Anna Sophie of Anhalt (15 June 1584 – 9 June 1652) was by birth a member of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

and princess of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

. After her marriage, she became Countess of

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since th ...

. Anna Sophie was born in

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

, the eighth and youngest daughter of

Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt Joachim Ernest of Anhalt (21 October 1536 – 6 December 1586), was a German prince of the House of Ascania, ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1551, and from 1570 sole ruler of all the Anhalt lands. Life Early life Joachim Ernest ...

, but fourth-born daughter of his second wife Eleonore, daughter of

Christoph, Duke of Württemberg Christoph of Württemberg (12 May 1515 – 28 December 1568), ruled as Duke of Württemberg from 1550 until his death in 1568. Life In November 1515, only months after his birth, his mother, Sabina of Bavaria, fled to the court of her parents ...

Life

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide va ...

on 13 June 1613 she married

Charles Günther, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Charles Günther, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (6 November 1576 – 24 September 1630 in Kranichfeld) was a German nobleman. He was the ruling Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt from 1605 to 1612 and then the ruling Count of Hohenstein, Lord o ...

. Their union was childless. Anna Sophie was considered as one of the most educated women of her time. After the death of her husband in 1630 she moved her residence to

Kranichfeld Kranichfeld is a town in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia. It is situated on the river Ilm, 18 km southeast of Erfurt, and 16 km southwest of Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Cent ...

and founded there a society that admitted only women, following the example of her brother

Louis of Anhalt-Köthen Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

, who was one of the co-founders of the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it a ...

. At the same time, she took the famous educational reformer

Wolfgang Ratke Wolfgang Ratke (also Wolfgangus Ratichius or Wolfgang Ratich) (18 October 157127 April 1635) was a German educational reformer. Biography Early life He was born at Wilster, Holstein,Leichpredigt: Meyfart, Johann Matthäus: Programma Publicum In ...

under her protection. Anna Sophie died in Oberkranichfeld.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anhalt, Anna Sophie of House of Ascania 1584 births 1652 deaths German countesses