Sophie Hedwig of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
Sophie Hedwig von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (born February 20, 1592 in Wolfenbüttel , † January 23, 1642 in Arnheim , Netherlands ) was Countess von Nassau-Dietz by marriage . After she had taken her widow's seat in Diezer Grafenschloss , she managed to prevent looting and billeting in the city of Diez and the Diezer Grafschaft during the Thirty Years' War by negotiating talks with troop commanders .
Live and act
Her parents were Duke Heinrich Julius von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1564–1613) and Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (1573–1626), the eldest daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark .
Sophie Hedwig also made a name for herself outside of her county. For example, in 1633 she turned to the Swedish Chancellor Oxenstierna to seek redress for damage caused to her county during the war.
Within her county area, Sophie Hedwig campaigned for the rural population, for example by ensuring the food and water supply and protecting the rural population. Even in 1635, when the plague occurred in Diez, Sophie Hedwig showed herself to be helpful towards the affected sections of the population.
In all activities that Sophie Hedwig, who belonged to the Reformed denomination, did, she benefited from the collaboration with her brother-in-law, Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar , who had returned to the Catholic faith.
progeny
Sophie Hedwig von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel married Count Ernst Casimir von Nassau-Dietz (1573–1632) in Groningen on June 8, 1607 . Although she had several children, only two sons reached adulthood.
- Heinrich Casimir I (1612–1640), fallen
- Wilhelm Friedrich (1613–1664)
Afterlife
The state high school in Diez was named after Sophie Hedwig. Since the mid-1990s, the educational institution has been called Sophie-Hedwig-Gymnasium , in order to pay the countess the due honor over 400 years after her death. Sophie Hedwig's moral courage is still seen today by historians as a great virtue that is supposed to be a completely timeless role model for young people. This justified the naming of the Diezer Gymnasium after Sophie Hedwig. The writer Anny Schaefer, born in Diez, writes a festival: Diezer Festival: Sophie Hedwig, the mother of the people; for the 600th anniversary of the city 1329 - 1929. A street in the count city of Diez is also named after Sophie Hedwig.
literature
- Matty Klatter: Sophie Hedwig. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-428-11205-0 , pp. 591-593 ( digitized version ).
- Uwe Schögl (Red.): Orange. 500 years of portraits of a dynasty from the portrait collection of the Austrian National Library, Vienna and the Dutch Royal Collection The Hague. (Exhibition from February 1 to March 19, 2002, Camineum of the Austrian National Library, Vienna). Austrian National Library et al., Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-01-000028-6 , pp. 85–87.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sophie Hedwig of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sophie Hedwig of Nassau-Diez |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | by marrying Countess von Nassau-Diez |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 20, 1592 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wolfenbüttel |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 23, 1642 |
| Place of death | Arnhem |