Dorothea Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

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Dorothea Sophia
Signature Dorothea Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.PNG
Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg

Dorothea Sophie von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (born October 9, 1636 in Glücksburg , †  August 6,  1689 in Karlsbad ), a great-granddaughter of the Danish King Christian III. , was the daughter of Duke Philipp von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Sophie Hedwig von Sachsen-Lauenburg .

Since 1653 she was with Duke Christian Ludwig von Braunschweig-Lüneburg , the brother-in-law of the Danish King Friedrich III. , married and lived with him at Castle Celle . The marriage remained childless. Her husband died in 1665 and she retired to the widow's residence at Herzberg Castle .

Since June 14, 1668 she was married to Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg, from whom she had seven children. In order to ensure the financial support of her four sons, she acquired the rule of Brandenburg-Schwedt and other noble seats in 1670 . From 1676 she became regiment owner of a regiment on foot (1806: No. 7) . Between 1678 and 1692, two frigates of the Brandenburg fleet bore her name (see Dorothea (ship) ).

Their final resting place is in the Hohenzollern Crypt of the Berlin Cathedral . The historic Berlin district of Dorotheenstadt bears her name.

The Great Elector and his wife Dorothea in a battery in front of the Anklam fortress , which was occupied by the Swedes and captured on August 27, 1676.

meaning

Dorothea's importance in the time of the Great Elector has been portrayed differently in historiography. On the one hand, it is positively noted that she accompanied her husband on all his campaigns, spent the night on the battlefields, exerted great influence on politics as an equal and discussed all plans with her husband regarding the state (François de Rébenac, the envoy of the French King Louis XIV in Berlin). In addition, she has managed to both increase her own wealth and strengthen the state economy through skillful management and considered investments. At that time, most ruling houses were hit by an acute lack of money.

On the other hand, the Electress was portrayed as scheming, greedy, stingy, false and angry, especially towards her stepchildren. She is also said not to have shrunk from poisoning. She was also accused of making a pact with France, of having accepted a division of the country and thus prevented Prussia from becoming a great power. These negative representations are mainly based on publications after her death, which were mainly distributed in his memoirs by Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz , long-time chamberlain at the Hohenzollern dynasty . Pöllnitz himself was not taken seriously by his contemporaries, but he left traces through his published work, which was also known to Theodor Fontane and which was used in his hikes , section Schloss Köpenick. Fontane writes: Deaths and sudden illnesses aroused suspicion and old fears again, and after Prince Elector Friedrich ſelbſt was afflicted by a violent attack of colic on the occasion of a feast given to him by his stepmother, my fears increased to such an extent that he asked a father for permission to retire to Coepenick Castle. To this day, for example in the biography of the first Prussian King Friedrich I von Marsha and Linda Frey, a negative perception is still present.

Sarcophagus in the Berlin Cathedral

progeny

She had the following children from her second marriage:

  • Margrave Philipp Wilhelm zu Brandenburg-Schwedt (* May 19, 1669 - December 19, 1711), ⚭ January 25, 1699 Princess Johanna Charlotte von Anhalt-Dessau (* April 6, 1682 - March 31, 1750)
  • Maria Amalia (born November 26, 1670; † November 17, 1739), ⚭ I) August 20, 1687 Karl (born November 18, 1664; † March 15, 1688), Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, ⚭ II) July 5 1689 Moritz Wilhelm (March 12, 1664 - November 15, 1718), Duke of Saxony-Zeitz
  • Albrecht Friedrich (* January 24, 1672; † June 21, 1731), Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, Lord Master of Sonnenburg, ⚭ October 31, 1703 Princess Marie Dorothea von Kurland (* August 2, 1684; † January 17, 1743)
  • Karl Philipp (January 5, 1673; † July 23, 1695), Margrave of Brandenburg, ⚭ 1695 Katharina von Balbiano (* 1670; † December 1719)
  • Elisabeth Sophie (April 5, 1674 - November 22, 1748), ⚭ I) April 29, 1691 Friedrich Kasimir (* 1650 - January 22, 1698), Duke of Courland, ⚭ II) March 30, 1703 Christian Ernst ( * July 27, 1644; † May 10, 1712), Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, ⚭ III) June 3, 1714 Ernst Ludwig (* October 7, 1672; † November 24, 1724), Duke of Saxony-Meiningen
  • Dorothea (6 June 1675 - 11 September 1676)
  • Christian Ludwig (* May 24, 1677 - † September 3, 1734), Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, administrator of Halberstadt

literature

Web links

Commons : Dorothea of ​​Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ferdinand Fehling (Ed.): Documents and files on the history of Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg, Volume 20, Foreign Acts 4 (France 1667 - 1688), Berlin 1911, p. 433
  2. ↑ Carl Ludwig von Pöllnitz: Memoirs on the life and government history of the four regents of the Prussian state , Volume 1, Berlin 1791
  3. ^ Edition of the hikes , Volume 1, Berlin 1862, p. 350
  4. ↑ Heinrich Jobst Graf von Wintzingerode: The Brandenburg Amazon Electress Dorothea von Brandenburg , Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-932313-48-6 , p. 41
personal data
SURNAME Dorothea Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Electress of Brandenburg
DATE OF BIRTH October 9, 1636
PLACE OF BIRTH Glücksburg
DATE OF DEATH August 6, 1689
Place of death Carlsbad