Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1 July 1627, in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

– 11 December 1669, in

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hal ...

) was a German noblewoman, a member of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...

and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Weissenfels. She was the fourth child and second daughter of

Adolf Frederick I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Adolf Frederick I (15 December 1588 – 27 February 1658) was the reigning Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from his father's death in 1592 until 1628 and again from 1631 to 1658. Between 1634 and 1648 Adolf Frederick also ruled the Prince-Bishopric ...

by his first wife Anna Maria, daughter of

Enno III, Count of Ostfriesland Enno III of Ostfriesland or Enno III of East Frisia (30 September 1563, Aurich – 19 August 1625) was a Count of Ostfriesland from 1599 to 1625 from the Cirksena family. He was the elder son of Count Edzard II of Ostfriesland and his wife ...

. In older historiography she appears with a third name, ''Dorothea'',See: Roswitha Jacobsen, ''Die Tagebücher 1667-1686: Kommentar und Register'', Michigan 2003, ; Karl Kehrbach, ''Monumenta Germaniae paedagogica, Volume 52'', Michigan 2007; B. Touchnitz, ''Archiv für die Sächsische Geschichte, Volume 5'', Princeton 1879; Martina Schattkowsky, ''Witwenschaft in der frühen Neuzeit: fürstliche und adlige Witwen zwischen Fremd- und Selbstbestimmung - Volume 6 of Schriften zur sächsischen Geschichte und Volkskunde'', Leipzig 2003, ; Julius Richter, ''Das Erziehungswesen am Hofe der Wettiner Albertinischer (Haupt-)Linie - Volume 52 of Monumenta Germaniae paedagogica'', 1913 but modern historians have discarded it.

Life

The wars involving Mecklenburg forced her father to send Anna Maria and her two older brothers, Christian Louis and Karl, first to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

and shortly afterwards to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, to the court of Dowager Queen Sophia (born Duchess of Mecklenburg-Güstrow). In 1629 Anna Maria was sent to

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

with Dowager Electress Hedwig, to the latter's dower state, Castle Lichtenberg near Prettin, where she was educated. After Hedwig's death in 1642, Anna Maria returned to

, where she was reunited with her father, her mother having died in 1634. She also probably then met for the first time her stepmother, Marie Katharina of Brunswick-Dannenberg, and her three surviving half-siblings. Anna Maria was her father's favorite child as demonstrated by the cordial, even affectionate tone of the letters that they wrote to each other. On 23 November 1647, in

, Anna Maria married

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, second surviving son of

Johann Georg I, Elector of Saxony John George I (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45 year reign. Biography Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector Chr ...

, and moved with her husband to

, the main city of his domains as Administrator of the

Archbishopric of Magdeburg The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River. Planned since 955 and established in 968, the R ...

. During her marriage, she bore twelve children, including three daughters who died in infancy in 1663. On 22 April 1657 her husband, by the terms of his father's will, received the towns of Weissenfels and Querfurt as his own Duchy, and hence Anna Maria became Duchess consort of Saxe-Weissenfels. Anna Maria died on 11 December 1669 in Halle and was buried in a magnificent coffin in the Schloss Neu-Augustusburg in Weissenfels. Her three infant daughters who had been buried in the Halle Cathedral were reinterred with her.

Issue

In Schwerin on 23 November 1647 Anna Maria married Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. They had twelve children: # Magdalene Sibylle (b.

, 2 September 1648 - d. Gotha, 7 January 1681), married on 14 November 1669 to Duke Frederick I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. # Johann Adolf I (b. Halle, 2 November 1649 - d. Weissenfels, 24 May 1697). #

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named '' Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month i ...

(b. Halle, 3 December 1650 - d. Halle, 11 August 1674), Provost of Magdeburg; married on 25 August 1673 to Charlotte of Hesse-Eschwege. Their only son was stillborn (24 April 1674). #Christian (b. Halle, 25 January 1652 - killed in action at

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, 24 August 1689), General Field Marshal of the Saxon Electoral Army. #Anna Maria (b. Halle, 28 February 1653 - d. Halle, 17 February 1671). #

Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...

(b. Halle, 23 June 1654 - d.

Zerbst Zerbst () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until an administrative reform in 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the former Anhalt-Zerbst district. Geography Zerbst is situated in the Anhalt-Wittenberg regi ...

, 31 March 1724), married on 18 June 1676 to

Karl, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst Charles William, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (16 October 1652, in Zerbst – 3 November 1718, in Zerbst), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. He was the third (but eldest surviving) son of John ...

. #Katharine (b. Halle, 12 September 1655 - d. Halle, 21 April 1663). #Christine (b. Halle, 25 August 1656 - d.

Eutin Eutin () is the district capital of Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of 2020, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. Its meaning i ...

, 27 April 1698), married on 21 June 1676 to August Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince-Bishop of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

(son of

Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp (22 December 1597 – 10 August 1659) was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frede ...

, and his wife

Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony (22 November 1610 – 24 October 1684) was duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp. As a widow, she became known as a patron of culture. Biography She w ...

). No issue. #

Heinrich Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

(b. Halle, 29 September 1657 - d. Barby, 16 February 1728); he inherited Barby. # Albrecht (b. Halle, 14 April 1659 - d.

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, 9 May 1692). #Elisabeth (b. Halle, 25 August 1660 - d. Halle, 11 May 1663). #Dorothea (b. Halle, 17 December 1662 - d. Halle, 12 May 1663).

Ancestry

Bibliography

* Dirk Schleinert. "Anna Maria von Mecklenburg (1627-1669) und August von Sachsen (1614-1680) und die Begründung des Hauses Sachsen-Weißenfels. Dynastische Beziehungen zwischen Mecklenburg und Kursachsen im 17. Jahrhundert", in ''Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher'' 123 (2008), 123-157. * Klaus Gondermann. ''Die Mitglieder der Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft 1617-1650: 527 Biographien''. Leipzig 1985. * ''300 Jahre Schloß Neu-Augustusburg, 1660–1694 - Residenz der Herzöge von Sachsen-Weißenfels''. Festschrift. Weissenfels (1994). * Johann Christoph Dreyhaupt. ''Beschreibung des ... Saal-Creyses, insonderheit der Städte Halle''. Halle 1749/1751 (so-called ''Dreyhaupt-Chronik'').

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anna Maria Of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1627 births 1669 deaths House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin House of Saxe-Weissenfels People from Schwerin Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duchesses of Saxe-Weissenfels ⚭Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin