 2020). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Christine of Hesse |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duchess of Holstein-Gottorf |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 29, 1543 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | kassel |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 13, 1604 |
| Place of death | Kiel |