Dorothea (Prussia)

This article deals with Princess Dorothea of ​​Prussia . For people with the similar name, see Sophie Dorothea Marie von Preußen and Sophie Dorothea von Hannover .

Dorothea of ​​Prussia

Dorothea von Prussia (also Dorothea von Brandenburg-Ansbach , Dorothea von Hohenzollern or also Dorothea von Denmark ; * August 1, 1504 in Gottorf Castle ; † April 11, 1547 in the Königsberg Castle , buried in the Königsberg Cathedral ) was from July 1, 1526 to on her death the first duchess of the Duchy of Prussia .

Life

Dorothea of ​​Prussia was a Danish princess. The daughter of King Friedrich I of Denmark and his first wife Anna of Brandenburg was married to Duke Albrecht of Prussia and thus became Duchess of Prussia. The marriage was arranged by her father and Wolfgang von Utenhof and was concluded on July 1, 1526 in Königsberg. Her good relationship with Albrecht contributed to good and active contact between Denmark and Prussia. Dorothea and her husband corresponded with their brother Christian, the King of Denmark. Albrecht was at the coronation of Christian III. of Denmark present in Copenhagen in 1537. The couple also acted as foster parents of Dorothea's younger half-brother, Duke Hans of Denmark , who was brought up in Königsberg after the death of his father in 1536–1542.

There were six children from the marriage, of which only the eldest daughter survived toddlerhood:

• Anna Sophie (June 11, 1527 - February 6, 1591)

⚭ 1555 Duke Johann Albrecht I of Mecklenburg (1525–1576)

• Katharina (* / † February 24, 1528)
• Friedrich Albrecht (December 5, 1529 - January 1, 1530)
• Lucia Dorothea (April 8, 1531 - February 1, 1532)
• Lucia (February 1537 - May 1539)
• Albrecht (* / † March 1539)

Dorothea was distinguished by charity. When the Albertus University was founded, she donated the northern part of the college building with the Konvikt for ten free tables from her personal belongings . She also did her best to promote Protestantism . She was in a trusting relationship with the leading figures of the Evangelical Church in Prussia, such as Paul Speratus and Poliander .

The tomb in Königsberg Cathedral before its destruction

The tomb

Her epitaph hung on the north side in the choir of the Königsberg Cathedral . It did not survive World War II, but the bust of the Duchess can still be seen today in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

ancestors

Dietrich von Oldenburg (1390–1440)

King Christian I (1426–1481)

Heilwig von Holstein (1400–1436)

King Friedrich I (1471–1533)

Johann Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1406–1464)

Dorothea of ​​Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1430–1495)

Barbara of Saxony-Wittenberg (1405–1465)

Dorothea of ​​Denmark (Prussia)

Albrecht Achilles , Elector of Brandenburg (1414–1486)

Johann Cicero Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)

Margarete of Baden (1431-1457)

Anna of Brandenburg (1487–1514)

William III. Duke of Saxony (1425–1482)

Margaret of Saxony (1449–1501)

Anna of Austria (1432–1462)

literature

• Robert Albinus: Königsberg Lexicon. City and surroundings . Flechsig, Würzburg 2002, ISBN 3-88189-441-1 .
• Iselin Gundermann : Duchess Dorothea von Preussen (1504–1547) (= studies on the history of Prussia . Volume 9). Grote, Cologne a. a. 1965.
• Iselin Gundermann: Investigations into the prayer book of the Duchess Dorothea von Preussen (= scientific treatises of the working group for research of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia . Volume 36). Westdeutscher Verlag, Cologne a. a. 1966.
• Toni Saring:  Dorothea. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 83 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Dorothea (Prussia)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ European Family Tables Volume I.1 1998 ISBN 3-465-02743-4 ; Plate 139