Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin

Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin
Spouse(s) Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg
Noble family House of Hohenzollern
Father John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin
Mother Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Margravine of Brandenburg-Küstrin
Born 10 August 1549
Küstrin
Died 30 September 1602 (aged 53)
Cölln

Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin (10 August 1549 – 30 September 1602) was a Margravine of Brandenburg-Küstrin by birth and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage.

Life

Catherine was the younger of two daughters of John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin (1513–1571) from his marriage to Catherine (1518–1574), daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

On 8 January 1570, she married Joachim of Brandenburg, later Elector Joachim III Frederick of Brandenburg (1546–1608) in Küstrin. Due to the marriage, her husband no longer had a legitimate claim on the position of bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Magdeburg[1] and Pope Pius V put in a request to Emperor Maximilian for his dismissal.[2]

Catherine tried to improve the fate of the poor and the needy. She built a dairy in Wedding and sold its produce on the Molkenmarkt ("Milk Market"), a square in Berlin. She used the proceeds to finance a pharmacy in the Stadtschloss that provided medicine free of charge to those in need.[3]

Catherine died on 30 September 1608. On 13 October, she was buried in the Hohenzollern crypt (now part of the Berliner Dom).

Descendants

From her marriage with Joachim Frederick, Catherine had the following children:

married in 1594 Priness Anna of Prussia (1576–1625)
married King Christian IV of Denmark (1577–1648)
married Eva Christina of Württemberg (1590 - 1657), daughter of Friedrich I of Württemberg and Sibylla of Anhalt
married in 1609 Duke John Frederick of Württemberg (1582–1628)
married firstly, in 1615, Princess Dorothea of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1596–1643)
married secondly, in 1650, Countess Barbara Eusebia of Martinice (d. 1656)
married thirdly, in 1657, Countess Maximiliane of Salm-Neuburg (1608–1663)

References and sources

Footnotes

  1. Cornelius Hantscher: Die preußische Frage – Personalunion Brandenburg-Preußen, GRIN Verlag, 2007, p. 14
  2. Historisch-Politische Blätter für das Katholische Deutschland, vol. 35, 1855, p. 137 (Digitized)
  3. K. W. Kutschbach: Chronik der Stadt Küstrin, Enslin, 1849, p. 118

External links

Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin
Born: 10 August 1549 Died: 30 September 1602
German nobility
Preceded by
Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst
Electress of Brandenburg
8 January 1598 – 30 September 1602
Vacant
Title next held by
Eleanor of Prussia