Duchess Maria of Saxe-Weimar (7 October 1571 – 7 March 1610) was

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 1601 until her death. 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 ...

, Maria was the daughter of John William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and

Dorothea Susanne of Simmern Dorothea Susanne of Simmern (15 November 1544 in Simmern – 8 April 1592 in Weimar) was a princess of the Electorate of the Palatinate and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Weimar. Life Dorothea Susanne was the daughter of Elector Palatine Fr ...

. Anna III, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg, died on 12 May 1601. The provost of the congregation had died of plague and had not been replaced. Maria was suggested as Anna III's successor by the guardian of the abbey, her brother

Frederick William I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar Friedrich Wilhelm I (25 April 1562 in Weimar – 7 July 1602 in Weimar) was a duke of Saxe-Weimar. He was the eldest son of Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Dorothea Susanne of Simmern. Life At the time of the death of his father ...

Emperor Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...

confirmed her election on 2 July. Maria's reign was calm. She proved to be unwilling to confront the abbey's protectors, the dukes of Saxony, which led to the decrease in her own temporal authority. She died suddenly in

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as t ...

, on her way to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, and was buried in Quedlinburg. She was succeeded by Princess Dorothea of Saxony.

References

* {{Authority control Abbesses of Quedlinburg Lutheran abbesses 17th-century German Lutheran nuns House of Wettin 1571 births 1610 deaths Daughters of dukes