Dorothea Maria of Anhalt

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Portrait of Dorothea Maria von Anhalt

Sophie Dorothea Maria von Anhalt (* July 2, 1574 in Dessau , † July 18, 1617 in Weimar ) was an Ascanian- Anhalt princess and from 1586 to 1593 the 36th abbess of the free secular monastery of Gernrode and Frose . She left the monastery for her marriage to Johann III. of Saxe-Weimar .

Life

Portrait of Dorothea Marias von Anhalt, Duchess of Saxony-Weimar from a painting cycle from the 19th century (Weimar Castle)

Duchess Dorothea Maria was a daughter of Prince Joachim Ernst von Anhalt and his second wife, Duchess Eleonore von Württemberg .

On January 7, 1593, Duchess Dorothea Maria married Duke Johann III in Altenburg . of Saxe-Weimar . With him she had eleven sons and one daughter:

Her husband died on October 31, 1605, six months before their last child was born. In 1611, after the death of Christian II , Elector of Saxony and guardian of her underage children, the Duchess intended that her eldest son, aged 18, take over the state government and the guardianship of his underage brothers with her assistance. She and her eldest son asked Johann Georg I , Christian II's successor, but in vain to be released from guardianship. Their eldest son had to fight for his inheritance before he became reigning duke. This is even expressed in a chronogram of the Eight Brothers' Talers from 1612 to 1616 .

At the age of 43, Duchess Dorothea Maria had a fatal accident in a riding accident. The funeral, for which Johann Hermann Schein composed the funeral motets I want to be silent , took place on August 24, 1617 at Hornstein Castle (later Wilhelmsburg). Her younger brother, Prince Ludwig I of Anhalt-Köthen , used this meeting on the occasion of the funeral ceremonies to found the Fruitful Society with like-minded people .

reception

The memory of the largely forgotten Duchess has been preserved at least in the Gotha treasure trove in the tradition of the ancestor of the castle (also: The White Woman on the Peace Stone ). After that was on the Friedenstein Castle every time the duke house an accident or a death was imminent, the spirit of the deceased Dorothea Maria (mother of locksmith builder Ernst I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg ) risen from the crypt beneath the castle church and wailing by the Rooms in the residence transformed. However, it could only be seen by those who were directly concerned with the coming disaster. The princely crypt was not set up until 1679, over six decades after the death of the duchess who was buried in Weimar.

Web links

Commons : Dorothea Maria von Anhalt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lev Goldenberg: Chronogram and motto on the Achtbrüdertaler 1612 and 1613 von Sachsen-Weimar, 2006, pp. 27-29
  2. ^ Andreas M. Cramer, Die Gothaer Sagen , Gotha 2005, p. 52
  3. ↑ The White Woman on the Friedenstein at www.echt-gothsch.de
predecessor Office Successor
Agnes Hedwig von Anhalt Abbess of Gernrode
1586–1593 		Sophie Elisabeth of Anhalt-Dessau
personal data
SURNAME Dorothea Maria of Anhalt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sophie Dorothea Maria (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ascanian, Princess of Anhalt, by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Weimar
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1574
PLACE OF BIRTH Dessau
DATE OF DEATH July 18, 1617
Place of death Weimar