Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst
Magdalena Augusta von Anhalt-Zerbst (born October 13, 1679 in Zerbst , † October 11, 1740 in Altenburg ) was Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst from the house of the Ascanians and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg .
family
Magdalena Augusta was a daughter of Prince Karl Wilhelm von Anhalt-Zerbst (1652-1718) from his marriage to Sophie (1654-1724), daughter of Duke August von Sachsen-Weißenfels .
On June 17, 1696 she married in Gotha Duke Friedrich II. Of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg , who had come in 1691 to the government. The letters from the Duchess to her husband kept in the Gotha library bear witness to a loving and happy marriage.
Her refusal to let her youngest daughter teach English after she had been promised to the presumptive British heir to the throne is evidence of a rather humble mind. She claimed: “ [...] that was quite unnecessary, because since the Hanover family had been on the English throne for more than twenty years, the people in England and especially at court had to speak German as often and as well as English. ”
progeny
From their marriage, Magdalena Augusta had the following children:
- Sophie (1697-1703)
- Friedrich III. (1699–1772), Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
- ⚭ 1729 Princess Luise Dorothea of Saxony-Meiningen (1710–1767)
- Wilhelm (1701–1771)
- ⚭ 1742 Princess Anna of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1709–1758)
- Karl Friedrich (1702–1703)
- Johann August (1704–1767)
- ⚭ 1752 Countess Louise Reuss zu Schleiz (1726–1773)
- Christian (* / † 1705)
- Christian Wilhelm (1706–1748)
- ⚭ 1743 Countess Louise Reuss zu Schleiz (1726–1773)
- Ludwig Ernst (1707–1763)
- Emanuel (1709-1710)
- Moritz (1711–1777), regent in Saxony-Eisenach
- Sophie (* / † 1712)
- Karl (1714-1715)
- Friederike (1715–1775)
- ⚭ 1734 Duke Johann Adolf II of Saxony-Weißenfels (1685–1746)
- Magdalene Sibylle (* / † 1718)
- Augusta (1719–1772)
- ⚭ 1736 Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Hanover , Prince of Wales (1707–1751)
- Johann Adolf (1721–1799)
Others
Magdalena Augusta found her final resting place in the princely crypt of the castle church on the Gotha Peace Stone next to her husband, who had died eight years earlier.
literature
- Carl Eduard Vehse: History of the German courts since the Reformation , Volume 30, Hoffmann and Campe, 1854, p. 27 f.
- David Voit: The Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen , Storch & Klett, 1844, p. 92
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Magdalena Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (married name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 13, 1679 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zerbst |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 11, 1740 |
| Place of death | Altenburg |