Sophia Eleonore of Saxony (23 November 1609 – 2 June 1671) was a duchess of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

by birth and the landgravine of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse be ...

from 1627 to 1661 through her marriage to

Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' (" margrave") ...

George II. She was the eldest surviving child of John George I, Elector of Saxony, and

Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 12 February 1659) was an Electress of Saxony as the spouse of John George I, Elector of Saxony. She is a 6th times matrilineal great grandmother to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Life ...

Life

She was born in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

. Her two sisters were Marie Elisabeth and Magdalene Sibylle. Her brothers were Johann Georg,

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named '' Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month i ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

, and Maurice. She married Landgrave Georg II of Hesse-Darmstadt on 1 April 1627 in

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces fi ...

, aged seventeen.thePeerage
/ref> In the middle of

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

their marriage was lavishly celebrated with the first opera in German language Dafne. They had fifteen children; she raised them as strict

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

s. However, her daughter Elisabeth Amalie, later Electress Palatine, converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1653. Sophie Eleonore showed huge interest in antiquarian books which she collected. Her contribution to the Hesse-Darmstadt court library is still visible today. She survived her husband by ten years and died in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...

Children

She had the following children with George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt: *

Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Ludwig) (25 January 1630 – 24 April 1678) was Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1661 to 1678. He was the eldest of three sons of the Landgrave George II of Hesse-Darmstadt and Sophia Eleonore of Saxony. ...

(1630–1678) * George, married Dorothea Augusta, Duchess of Holstein-Sonderborg; died in 1676 in Vöhl * John * Magdalene Sibylle * Sophia Eleonore, married William Christoph, Landgrave of Hessen-Homburg * Elisabeth Amalie, married Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine * Louise Christine (1636–1697), married Christoph Louis, Count of

Stolberg-Stolberg Stolberg-Stolberg was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the southern Harz region. Its capital was the town of Stolberg, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg. In 1429, the County of Wernige ...

* Anna Maria * Anna Sophia,

Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg This is a list of princess-abbesses of Quedlinburg Abbey. {{DEFAULTSORT:Quedlinburg, Princess-abbesses Lists of monarchs Lists of female office-holders Lists of clerics Lists of European people ...

* Amalia Juliana * Stillborn daughter * Henrike Dorothea, married Count John II of Waldeck-Landau * Augusta Philippina * Agnes * Marie Hedwig (1647–1680), married

Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (Gotha, 10 September 1649 – Meiningen, 27 April 1706) was a duke of Saxe-Meiningen. He was the sixth but third surviving son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg and Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg ...

Ancestry

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Saxony, Sophia Eleonore Of 1609 births 1671 deaths Landgravines of Hesse-Darmstadt German Lutherans Sophia Eleonore Nobility from Dresden Albertine branch