Augusta Dorothea of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (2 October 1749 – 10 March 1810), was Princess Abbess of

Gandersheim Abbey Gandersheim Abbey () is a former house of secular canonesses ( Frauenstift) in the present town of Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was founded in 852 by Count Liudolf of Saxony and his wife, Oda, progenitors of the Liudolfing or Ot ...

from 1778 until 1810. She was the last sovereign Princess Abbess of Gandersheim.

Life

Augusta Dorothea was the daughter of

Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Charles (German: ''Karl''; 1 August 1713, Braunschweig – 26 March 1780, Braunschweig), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Bevern line), reigned as Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1735 until his death. Life Charles was the eldest son o ...

, and

Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia (13 March 1716, in Berlin – 17 February 1801, in Brunswick) was Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by marriage to Duke Charles I. Philippine Charlotte was a known intellectual in contemporary Germany. ...

. She became deaconess in

Quedlinburg Abbey Quedlinburg Abbey ( or ) is a former abbey of secular canonesses ''( Frauenstift)'' in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Matilda, the widow of the East Frankish King Henry the Fowler, as h ...

in 1776. Two years later, she succeeded her aunt

Therese of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Princess Therese Natalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern (4 June 1728 in Wolfenbüttel – 26 June 1778 in Gandersheim Abbey, in Bad Gandersheim) was a German noblewoman. She was a member of the House of Welf and was princess-abbess of th ...

as Princess Abbess of Gandersheim. However, she continued to spend her life at the Brunswick court. In the 1770s, her sister in law,

Princess Augusta of Great Britain Augusta of Great Britain (Augusta Frederica; 31 July 1737 – 23 March 1813) was a British princess, granddaughter of George II and the only elder sibling of George III. She was Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenb ...

, condemned Augusta as well as her sister

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Crown Princess of Prussia Elisabeth Christine Ulrike of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (8 November 1746 – 18 February 1840), was Crown Princess of Prussia as the first wife of Crown Prince Frederick William, her cousin and the future king, Frederick William II of Prussia. ...

, who had been imprisoned for adultery, for their love life. Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp described her at the time of her visit to Brunswick in 1799 as "full of wit and energy and very amusing".
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In 1802, Gandersheim became annexed by Brunswick during the secularization of the clerical states in Germany, but she kept her title. When Brunswick was captured by France in 1806, Augusta fled.

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, however, allowed her to keep the title and the right to reside in Gandersheim. When she died, the post was never filled again, and Gandersheim became a part of the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...

References

* Martin Hoernes und

Hedwig Röckelein Hedwig Röckelein (born 13 July 1956) is professor of medieval history at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Early life Hedwig Röckelein was born in Burgebrach on 13 July 1956. From 1975 to 1981, she studied German, history, politics and pre ...

(Hrsg.): Gandersheim und Essen. Vergleichende Untersuchungen zu sächsischen Frauenstiften, (Essener Forschungen zum Frauenstift, Band 4), Essen 2006 * C. Römer: Braunschweig-Bevern, Ein Fürstenhaus als europäische Dynastie 1667–1884, Braunschweig (1997) * Kurt Kronenberg: Äbtissinnen des Reichstiftes Gandersheim 1981 {{DEFAULTSORT:Augusta Dorothea, Abbess of Gandersheim 1749 births 1810 deaths Abbesses of Gandersheim Lutheran abbesses 19th-century Lutheran nuns 18th-century Lutheran nuns 18th-century women rulers New House of Brunswick Burials at Brunswick Cathedral Daughters of dukes