Duchess Anna Dorothea of Saxe-Weimar (12 November 1657 – 24 June 1704) reigned as

Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg This is a list of the princess-abbesses of Quedlinburg Abbey.Johann Heinrich Fritsch: ''Geschichte des vormaligen Reichsstifts Quedlinburg'' pt 2, 1828, pp. 26–28online version)/ref>Hermann Lorenz: ''Quedlinburgische Geschichte. Band 1: Werd ...

from 1684 until her death.

Early life and ancestry

Born in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

, into the Ernestine line of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

, Duchess Anna Dorothea was the daughter of

John Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, and his wife,

Princess Christine Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Princess Christine Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (23 June 1638 – 7 June 1679), was a German noblewoman member of the House of Oldenburg and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Weimar. Born in Sonderburg, she was the second of the four chi ...

Biography

Her father decided she should pursue an ecclesiastical career when she was still a child. From 1681 until 1684, Anna Dorothea was provost of the Quedlinburg monasteries. Upon the death of Princess-Abbess Anna Sophia II, Anna Dorothea was chosen to succeed her, though not without difficulties that required the intervention of the abbey-principality's guardian and fellow Wettin,

John George III, Elector of Saxony Johann George III (20 June 1647 – 12 September 1691) was Elector of Saxony from 1680 to 1691. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin. Early life Johann Georg III was born in Dresden, the only son of Johann George II and M ...

. The Elector consented to her election on 4 September 1684 and

Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain, Le ...

confirmed it on 29 January 1685. In 1698, Frederick Augustus I, who had succeeded to the Electorate of Saxony in 1694 and had been elected

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

in 1697, found himself in need of money as the election had cost him a fortune. The King of Poland therefore decided to sell his rights of guardianship of the abbey-principality to Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg. The change was not welcomed by the citizens of Quedlinburg nor by the Princess-Abbess, as it led to diminishing of her power and loss of many of the abbey-principality's possessions. The Princess-Abbess protested against the sale and refused to recognise the Elector of Brandenburg as the abbey-principality's new guardian until military occupation the same year forced her to do so. As many of her predecessors, she often came into conflicts with the Council of the City of Quedlinburg and her guardian.

Death

Anna Dorothea suffered poor health in 1703 and went to

Carlsbad Carlsbad may refer to: Geographical locations * Carlsbad, California, San Diego County, United States ** Carlsbad Santa Fe Depot, NRHP ID No. 93001016 * Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States ** Carlsbad Caverns National Park ** Carlsbad Irriga ...

to recover, but without success. She died the next year, on 24 June 1704, aged 47. Her body was buried in the Ducal family vault (Fürstengruft), Weimar,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

.http://www.royaltyguide.nl/families/fam-U-V-W/wettin/saxeweimareisenach1.htm

Bibliography

* Fritsch, Johann Heinrich: ''Geschichte des vormaligen Reichsstifts und der Stadt Quedlinburg''. Quedlinburg 1828 * Lorenz, Hermann: ''Werdegang von Stift und Stadt Quedlinburg''. In: ''Quedlinburgische Geschichte''. Quedlinburg 1922 (Volume 1)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anna Dorothea, Abbess Of Quedlinburg Abbesses of Quedlinburg Lutheran abbesses 17th-century Lutheran nuns House of Wettin 1657 births 1704 deaths Daughters of dukes