Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau


Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau, was a princess of Anhalt-Dessau by birth and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Weimar.

Life

Eleonore Dorothea was a daughter of the prince John George I of Anhalt-Dessau from his second marriage with Dorothea, daughter of the Count Palatine John Casimir of Simmern.
She married on 23 May 1625 in Weimar, with her cousin Duke William the Great of Saxe-Weimar, with whom she had been engaged before his campaign in Lower Saxony. The marriage was closed for political reasons: it should deepen the friendly relations between Anhalt and Saxe-Weimer. The marriage was nevertheless described as a very happy one. Eleonore Dorothea remained faithful to the Reformed Church during her marriage, even though she came closer to the Lutheran doctrine, which her husband followed.
She died in 1664 and was initially buried in the chapel of the Schloss in Weimar. In 1824, her body was transferred to the new Ducal Crypt at Weimar.

Issue

From her marriage Dorothea Eleonore had the following children:
  1. Wilhelm
  2. Johann Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
  3. Johann Wilhelm
  4. Adolf Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach
  5. Johann Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Marksuhl, later of Saxe-Eisenach. Grandfather of Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Queen Consort of George II of Great Britain.
  6. Wilhelmine Eleonore
  7. Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Jena
  8. Frederick
  9. Dorothea Marie, married on 3 July 1656 to Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz.

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