Anna of Saxony (7 March 1437 – 31 October 1512) was a princess of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; 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 landlocked state of ...

by birth and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage to Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg.

Life

Anna was a daughter of the Elector Frederick II of Saxony from his marriage to Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Duke

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

of Austria. On 12 November 1458 Anna married Albert Achilles of Brandenburg, later Elector Albert III Achilles, in

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

. To further cement the tie between the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

and the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

, the marriage contract also planned a marriage between Anna's brother

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

and Albert Achilles' daughter from his first marriage, Ursula, but both married children of King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

of Bohemia instead. As her

Wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

, Anna received Hoheneck Castle and district, plus

Leutershausen Leutershausen is a municipality in the district of Ansbach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 12 km west of Ansbach. History Leutershausen was probably founded by Frankish settlers around 800. For the first time it ...

and

Colmberg Colmberg is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria in Germany. Colmberg is the site of Colmberg Castle (german: Burg Colmberg), built in the 13th century and purchased in 1318 by Duke Frederick IV of Nuremberg. The town is located i ...

. Through her marriage, she became stepmother to Albert Achilles's four children from his earlier marriage with

Margaret of Baden Margaret of Baden (1431 – 24 October 1457) was a Margravine of Baden by birth and by marriage Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach. She was the daughter of Jacob, Margrave of Baden-Baden, and his wife Catherine o ...

. At the time of Anna's marriage, Albert Achilles held all the Franconian possessions of the Hohenzollerns. In 1470, he also inherited the

Electorate of Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

. In 1473 Anna agreed to a new House law, which made Mark Brandenburg indivisible, but allowed the Franconian possessions to be shared among several sons. This meant that

John Cicero John II (2 August 1455 – 9 January 1499) was Elector of Brandenburg from 1486 until his death, the fourth of the House of Hohenzollern. After his death he received the cognomen ''Cicero'', after the Roman orator of the same name, but the electo ...

, Albert Achilles's son from his first marriage, would become Elector of Brandenburg, but Anna's two sons would inherit the Frankish possessions. Albert Achilles specified in his will that Anna was entitled to income and residency in Neustadt an der Aisch,

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inhab ...

, Dachsbach,

Baiersdorf Baiersdorf is a town in the district of Erlangen-Höchstadt, in northern Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location The major part of Baiersdorf is idyllically situated on a terrace which preserves the town from being flooded by the close Regnitz rive ...

and Liebenow. Her sons, however, would retain sovereignty over those territories. Anna survived her husband by 26 years and resided mostly in Neustadt an der Aisch, where she maintained a relatively luxurious court. Anna died in 1512 and was buried in

Heilsbronn Abbey Heilsbronn Abbey was a Cistercian monastery at Heilsbronn in the district of Ansbach in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. It was part of the Diocese of Eichstätt. History It was founded in 1132–33 by Saint Otto of Bamberg and was sett ...

. The memorial on her tomb was built about 1502 and is still preserved.

Offspring

Anna had thirteen children from her marriage to Albert Achilles: *

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

(1460–1536), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth : married in 1479 princess

Sophia of Poland Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek. It may refer to: *Sophia (wisdom) *Sophia (Gnosticism) * Sophia (given name) Places * Niulakita or Sophia, an island of Tuvalu * Sophia, Georgetown, a ward of Georgetown, Guyana * Sophia, North Carolina, an uninco ...

(1464–1512) * Amalie (1461–1481) : married in 1478 Count Palatine Kaspar of Zweibrücken (1458–1527) * Anna (* / † 1462) * Barbara (1464–1515) : married firstly in 1472 Duke Henry XI. by Crossen and Glogau (ca. 1430–1476) : married secondly in 1476 King Vladislav II of Bohemia (1456–1516) (divorced in 1500) * Albert (* / † 1466) * Sibylle (1467–1524) : married in 1481 Duke Wilhelm IV of Jülich-Berg (1455–1511) * Siegmund (1468–1495), Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach * Albert (* / † 1470) * Dorothea (1471–1520), Abbess in Bamberg * George (1472–1476) * Elisabeth (1474–1507) : married in 1491, Count Hermann VIII of Henneberg-Aschach (1470–1535) * Magdalene (1476–1480) * Anastasia (1478–1534) : married in 1500 Count William IV of Henneberg-Schleusingen (1478–1559)

Ancestors

References

* Frederick Albert of Langenn
''Duke Albrecht the Brave, the progenitor of the royal house of Saxony'', p. 37 ff
* Daniel Martin Ernst Kirchner
''The electresses and queens on the throne of the Hohenzollerns ...'', Volume 1, 134 ff
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anna of Saxony, Electress Of Brandenburg House of Wettin House of Hohenzollern 1437 births 1512 deaths Electresses of Brandenburg Burials at Heilsbronn Abbey