Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau (born 16 February 1602 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 ...

– died 26 December 1664 in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

), was a princess of

Anhalt-Dessau Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into th ...

by birth and by marriage Duchess of

Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Weimar (german: Sachsen-Weimar) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant bra ...

Life

Eleonore Dorothea was a daughter of the prince John George I of Anhalt-Dessau (1567–1618) from his second marriage with

Dorothea Dorothea (also spelled Dorothée, Dorotea or other variants) is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift". It may refer to: People * Dorothea Binz (1920–1947), German concentration camp officer executed for war cri ...

(1581–1631), daughter of the Count Palatine John Casimir of Simmern. She married on 23 May 1625 in Weimar, with her cousin Duke William the Great of Saxe-Weimar (1598–1662), with whom she had been engaged before his campaign in Lower Saxony. The marriage was closed for political reasons: it should deepen the friendly relations between Anhalt and Saxe-Weimer. The marriage was nevertheless described as a very happy one. Eleonore Dorothea remained faithful to the

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

during her marriage, even though she came closer to the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

doctrine, which her husband followed. She died in 1664 and was initially buried in the chapel of the

Schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

. In 1824, her body was transferred to the new Ducal Crypt at Weimar.

Issue

From her marriage Dorothea Eleonore had the following children: # Wilhelm (b. Weimar, 26 March 1626 – d. Weimar, 1 November 1626) #

Johann Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar John Ernest II (11 September 1627, in Weimar – 15 May 1683, in Weimar), was a duke of Saxe-Weimar. He was the second but eldest surviving son of William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau. Life After the death of ...

(b. Weimar, 11 September 1627 – d. Weimar, 15 May 1683) # Johann Wilhelm (b. Weimar, 16 August 1630 – d. Weimar, 16 May 1639

#

Adolf Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach Adolf Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (Weimar, 15 May 1632 – Eisenach, 21 November 1668), was a duke of Saxe-Eisenach. He was the fourth but second surviving son of Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau. When A ...

(b. Weimar, 14 May 1632 – d. Eisenach, 22 November 1668) # Johann Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Marksuhl, later of Saxe-Eisenach (b. Weimar, 12 July 1634 – d. on hunt accident, Eckhartshausen, 19 September 1686). Grandfather of

Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach , father = John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach , mother = Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach , birth_date = , birth_place = Ansbach, Principality of Ansbach, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death_place = St James's Pala ...

, Queen Consort of

George II of Great Britain , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = George I of Great Britain , mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle , birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683 , birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...

. # Wilhelmine Eleonore (b. Weimar, 7 June 1636 – d. Weimar, 1 April 1653) #

Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Jena Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Jena (Weimar, 14 October 1638 – Jena, 3 May 1678), was duke of Saxe-Jena. He was the seventh child but fourth surviving son of Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau. Bernhard attended ...

(b. Weimar, 14 October 1638 – d. Jena, 3 May 1678) # Frederick (b. Weimar, 19 March 1640 – d. Weimar, 19 August 1656) # Dorothea Marie (b. Weimar, 14 October 1641 – d. Moritzburg, 11 June 1675), married on 3 July 1656 to

Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz (28 March 1619 – 4 December 1681) was a duke of Saxe-Zeitz and member of the House of Wettin. Born in Dresden, he was the youngest surviving son of John George I, Elector of Saxony, and his second wife Magdalene Sibylle of ...

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau 1602 births 1664 deaths Princesses of Anhalt-Dessau Duchesses of Saxe-Weimar 17th-century German people