Maria Anna Josepha of Austria (20 December 1654 – 4 April 1689) was an Austrian archduchess who became Electoral Princess of the Palatinate as the wife of

Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine John William, Elector Palatine (''Jan Wellem'' in Low German, English: ''John William''; 19 April 1658 – 8 June 1716) of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Elector Palatine (1690–1716), Duke of Neuburg (1690–1716), Duke of Jülich and Ber ...

Life

Early life

Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha was born on 30 December 1654 as the third child and daughter of

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III (Ferdinand Ernest; 13 July 1608 – 2 April 1657) was Archduke of Austria, Kingdom of Hungary, King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia from 1625, Kingdom of Bohemia, King of Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emper ...

(1608–1657) and his third wife, Eleonora Gonzaga (1630–1686). She also had had seven

half-siblings A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised ...

from the previous two marriages of her father, only four of whom were still alive at the time of her birth. Her eldest full sibling, Archduchess Theresa Maria Josepha (1652–1653) died at the age of one and a half years, and her only younger sibling, Archduke Ferdinand Joseph Alois (1657–1658) also died in infancy.

Electoral Princess of the Palatinate

On 25 October 1678, twenty-four-years-old Maria Anna married twenty-years-old

Electoral Prince The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

Johann Wilhelm (John William) (1658–1716) from the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

. He was the eldest son and heir of

Philip William, Elector Palatine Philip William of Neuburg, Elector Palatine () (24 November 1615 – 2 September 1690) was Count Palatine of Neuburg from 1653 to 1690, Duchy of Jülich, Duke of Jülich and Berg (German region), Berg from 1653 to 1679 and Electorate of the Palat ...

(1615–1690), and the

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling or the sibling of one’s spouse. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred to as a brother-in-law for a male sibling-in-law and a sister-in-law for a female sibling-in-law. Sibling-in-law al ...

of Maria Anna's eldest brother,

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

(1640–1705). The wedding ceremony was performed by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch (also spelt ''Collonicz'', ''Colonitz'', ''Kollonitz'', ''Kolonits'' and ''Kolonić''; 26 October 1631 – 20 January 1707) or Lipót Kollonich was a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, Archbishop of Kalocsa and late ...

. The couple settled in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

and led an elaborate household there. In 1679, her

father-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity (law), affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person i ...

gifted them the

United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg The United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire between 1521 and 1614, formed from the personal union of the duchies of Jülich, Cleves and Berg. The name was resurrected after the Congress of Vienna for ...

. Upon Philip William's death, Johann Wilhelm became Elector Palatine and Duke of Neuburg.

Issue

During her marriage, Maria Anna gave birth to two children, but neither survived infancy: * Son (born and died 6 February 1683). * Son (born and died 5 February 1686).

Death

Maria Anna died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

during a visit to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. She was buried there in the

Imperial Crypt The Imperial Crypt (), also called the Capuchin Crypt (''Kapuzinergruft''), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neuer Markt square of ...

beneath the Capuchin Church, the principal place of burial for members of the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

Ancestry

Notes

References

*Harm Klueting, Wolfgang Schmale: ''The Empire and its territorial states in the 17th and 18th centuries'', Volume 10, LIT Edit. Münster, 2004, p. 69. *Constantin von Wurzbach
''Maria Anna Josepha''
Nr. 219. In: ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'', vol. 7, Edit. L. C. Zamarski, Vienna 1861, p. 29.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Anna Josepha Of Austria, Archduchess 1654 births 1689 deaths 17th-century House of Habsburg 17th-century Austrian women 17th-century deaths from tuberculosis Austrian princesses Electoral Princesses of the Palatinate Countesses Palatine of Neuburg House of Wittelsbach Burials at the Imperial Crypt Duchesses of Jülich Duchesses of Berg Tuberculosis deaths in the Holy Roman Empire Daughters of emperors Children of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of kings Daughters of dukes