Sibylle of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, Margravine of Burgau (26 August 1557 in

Cleves Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...

– 1628 in

Günzburg Günzburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Genzburg'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' and the capital of the Swabian Günzburg (district), district Günzburg. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city ...

) was the daughter of Duke William the Rich and his second wife, Archduchess Maria of Austria. Her brother John William inherited the

United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg The so-called United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire between 1521 and 1666, formed from the personal union of the duchies of Jülich, Cleves and Berg. The name was resurrected after the Congress of Vienn ...

in 1592. After he had developed a mental illness, a power struggle broke out at court between Sibylle and her sister-in-law

Jakobea of Baden Princess Jakobea of Baden (16 January 1558 – 3 September 1597 in Düsseldorf, buried in the St. Lambert Church in Düsseldorf) was daughter of the Margrave Philibert of Baden-Baden and Mechthild of Bavaria. Life Jakobea of Baden-Baden bec ...

. Sibylle won, and imprisoned Jakobea. Sibylle may also have been partially responsible for Jakobea's violent death in 1597. In 1601, Sibylle married Margrave

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

of Burgau. In 1610, the couple moved into the residence at Günzburg. Here, she entertained a feudal court, even after her husband died in 1618. She acted in particular as patron of music. Sibylle died in 1628 and was buried next to her husband in the Capuchin Church in Günzburg. When the church was demolished, her remains were transferred to the St. Martin's Church, also in Günzburg.

References

* Hans Frei und Barbara Beck (ed.): ''Lebensbilder. Geschichte und Kunst in Bildnissen aus Schwaben'', Oberschönenfeld, 2002, p. 170

External links

Women in power

Footnotes

German duchesses House of La Marck 1557 births 1628 deaths Margravines of Germany 16th-century German people 17th-century German people {{Germany-duchess-stub