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Anna Sophia of Prussia

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Anna Sophia of Prussia
Anna Sophia of Prussia, Duchess of Mecklenburg
Born11 June 1527
Königsberg
Died6 February 1591(1591-02-06) (aged 63)
Lübz
BuriedSchwerin Cathedral
Noble familyHouse of Hohenzollern
Spouse(s)John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg
IssueJohn VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
FatherAlbert, Duke in Prussia
MotherDorothea of Denmark

Anna Sophia of Prussia (11 June 1527 – 6 February 1591) was Duchess of Mecklenburg by marriage to John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg.

Life

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Anna Sophie was born in Königsberg, the oldest and only surviving child of Duke Albert of Prussia (1490-1568) from his first marriage with Dorothea (1504-1547), a daughter of King Frederick I of Denmark. From her mother, she received an extensive education in naturopathy and gynecology.[1] Already in 1546, the estates of Prussia agreed to a so-called "dowry tax" to provide the dowry of 30000 guilders she would receive when she married.

She married on 24 February 1555 in Wismar to Duke John Albert I of Mecklenburg (1525-1576). As a wedding gift, her father mediated in a dispute between her husband and his brother Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg.[2] On the occasion of his marriage, Duke John Albert I had the Fürstenhof Palace in Wismar remodeled in a Renaissance style. After the wedding, John Albert I and his bride moved into this palace.[3]

John Albert I and Anna Sophia had three sons; she was described as a loving mother.[4] John Albert I remained a loyal ally to his father-in-law, in the Holy Roman Empire as well as in Livonia. Since Duke Albert had no surviving sons of his own, he attempted several times, unsuccessfully, to make John Albert I his heir and successor in the Duchy of Prussia.

After John Albert I died in 1576, Anna Sophia retired to her Wittum in Lübz, where she died in 1591. She was buried in Schwerin Cathedral.

Issue

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Anna Sophia and her husband had three sons:

References

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  • Karl Friedrich Pauli: Allgemeine preussische Staatsgeschichte, C. P. Francken, 1762, p. 458
  • Dietmar Willoweit, Hans Lemberg: Reiche und Territorien in Ostmitteleuropa: historische Beziehungen und politische Herrschaftslegitimation, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich, 2006, p. 64 f.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Martina Schattkowsky: Witwenschaft in der frühen Neuzeit: fürstliche und adlige Witwen zwischen Fremd- und Selbstbestimmung, Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig, 2003, p. 207
  2. ^ Karl Friedrich Pauli: Allgemeine preussische Staats-Geschichte, C. P. Francken, 1762, p. 443
  3. ^ Christiane Petri: ADAC Reiseführer Plus Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, ADAC Verlag DE, Munich, 2006, p. 19
  4. ^ Friedrich August von Rudloff: Neuere Geschichte von Mecklenburg, Stiller, 1822, S. 27