Augusta Dorothea of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (16 December 1666 in
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...
– 11 July 1751 at Augustenburg Castle in
Arnstadt
Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially preserved town ...
) was a daughter of the Duke
Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his wife Juliane of Holstein-Norburg.
Life
Auguste Dorothea married on 7 August 1684 in Wolfenbüttel to Count
Anton Günther II of
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. He was elevated to
Imperial Prince
Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor.
Definition
Originally, possessors o ...
in 1697. The couple resided in
Arnstadt
Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially preserved town ...
; the marriage remained childless.
Auguste Dorothea survived her husband by 35 years. She spent her long widowhood at Augustenburg Castle in Arnstadt, building her famous dolls collection . These dolls were never intended as toys; they represent society in the style of a baroque
Cabinet of curiosities. Augustenburg castle no longer exists; her doll collection has been moved to the New Palace in Arnstadt.
References
*Apfelstedt, Börner, and Donhof: ''Heimathskunde für die Bewohner des Fürstenthums Schwarzburg-Sondershausen'', part 3: ''Geschichte des Fürstlich-Schwarzburgischen Hauses'', 1856, reprinted May 1998
*Friedrich Apfelstedt: ''Das Haus Kevernburg-Schwarzburg von seinem Ursprunge bis auf unsere Zeit'', Arnstadt, 1890,
*Matthias Klein and Carola Müller ''Die Puppenstadt im Schlossmuseum zu Arnstadt'', German text with English summary, 3rd ed., Königstein im Taunus, 1999,
External links
Virtual tour through the Mon Plaisir ''city of dolls''
New House of Brunswick
House of Schwarzburg
Princesses of Schwarzburg
1666 births
1751 deaths
People from Arnstadt
17th-century German people
18th-century German people
Daughters of monarchs
{{Germany-noble-stub