Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels, Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst

Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels
Spouse(s) Karl William
Noble family House of Wettin
Father August, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
Mother Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Born (1654-06-23)23 June 1654
Halle an der Saale
Died 31 March 1724(1724-03-31) (aged 69)
Zerbst

Sophia of Saxe-Weissenfels (also: Sophie; 23 June 1654 in Halle an der Saale – 31 March 1724 in Zerbst) was a member of the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin, and a princess of Saxe-Weissenfels and Querfurt by birth and by marriage Duchess of Anhalt-Zerbst.

Family

Sophia was the third daughter of the Duke August of Saxe-Weissenfels and his wife Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, daughter of Duke Adolf Frederick I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She was named after her paternal great-grandmother, Sophie of Brandenburg, Electress of Saxony.

Marriage and issue

She married on 18 June 1676 in Halle with Karl William, a son of John VI, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst from his marriage to Sophie Auguste of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. Unlike most royal couples of the era, Charles William and Sophia shared a bedroom in their new baroque palace. This suggests that they may have married out of love.

They had the following children:

married Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Death and burial

Sophia died at the age of 69 years in her rooms at Zerbst Castle and was buried on 7 June 1724 in the princely tomb in the St. Bartholomew's Church in Zerbst. In 1899 Duke Duke Frederick I of Anhalt, ordered the implementation of a princely family vault in the Castle Church in Zerbst Castle. After the destruction of the castle in 1945, the remains of the damaged coffins were transferred back to St. Bartholomew.

External Links and sources

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