Frederica Henriette of Anhalt-Bernburg (24 January 1702–4 April 1723) was 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 Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision from the Principality of ...

by birth and a Princess of Anhalt-Köthen by marriage.

Life

Frederica Henriette was born in

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated ...

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 ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

as the fourth daughter and the youngest child of

Charles Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg , title = Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg , styles = , house = House of Ascania , spouse = Sophie Albertine of Solms-SonnenwaldeWilhelmine Charlotte Nüssler , issue = Elisabeth, Princess of Schwarzburg-SondershausenPrince Frederick WilliamCharlo ...

(1668-1721) by his first wife Sophie Albertine of Solms-Sonnenwalde (1672-1708). In

on 11 December 1721 she married

Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen (29 November 1694 – 19 November 1728) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. Today, he is best remembered for employing Johann Sebastian Bach as his Kapellmeister ...

and they had one daughter: # Gisela Agnes (b. Köthen, 21 September 1722 - d. Dessau, 20 April 1751), married on 25 May 1737 to

Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold II Maximilian, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (25 December 1700 – 16 December 1751), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1747 to 1751; he also was a Prussian general. Life Leopold was ...

. Prince Leopold is famous for being the patron of the composer

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

. Unlike her husband, Frederica Henrietta had little interest in music. Moreover, Leopold had to contribute more and more to the Prussian military, leaving him with less money for music.Johann Sebastian Bach's life (1685-1750)
, chapter ''Köthen 1717-1723 - Part 2 (1720-1723)''; by Jan Koster, Professor Em. of Linguistics,

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

The consequence of all this was the departure of Bach and his family to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

in 1723.Volker Ebersbach: ''Geschichte der Stadt Bernburg in zwei Bänden'', Band 1, S. 117, Anhaltische Verlagsgesellschaft, 1998 Bach blamed Frederica Henriette's lack of interest in music for his having to leave Köthen, although she was dead by the time he took up his post in Leipzig. Frederica Henrietta suffered from "pulmonary weakness", and died in April 1723 aged 21 and was buried in St. Jakob, Köthen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederica Henriette 1702 births 1723 deaths House of Ascania Princesses of Anhalt-Köthen Daughters of monarchs