Johanna Charlotte of Anhalt-Dessau (6 April 1682 – 31 March 1750) 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 t ...

from 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 ...

by birth and Margravine of

Brandenburg-Schwedt Brandenburg-Schwedt was a secundogeniture of the Hohenzollern margraves of Brandenburg, established by Prince Philip William who took his residence at Schwedt Castle in 1689. By appanage, they administered the manors of Schwedt and Vierraden on ...

by marriage. From 1729 until her death she was

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

of Herford Abbey.

Life

Johanna Charlotte was the youngest daughter of

John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau John George II (17 November 1627 – 7 August 1693) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1660 to 1693. A member of the Fruitbearing Society, he also served as a field marshal of Brandenbu ...

(1627–1693), from his marriage to

Henriette Catherine of Nassau Henriette Catherine of Nassau (10 February 1637 – 5 November 1708) was princess consort of Anhalt-Dessau by marriage to John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, and regent of Anhalt-Dessau from 1693 to 1698 during the minority (and then the abse ...

(1637–1708), daughter of Prince Frederick Henry of Orange. The princess was able to take advantage of a careful and comprehensive education. On 25 January 1699 she married

Philip William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt Philip William, Prince in Prussia (german: Philipp Wilhelm von Brandenburg-Schwedt; May 19, 1669, castle of Königsberg – December 19, 1711, castle of Schwedt) was a Prussian Prince, was the first owner of the Prussian secundogeniture of B ...

(1669–1711), in Oranienbaum. Although the couple had their own palace in Berlin, they lived mostly in

Schwedt Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. With the official status of a ''Große Kreisstadt, Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (major district town), it is the largest town of the Uckermark (district), Uckermark ...

. After the death of her husband, Johanna Charlotte went back to Berlin and looked after the education of her children. In 1729, she had herself elected abbess of Herford Abbey, which stood under Prussian protection. She was sworn in as the new abbess on 10 October 1729, but lived at first in Buchholz, Schaumburg. It was not until 1735 that she took up permanent residence in

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford (district), Herford. Geography ...

. Later in 1729, she added a secular order to her abbeyLeopold Zedlitz-Neukirch: ''Der preussische staat in allen seinen beziehungen'', vol. 3, p. 259, A. Hirschwald, 1837 and accepted 17 canonesses. She appointed Hedwig Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp as her

coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

. Hedwig Sophie later became her successor. Johanna Charlotte died of an "apoplexy", without being ill, in the night of 30 to 31 March 1750. She was buried in the crypt of the Collegiate Chapel of Herford, which had just been renovated.

Issue

From their marriage, Charlotte Johanna had the following children: * Frederick William (1700–1771), Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt : married in 1734 princess Sophie of Prussia (1719–1765) * Friederike Dorothea Henriette (1700–1701) * Henriette Marie (1702–1782) : married in 1716 Prince Frederick Louis of Württemberg (1698–1731) * George William (1704–1704) * Frederick Henry (1709–1788), Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt : married in 1739 princess

Leopoldine Marie of Anhalt-Dessau Leopoldine Marie, Princess of Anhalt-Dessau (12 December 1716, in Dessau – 27 January 1782, in Kołobrzeg) was the ninth child of Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau and his wife, Anna Louise Föhse. She married on 13 February 1739 the last ...

(1716–1782) * Charlotte (1710–1712)

References

* Johann Samuel Ersch: ''Allgemeine encyclopädie der wissenschaften und künste in alphabetischer folge'', section 2, part 21, Leipzig, 1842, p. 477 ff

Footnotes

Abbesses of Herford Princesses of Anhalt-Dessau Margravines of Brandenburg-Schwedt 1682 births 1750 deaths Calvinist abbesses 18th-century German people Daughters of monarchs Mothers of monarchs {{Germany-noble-stub