Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony


Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony was duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp.

Biography

She was a daughter of John George I, Elector of Saxony, and his spouse Princess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia. She was engaged in 1627 and married in 1630. Her marriage was arranged by the Danish queen Dowager Sophie, and the duchess Dowager of Saxony, Hedwig of Denmark. In her dowry, she brought paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder.
In 1659, she became a widow, and in 1660 moved to Wittum Husum Castle. Her household at Husum became renowned as a culture center, and she herself a noted patron. She produced an interpretation of the Bible in 1664.

Marriage and issue

She was married on 21 February 1630 to Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp and had sixteen children:
  1. Sofie Auguste, married on 16 September 1649 to John VI, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst. Mother of John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg, grandmother of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, and great-grandmother of Catherine II of Russia.
  2. Magdalene Sibylle, married on 28 November 1654 to Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Mother of Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark.
  3. Johann Adolf.
  4. Marie Elisabeth, married on 24 November 1650 to Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.
  5. Friedrich.
  6. Hedwig Eleonore, married on 24 October 1654 to King Charles X of Sweden.
  7. Adolf August.
  8. Johann Georg.
  9. Anna Dorothea.
  10. Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.
  11. Gustav Ulrich.
  12. Christine Sabine.
  13. August Friedrich, Prince-Regent of Eutin and Prince-Bishop of Lübeck; married on 21 June 1676 to Christine of Saxe-Weissenfels. No issue.
  14. Adolf.
  15. Elisabeth Sofie, twin of Adolf.
  16. Auguste Marie, married on 15 May 1670 to Frederick VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach.

    Ancestry