Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin () (10 August 1549 – 30 September 1602) was a Margravine of

Brandenburg-Küstrin The Neumark (), also known as the New March () or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder, Oder River in territory which became part of History of Poland (1945–1989), ...

by birth and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage.

Life

Catherine was the younger of two daughters of

John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin John of Brandenburg-Küstrin (, or ; 3 August 1513 – 13 January 1571), was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and a Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin. Life John was the younger son of Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg, Joachim I Nestor ...

(1513–1571) from his marriage to

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

(1518–1574), daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. On 8 January 1570, she married Joachim of Brandenburg, later Elector Joachim III Frederick of Brandenburg (1546–1608) in Küstrin. Due to the marriage, her husband no longer had a legitimate claim on the position of bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

and Pope

Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

put in a request to Emperor

Maximilian Maximilian or Maximillian (Maximiliaan in Dutch and Maximilien in French) is a male name. The name "Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1 ...

for his dismissal. Catherine tried to improve the fate of the poor and the needy. She built a

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

Wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

and sold its produce on the Molkenmarkt ("Milk Market"), a square in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. She used the proceeds to finance a pharmacy in the Stadtschloss that provided medicine free of charge to those in need.K. W. Kutschbach: ''Chronik der Stadt Küstrin'', Enslin, 1849, p. 118 Catherine died on 30 September 1602. On 13 October, she was buried in the Hohenzollern crypt (now part of the

Berliner Dom Berlin Cathedral (), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Protestant church and dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern) at the Lustgarten on the Museum Island in central Berlin. Having it ...

Descendants

From her marriage with Joachim Frederick, Catherine had the following children: *

John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg John Sigismund (; 8 November 1572 – 23 December 1619) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from the House of Hohenzollern. He became the Duke of Prussia through his marriage to Duchess Anna, the eldest daughter of Duke Al ...

(8 November 1572 – 23 December 1619), Elector of Brandenburg : married in 1594 Princess Anna of Prussia (1576–1625) * Anne Catherine (26 June 1575 – 29 March 1612) : married King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

(1577–1648) * Daughter (1576–1576) * John George, Duke of

Jägerndorf Krnov (; , or ''Krnów'') is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Krnov consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to ...

(16 December 1577 – 2 March 1624) : married Eva Christina of Württemberg (1590 - 1657), daughter of

Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg Friedrich I of Württemberg (19 August 1557 – 29 January 1608) was the son of George I of Württemberg-Mömpelgard, George of Montbéliard, Mömpelgard and his wife Barbara of Hesse, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. Several refer ...

and

Sibylla of Anhalt Sibylla of Anhalt (28 September 1564 – 26 October 1614) was a German princess from the House of Ascania who became Duchess of Württemberg as the wife of Duke Frederick I. Life Sibylla of Anhalt was born in Bernburg on 28 September 1564, as th ...

* August Frederick (16 February 1580 – 23 April 1601) * Albert Frederick (29 April 1582 – 3 December 1600) * Joachim (13 April 1583 – 10 June 1600) * Ernest (13 April 1583 – 18 September 1613) * Barbara Sophie (16 November 1584 – 13 February 1636) : married in 1609 Duke John Frederick of Württemberg (1582–1628) * Daughter (1585 – 1586) * Christian William (28 August 1587 – 1 January 1665) Archbishop and later Administrator of Magdeburg : married firstly, in 1615, Princess Dorothea of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1596–1643) : married secondly, in 1650, Countess Barbara Eusebia of Martinice (d. 1656) : married thirdly, in 1657, Countess Maximiliane of Salm-Neuburg (1608–1663)

References and sources

* * Ernst Daniel Martin Kirchner: ''Die Kurfürstinnen und Königinnen auf dem Throne der Hohenzollern'', part 2: ''Die letzten acht Kurfürstinnen'', Berlin, 1867
pp. 68–106
* Ludwig Hahn: ''Geschichte des preussischen Vaterlandes'', W. Hertz, 1858, p. 132 * Adolf Müller: ''Preußens Ehrenspiegel'', Gebauer, 1851, p. 65

Footnotes

External links

Portrait of Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin
in Google books * {{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine of Brandenburg-Kustrin House of Hohenzollern 1549 births 1602 deaths Margravines in the Holy Roman Empire People from Kostrzyn nad Odrą Electresses of Brandenburg Burials at Berlin Cathedral Daughters of monarchs Mothers of Prussian monarchs