Sophie Charlotte zu Stolberg-Wernigerode

This article is not adequately provided with supporting documents (for example individual proofs ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Sophie Charlotte Countess zu Stolberg-Wernigerode , b. Countess zu Leiningen-Westerburg (born February 22, 1695 in Wetzlar , † December 10, 1762 in Wernigerode ) was one of the most influential Pietists of her time and one of the founders of Pietism in Wernigerode.

Life

Her father, Count Johann Anton zu Leiningen-Westerburg (1655–1698) was President of the Imperial Court of Justice in Wetzlar. He died when Sophie Charlotte was three years old, and his widow, Christiane Luise, nee zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Vallendar (1673–1745) entered into a second marriage with their court preacher Jakob Bierbrauer (1673–1749), at whose request the family moved to Emmerich on the Dutch border. There, Bierbrauer separated from the Lutheran Church due to his radical pietist attitudes and began to study medicine. This first phase of her life was marked by the modesty of a petty-bourgeois life.

1706 Sophie Charlotte was for her stand appropriate education of their guardians to Frankfurt sent. There she lived very withdrawn from court life. Her guardian, Count Ludwig Christian zu Stolberg-Gedern (1652–1710), the father of her future husband, made little effort to get the young countess there. Even at this point in time, it was said to have a “separatist-pietist sense”. In 1708, Sophie Charlotte came to his court in Gedern , where, against all reservations, she was accepted.

On March 31, 1712, Sophie Charlotte married Count Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1691–1771) and moved with him to the County of Wernigerode . She gave birth to twelve children between 1713 and 1728. Eight of them died within nine years before they were six years old. On October 10, 1728, the Countess was converted in Wernigerode, one of the most important events in the life of a pietist. As the mother of the house and country , she saw herself as an “instrument of God”, whose task it should be in her class to consolidate pietism through sovereign directives until her death in 1762 in order to expand the kingdom of God through new “children of God” on earth . A division of labor between the ruling couple was helpful, in which Sophie Charlotte, legitimized by faith, created opportunities for (religious) political participation and action in the following years.

effect

After her husband took office in 1714, the young couple began to consolidate pietism both inside and outside the county. To this end, they set up pietistically minded teachers and theologians at court and in the county. In 1727 Sophie Charlotte met the Jena pietist and theologian Johann Liborius Zimmermann (1702–1734), who had a strong influence on her career as a pietist.

In order to consolidate pietism inside and outside the county, the countess created a wide-ranging network and associated with the most influential noble houses of the time, such as the Prussian or Danish royal courts as well as the best-known representatives of pietism in the 18th century especially Gotthilf August Francke (1696–1769) counted. She and her husband also held conferences on pietism in the county. Pietists from the county and outside came together to edify one another and to talk about the expansion of the “Kingdom of God”. Sophie Charlotte in particular also promoted the construction of a new orphanage in the county. In 1733 she and her husband also donated the new orphanage and poor house. In 1752 she also donated 4000 thalers to a theological seminar in the city of Wernigerode.

Furthermore, the missionary work in Indian and North American areas was supported by Sophie Charlotte. The appointment and consecration of many Halle missionaries by the consistory in Wernigerode took place under their supervision. In addition, Sophie Charlotte collected and administered the donations required for the mission, some of which were collected in Wernigerode.

Overall, Sophie Charlotte is an example of the freedom of action that women of her class could create and use through religion. In order to consolidate pietism, the couple shared the affairs of government as a "working couple". The impressive funeral sermon with around 400 pages still testifies to the impact that the Countess had for the County of Wernigerode and for Pietism during her lifetime and beyond.

progeny

Sophie Charlotte and her husband Christian Ernst had twelve children, only four of whom reached adulthood:

• Luise Christiane (1713–1796), 1755–1796 was Abbess of Drübeck
• Heinrich Ernst (1716–1778) ∞ (I) Marie Elisabeth von Promnitz (1717–1741), daughter of Erdmann II. Von Promnitz (1683–1745); ∞ (II) Christiane Anna von Anhalt-Köthen (1726–1790), daughter of August von Anhalt-Köthen (1697–1755)
• Ferdinande Adriane (1718–1787) ∞ Count Ludwig Friedrich zu Castell-Remlingen (1707–1772)
• Christiane Eleonore (1723–1786) ∞ Adolf Christian Burggraf zu Dohna-Lauck (1718–1780)

literature

• Mareike Fingerhut-Säck: Pietism in female generation. Christine zu Stolberg-Gedern and Sophie Charlotte zu Stolberg-Wernigerode as designers of pietism in their county , in: Labouvie, Eva (ed.), Glaube undGEL - Gender Reformation, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2019, pp. 235-253
• Mareike Fingerhut-Säck: Expanding the kingdom of God on earth. Introduction and consolidation of Pietism by the count couple Sophie Charlotte and Christian Ernst in his county (1710–1771). Dissertation, Magdeburg 2017, Halle 2019
• Mareike Fingerhut-Säck: Art. Stolberg-Wernigerode, Sophie Charlotte to. In: Eva Labouvie (ed.): Women in Saxony-Anhalt. A biographical-bibliographical lexicon from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2016, pp. 352–356
• Mareike Säck: Christian Ernst and Sophie Charlotte zu Stolberg-Wernigerode as the founders of stately pietism in their county. In: Claus Veltmann / Thomas Ruhland et al. (Ed.): Ennobled with divine goodness. Nobility and pietism from Halle as reflected in the princely collections of Stolberg-Wernigerode. Halle 2014, pp. 39–49
• Eduard Jacobs : Johann Liborius Zimmermann and the heyday of Pietism in Wernigerode. In: ZHGA. Volume 31, 1898, pp. 121-226
• Eduard Jacobs: The county of Wernigerode. A church story. Overview. Wernigerode 1904
• Elisabeth Quast: Count Christian Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1691–1771) and Pietism. In: Philipp zu Stolberg-Wernigerode / Jost-Christian zu Stolberg-Stolberg (eds.): Stolberg 1210–2010. On the eight hundred year history of the sex. Dößel 2010, pp. 152-171

Web links

• Mareike Säck: Sophie Charlotte zu Stolberg-Wernigerode, co-founder of a stately Pietism
• eLibrary: Stolberg-Wernigerode, Sophie Charlotte zu, geb. Countess zu Leiningen-Westerburg , with a portrait

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mareike Fingerhut-Säck: Expanding the kingdom of God on earth . Hall 2019.
2. ↑ after Heide Wunder
3. ^ Mareike Fingerhut-Säck: Art. Stolberg-Wernigerode, Sophie Charlotte zu . In: Eva Labouvie (Ed.): Women in Saxony-Anhalt . Vienna Cologne Weimar 2016.