Marie Hedwig Auguste of Sulzbach (german: Marie Hedwig Auguste von Sulzbach; born: 15 April 1650 in Sulzbach; died: 23 November 1681 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

) was a Countess Palatine of Sulzbach by birth and by marriage,

Archduchess of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (german: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

and by her second marriage, Duchess of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme sou ...

Early life

Hedwig was a daughter of the Duke and Count Palatine Christian August of Sulzbach (1622–1708) from his marriage to Countess Amalie of

Nassau-Siegen Nassau-Siegen was a principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed between 1303 and 1328, and again from 1606 to 1743. From 1626 to 1734, it was subdivided into Catholic and Protestant parts. Its capital was the city of Siegen, found ...

(1613–1669), daughter of Count John VII of Nassau-Siegen.

First marriage

She was married on 3 June 1665 per cura in the court chapel of Sulzbach to Archduke Sigismund Francis of Austria-Tyrol (1630–1665), who after his brother's unexpected death had resigned from his ecclesiastical positions in order to marry. The marriage was never consummated: while travelling to meet his bride, the Archduke fell seriously ill and died in Innsbruck twelve days after the marriage.

Second marriage

Hedwig's second marriage, in Sulzbach on 9 April 1668, was with Duke Julius Francis of Saxe-Lauenburg (1641–1689). Her father had a memorial stone erected in the Sulzbach parish church to commemorate the event.Georg Hager, Georg Lill: ''Bezirksamt Sulzbach'', vol 19, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 1982, p. 94 Hedwig had been assured an annual income of at her first marriage; Julius Francis made a deal with the imperial court, in which Hedwig would receive a lump sum instead.

Death

Hedwig died in 1681 and was buried in the White Castle at Ostrov (german: Schlackenwerth).

Issue

Hedwig from her second marriage had the following children: * Anna Maria Theresia (1670–1671) * Anna Maria Franziska (1672–1741) : married firstly in 1690 Count Palatine Philip William of Neuburg (1668–1693) : married secondly 1697 Grand Duke Gian Gastone de' Medici of Tuscany (1671–1737) * Sybille (1675–1733) : married in 1690 Margrave Louis William of Baden-Baden (1655–1707)

References and sources

* ''Theologische Quartalschrift'', vol. 50, H. Laupp, 1868, p. 10
Digitized
* Johann Samuel Ersch: ''Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste'', section 2 part 28, J. f. Gleditsch, 1851, p. 363

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedwig of the Palatinate-Sulzbach House of Wittelsbach 1650 births 1681 deaths 17th-century German people Countesses Palatine of Sulzbach Duchesses of Saxe-Lauenburg Austrian princesses