Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein (24 October 1667 – 23 August 1737) was Countess of Wolfstein by birth and Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach by marriage.

Early life and ancestry

Sophie Christiane was a daughter of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Albrecht Frederick of Wolfstein-Sulzbürg (1644–1693) from his marriage to Countess Sophia Louise of

Castell-Remlingen Castell-Remlingen was a County located in the region of Franconia in northern Bavaria, Germany, ruled by a branch of the Counts of Castell. It was created as a partition of Castell in 1597, and in 1668 it was partitioned between itself and Castell- ...

(1645–1717), daughter of Count Georg Wolfgang of

(1610–1668) and Countess Sophie Juliane of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Pfedelbach (1620–1682). Sophie Christiane's maternal uncle Count Wolfgang Dietrich of Castell-Remlingen (1641–1709) was married to Countess Dorothea Renata von Zinzendorf and Pottendorf (1669–1743), an aunt of Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (1700–1760) and Sophie Christiane was consequently raised strictly religiously in the

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

manner.

Marriage

On 14 August 1687 she married Margrave Christian Heinrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach (1661–1708), at Obersulzbürg castle. The margrave's court at Bayreuth felt that his spouse was "not befitting" (i.e. not of high enough birth to marry a member of a ruling family), as her family acquired status of reigning

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

only recently (in 1673) for immediate Lordship of Sulzbürg-Pyrbaum. In the end, after many obstacles, the marriage was recognized and treated as equal.

Later life

After the birth of their first child, the family moved into the castle at Schönberg, where Sophie Christiane, who was described as "admirable" took care of raising her children. She composed a prayer book, the so-called ''Schönberger Gesangbuch'', containing the prayers used in the daily "prayer meeting". In 1703, Christian Heinrich and King

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (german: Friedrich I.; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function h ...

concluded the Treaty of Schönberg, in which Christian Heinrich ceded Brandenburg-Ansbach to Prussia in exchange for the Weferlingen district near Magdeburg. The family then moved to Weferlingen Castle.

Life in Denmark

After her husband's death, her son-in-law, King

Christian VI of Denmark Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...

, invited her to Denmark, which became a Pietist refuge.August Tholuck: ''Geschichte des Rationalismus'', Wiegandt und Grieben, 1865, S. 70

Death

Sophie Christiane died on 23 August in 1737 and was buried in

Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral ( da, Roskilde Domkirke), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is the most importan ...

Issue

Sophie Christiane from her marriage had 14 children: # Georg Frederick Karl (b. Schloss Oberzulzbürg, 30 June 1688 – d. Bayreuth, 17 May 1735), who finally inherited Bayreuth in 1726. # Albert Wolfgang (b. Schloss Obersulzbürg, 8 December 1689 – killed in action, near Parma, 29 June 1734). # Dorothea Charlotte (b. Schloss Obersulzbürg, 15 March 1691 – d. Weikersheim, 18 March 1712); married on 7 August 1711 to Karl Ludwig, Count of

Hohenlohe-Weikersheim The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous ti ...

. # Frederick Emanuel (b. Schloss Obersulzbürg, 13 February 1692 – d. Schloss Obersulzbürg, 13 January 1693). # Christiane Henriette (b. Schloss Obersulzbürg, 29 August 1693 – d. Schönberg, 19 May 1695). # Frederick Wilhelm (b. Schönberg, 12 January 1695 – d. Schönberg, 13 May 1695). # Christiane (b. and d. Schönberg, 31 October 1698). # Christian August (b. Schönberg, 14 July 1699 – d. Schönberg, 29 July 1700). # Sophie Magdalene (b. Schönberg, 28 November 1700 – d. Christiansborg Castle, 27 May 1770); married on 7 August 1721 to King

. # Christine Wilhelmine (b. Schönberg, 17 June 1702 – d. Schönberg, 19 March 1704). # Frederick Ernest (b. Schönberg, 15 December 1703 – d. Schloss Friedrichsruhe in Drage, 23 June 1762); married on 26 December 1731 to Duchess Christine Sophie of Brunswick-Bevern. The union was childless. # Marie Eleonore (b. Schönberg, 28 December 1704 – d. Schönberg, 4 June 1705). # Sophie Caroline (b. Weferlingen, 31 March 1705 – d. Sorgenfri Castle, 7 June 1764); married on 8 December 1723 to George Albert, Prince of East Frisia. # Frederick Christian (b. posthumously, Weferlingen, 17 July 1708 – d. Bayreuth, 20 January 1769), inherited Bayreuth in 1763. , -

References

Horst Weigelt Horst Weigelt (born 1934 in Liegnitz) is a German Protestant theologian. From 1975 to 2002 he was Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg. His research focuses on the Reformation, Pietism and Enl ...

: ''Geschichte des Pietismus in Bayern'', Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2001, p. 226

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein Margravines of Brandenburg-Bayreuth German countesses 1667 births 1737 deaths 17th-century German people 18th-century German people Burials at Roskilde Cathedral