Eleanor Marie of Anhalt-Bernburg (7 August 1600 in

Amberg Amberg () is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. In 2020, over 42,000 people lived in the town. History The town was first mentioned in 1034, at that time under t ...

– 17 July 1657 in Strelitz) was a princess of Anhalt-Bernburg by birth and by marriage Duchess of

Mecklenburg-Güstrow Mecklenburg-Güstrow was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in Northern Germany, that existed on three occasions ruled by the House of Mecklenburg at Güstrow. History A first short-lived predecessor existed after the death of Henry IV, Duke of M ...

Early life

Eleanor Marie was a daughter of Prince

Christian I Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...

(1568-1639) from his marriage to

Anna of Bentheim-Tecklenburg Anna, Princess of Anhalt-Bernburg (née Countess Anna of Bentheim-Tecklenburg; 4 January 1579 – 9 December 1624) was the consort of Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg. Biography Countess Anna of Bentheim-Tecklenburg was born in Bentheim ...

(1579-1624), the daughter of Count Arnold III of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Steinfurt-Limburg.

Biography

Under the nickname ("the Resistant"), she was co-founder and the second head of the , one of the female counterparts 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 ...

. Linda Maria Koldau: ''Frauen-Musik-Kultur: ein Handbuch zum deutschen Sprachgebiet der Frühen Neuzeit'', Böhlau-Verlag, Vienna, Cologne and Weimar, 2005, p. 300 On 7 May 1626 in

Güstrow Güstrow (; la, Gustrovium) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is capital of the Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the seventh largest town in Me ...

, she married Duke John Albert II of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (1590-1636). After his death, she took up regency for her young son Gustav Adolph, as specified in her husband's testament. However, only three days later, her brother-in-law Adolf Frederick I deposed her as regent and guardian of her son and took up those rôles himself. This caused a bitter dispute between Eleonore Marie and her brother-in-law. However, on 4 May 1636, the estates submitted to Adolf Frederick I. Adolf Frederick appealed against his brother's testament, and replaced all but one of the cabinet members in Güstrow, leaving only

Andreas Buggenhagen Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...

in office. He also took measures against the Reformed Church in Mecklneburg-Güstrow. In 1637, he separated Gustav Adolph from his Calvinist mother. Nobody dared to participate in the private Calvinist services Eleonore Marie organized, and she was referred to hew window seat in Strelitz. Emperor Ferdinand III ruled in her favor. However, Adolf Frederick continued his court cases against her, and involved foreign powers into the matter. Eleonore Marie finally renounced her rights in 1645. She died twelve years later on her widow seat in Strelitz. She was buried in the Cathedral in

Issue

From her marriage to John Albert II, she had the following children: * Anna Sophie (29 September, 1628 — 10 February 1666), married Duke

Louis IV of Legnica Louis IV of Legnica ( pl, Ludwik; Brzeg, 19 April 1616 – Legnica, 24 November 1663) was a duke of Brzeg from 1633 (together with his brothers until 1654), of Wołów (during 1653–1654 with his brothers) and of Legnica from 1653 (until 1654 ...

* John Christian (1629–1631) * Eleanor (1630–1631) * Gustav Adolph (1633–1695) * Louise (20 May 1635 — 6 January 1648)

References

* J. S. Ersch: ''Allgemeine Encyklopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste'', section 2, p. 118, Brockhaus, Leipzig, 184
Online
* Eduard Vehse: ''Geschichte der deutschen Höfe seit der Reformation'', vol. 35-36, Hamburg, 1856, p. 130 ff

Footnotes

{{Authority control House of Ascania German duchesses 1600 births 1657 deaths 17th-century German people Daughters of monarchs