Anna Sophia I, Abbess of Quedlinburg explained

Anna Sophia I
Succession:Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg
Reign:15 July 1645–1 September 1680
Predecessor:Dorothea Sophia, Abbess of Quedlinburg
Successor:Landgravine Anna Sophia of Hesse-Darmstadt
Birth Date:2 April 1619
Birth Place:Birkenfeld
Death Date:1 September 1680
House:Wittelsbach
Father:George William, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
Mother:Countess Dorothea of Solms-Sonnenwalde

Countess Palatine Anna Sophia of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (2 April 1619 – 1 September 1680) reigned as Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg and, as such, she is referred to as Anna Sophia I. She was the author of a book of meditations, Der treue Seelenfreund Christus, first published in Jena in 1658.[1]

Anna Sophia was born in Birkenfeld to George William, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, and his first wife, Countess Dorothea of Solms-Sonnenwalde. The young countess palatine pursued an ecclesiastical career and was appointed princess-abbess of Quedlinburg on 15 July 1645, succeeding Princess-Abbess Dorothea Sophia. She succeeded to the abbey-principality during the Thirty Years' War, which ended in 1648, and her small territory suffered invasion of the Swedish army. Anna Sophia I often came into conflicts with John George II, Elector of Saxony, and the Quedlinburg city council.

Upon her death in Quedlinburg Abbey, she was succeeded by Landgravine Anna Sophia of Hesse-Darmstadt who reigned as Anna Sophia II.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Wiesner-Hanks, Merry . Convents Confront the Reformation: Catholic and Protestant Nuns in Germany . 1998 . Marquette University Press . 0-87462-702-8 . 12.