Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (13 June 1592, in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

– 13 January 1642, in

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

), was Countess of Nassau-Dietz by marriage to Ernest Casimir, Count of Nassau-Dietz, and regent of the County of Nassau-Dietz during the absence of her sons between 1632 and 1642.

Life

Sophia was the daughter of Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1564–1613) and his second wife Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (1573–1625), the eldest daughter of King

Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark-Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1559 until his death in 1588. A member of the House of Oldenburg, Fre ...

. On 8 June 1607, Sophie Hedwig married Count Ernest Casimir of Nassau-Dietz (1573–1632).

Regency

When she was widowed, Sophia took up residence at widow seat, the Countly Castle at Diez. Nassau-Dietz had been inherited by her eldest son, who was twenty and old enough to rule on his own. He was however appointed governor of Friesland, and appointed his mother as his regent to rule in his absence. She and managed to minimize damage caused during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. She prevented looting and quartering in the city and county during the

by skillfully negotiating with army commanders. Sophia made a name for herself outside the county when she turned to

Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna (; 1583–1654) was a Swedish statesman and Count of Södermöre. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of ...

in 1633 and demanded compensation for the damage his troops had done to her territory. Domestically, she cared for the rural population and made sure there was a sufficient supply of food and water. When Diez was affected by a plague epidemic in 1635, she was ready to help. Sophia was a

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

, but this did not prevent her from benefitting from a cooperation with her brother-in-law John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar, who had reverted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. When her eldest son died and was succeeded by her youngest son in 1640, she was confirmed in her position as regent and continued to rule.

Issue

She and Ernest Casimir had nine children, but two sons survived to adulthood : * stillborn daughter (1608) * stillborn son (1609) * unnamed son (1610) * Henry Casimir I, Count of Nassau-Dietz (21 January 1612 – 13 July 1640), died unmarried due to wounds in battle during the Siege of Hulst *

William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz William Frederick (; Arnhem 7 August 1613 – Leeuwarden 31 October 1664), was Count (from 1654 Imperial Prince) of Nassau-Dietz, Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography Family life William Frederick was the second son of Er ...

(7 August 1613 – 31 October 1664), married his second cousin, Albertine Agnes of Nassau, daughter of

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry (; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his ...

and had issue * Elisabeth of Nassau Dietz (25 July 1614 - 18 September 1614), died in infancy * John Ernest of Nassau Dietz (29 March 1617 - May 1617), died in infancy * Maurice of Nassau Dietz (21 February 1619 - 18 September 1628), died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

* Elizabeth Friso of Nassau Dietz (25 November 1620 - 20 September 1628) died of smallpox The English representative at the baptism of Henry Casimir in March 1612 at Arnhem was Sir Edward Cecil. Cecil brought gifts of a cupboard of gilt plate, a diamond necklace with a locket, two horses, and an embroidered petticoat for Sophia Hedwig, who was a niece of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

. The

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

gave a gift of an annual pension.A. B. Hinds, ''HMC Downshire'', vol. 3 (London, 1938), p. 275.

Legacy

In the mid-1990s, the gymnasium in Diez was named after her: Sophie-Hedwig-Gymnasium. A street in Diez was named after her.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel Middle House of Brunswick Duchesses of Brunswick-Lüneburg 1592 births 1642 deaths 17th-century German politicians 17th-century women regents 17th-century regents Daughters of dukes Mothers of German monarchs Regents in the Holy Roman Empire