Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (born 14 October 1519 in

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

– died 31 October 1567 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

) was a Princess of

Brandenburg-Kulmbach The Principality of Bayreuth (german: Fürstentum Bayreuth) or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (''Markgraftum Brandenburg-Bayreuth'') was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynas ...

and by marriage

Electress Palatine The Electress of the Palatinate () was the wikt:consort, consort of the Prince-elector of the Electorate of the Palatinate, one of the Holy Roman Empire's greatest princes. First Electorate, 1356–1648 House of Wittelsbach, Main branch, 1356 ...

Biography

Marie was the oldest child of the Margrave Casimir of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1481–1527) from his marriage with

Susanna of Bavaria Susanna of Bavaria (2 April 1502 – 23 April 1543) was a German noblewoman. Born in Munich, she was the daughter of Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria, and Kunigunde of Austria, herself the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III and Eleanor of P ...

(1502–1543), daughter of Duke

Albert IV of Bavaria Albert IV (15 December 1447 – 18 March 1508; german: Albrecht) was duke of Bavaria-Munich from 1467, and duke of the reunited Bavaria from 1503. Biography Albert was a son of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Ei ...

. After her father's death Marie was raised in the Lutheran faith by her uncle George Frederick. On 21 October 1537, in

Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...

, Marie married Frederick of Simmern (b. 1515), later Elector Palatine (1559–1576). The marriage was happy. Marie, who is described as intelligent and religious, influenced her Catholic husband toward Protestantism. In 1546, Frederick finally adopted Lutheranism and assumed the administration of the Franconian territories from his brother-in-law

Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach Albert II (german: Albrecht; 28 March 15228 January 1557) was the Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (Brandenburg-Bayreuth) from 1527 to 1553. He was a member of the Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. Because of his bellicose nature ...

. Since their family was living in reduced circumstances, Marie repeatedly turned to her uncle

Albert of Prussia Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the s ...

for financial assistance. After the death of Marie's stepfather Otto-Henry in 1559, her consort Frederick became

Elector Palatine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...

. As Electress, she was closely involved in governmental affairs, though Frederick tolerated no direct interference. She had influence in religious questions, and as a strong Lutheran she was a determined opponent of the Zwinglians. The Electress spent the last year of her life suffering from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

and was mostly confined to her bed. She was buried in the Church of the Holy Spirit in

Descendants

By her marriage, Marie had the following children: * Alberta (1538–1553) *

Louis VI, Elector Palatine Louis VI, Elector Palatine (4 July 1539 in Simmern – 22 October 1583 in Heidelberg), was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of ...

(1539–1583) :m. (1) 1560 Princess Elizabeth of Hesse (1539–1582) :m. (2) 1583 Princess

Anne of Ostfriesland Anne of Ostfriesland (June 26, 1562 – April 21, 1621) was the eldest daughter of Count Edzard II of East Frisia and his wife, Catherine Vasa, daughter of Gustav I of Sweden. Anne married three times: *First, on July 12, 1583 in Heidelberg ...

(1562–1621) *

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

(1540–1594) :m. 1558 Duke John Frederick II of Saxony (1529–1595) * Hermann Louis (1541–1556) * John Casimir (1543–1592), Count Palatine of Simmern :m. 1570 Princess Elizabeth of Saxony (1552–1590) * Dorothea Susanne (1544–1592) :m. 1560 Duke John William I of Saxe-Weimar (1530–1573) * Albert (1546–1547) * Anne Elizabeth (1549–1609) :m. (1) 1569 Landgrave

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

of Hesse-Rheinfels (1541–1583) :m. (2) 1599 Count Palatine John Augustus of Veldenz-Lützelstein (1575–1611) * Christopher, killed * Charles (1552–1555) * Cunigunde Jacobæa (1556–1586) :m. 1580 Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg (1536–1606)

Ancestors

References

* August Kluckhohn (Hrsg.): ''Briefe Friedrich des Frommen, Kurfürsten von der Pfalz'', C.A. Schwetschke und Sohn, 1868, S. 38 ff. * August Kluckhohn: ''Wie ist Kurfürst Friedrich III von der Pfalz Calvinist geworden?'', F. Straub, 1866, S. 427 f.

External links

* http://www.geneall.net/D/per_page.php?id=2806 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 1519 births 1567 deaths Electresses of the Palatinate Princesses of the Palatinate House of Wittelsbach House of Hohenzollern People from Ansbach 16th-century German women 16th-century German people Burials at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg