Anna Maria of Brandenburg (3 February 1567 in Zechlin Palace, Rheinberg – 14 November 1618 in

Wolin Wolin (; ) is a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from the island of Usedom (Uznam) by the Strait of Świna, and from mainla ...

) was a Princess of Brandenburg by birth and marriage Duchess of

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

Life

Anna Maria was a daughter of the

John George, Elector of Brandenburg John George of Brandenburg (; 11 September 1525 – 8 January 1598) was a prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1571–1598). Early life Born as a member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the son of Joachim II Hector, Elector ...

(1525–1598), from his second marriage to Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1548–1575), daughter of the George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. In 1580, she was engaged to Barnim X, Duke of Pomerania of Pomerania and on 8 January 1581, she married him in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. 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 ...

, she received the district of

Bytów Bytów (; ; ) is a town in the Gdańsk Pomerania region of northern Poland with 16,730 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bytów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. In the early Middle Ages a fortified stronghold stood nea ...

on the

Kashubia Kashubia or Cassubia ( or ; ; or ) is an ethnocultural region in the historic Eastern Pomerania (Pomerelia) region of northern Poland. It is inhabited by the Kashubian people, and many in the region have historically spoken the Kashubian langua ...

n border. They had no children. When Barnim inherited Pomerania in 1600, he left Bytów to his brother

Casimir Casimir is a Latin version of the Polish male name Kazimierz (). The original Polish feminine form is Kazimiera, in Latin and other languages rendered as Casimira. It has two possible meanings: "preacher of peace" or alternatively "destroyer of p ...

and Anna Maria received the district of

, including the eponymous

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and palace as her

jointure Jointure was a legal concept used largely in late mediaeval and early modern Britain, denoting the estate given to a married couple by the husband's family. One of its most important functions was providing a livelihood for the wife if she became ...

. After her husband died in 1603, Anna Maria lived at Wolin Castle in

. Accurate records of the income and expenditure of the district of Wolin during her reign exist;Heinrich Karl Wilhelm Berghaus: ''Landbuch des Herzogthums Pommern und des Fürstenthums Rügen'', Dietze, 1865, p. 614 they were less than the income of Bytów district and Anna Maria was compensated financially for the difference. She settled a dispute with

Bogislaw XIII, Duke of Pomerania Bogislaw XIII (Bogusław XIII) of Pomerania (9 August 1544 – 7 March 1606), son of Philip I and Maria of Saxony, was a prince of Stettin and Wolgast, and a member of the Griffins. Bogislaw studied at the University of Greifswald at the age of ...

about the right to hunt in her district. After her death in 1618, her Wittum reverted to

Francis, Duke of Pomerania Francis of Pomerania (in the older literature sometimes referred to as ''Francis I of Pomerania''; ; 24 March 1577, in Barth, Germany, Barth – 27 November 1620, in Stettin (Szczecin)) was Duchy of Pomerania, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin and Bishop ...

Footnotes

References

* Samuel Buchholtz: ''Versuch einer Geschichte der Churmarck Brandenburg von der ersten Erscheinung der deutschen Sennonen an bis auf jezige Zeiten'', vol. 3–4, F. W. Birnstiel, 1767, p. 488 * Ge. Wilh. v Raumer: ''Die Insel Wollin u. das Seebad Misdroy'', Decker, 1851, p. 151 ff

External links

* http://www.ruegenwalde.com/greifen/bar-10/bar-10.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Anna Maria of Brandenburg Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern 1567 births 1618 deaths Duchesses of Pomerania Electoral Princesses of Brandenburg Daughters of prince-electors 16th-century German women 17th-century German women