Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
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| Christiane of Brandenburg-Bayreuth | |
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| Queen consort of Poland; Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania | |
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| Tenure | 1697–1727 |
| Spouse | Augustus II of Poland |
| Issue | |
| Augustus III of Poland | |
| House | House of Wettin House of Hohenzollern |
| Father | Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth |
| Mother | Sofie Luise of Württemberg |
| Born | 19 December 1671 Bayreuth |
| Died | 4 September 1727 (aged 55) Pretzsch an der Elbe |
Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (19 December 1671 – 4 September 1727) was consort to Augustus II the Strong.
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[edit] Life
Christiane Eberhardine, Queen of Poland 1697-1727, never set foot in Poland throughout the whole of her thirty-year reign. She was the first-born child of Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and Sophia Louisa (German: Sofie Luise), daughter of Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg. She was named for her father, Christian, and her mother's father, Eberhard.
She married Friedrich August I, Elector of Saxony and future King of Poland on 20 January 1693 at age 21. The marriage was purely political and highly unhappy. Three years later, on 17 October 1696, their son Friedrich August was born in Dresden.
August of Saxony converted to Catholicism to become King of Poland, but Christiane Eberhardine remained faithful to her Protestant beliefs and was not present at her husband's coronation. Her Protestant countrymen named her "The Pillar of Saxony."
Christiane Eberhardine lived in retirement in her castle at Pretzsch an der Elbe or at Hartenfels Castle in Torgau, and was only seen occasionally at festivities in Dresden. In her voluntary exile she concentrated on cultural activities and took interest in the faith of orphaned children. She was also active in the field of economics; in 1697 she took over operation of the glass factory in Pretzsch, founded by Constantin Fremel.
A lonely woman, Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth died at the age of 55 and was buried on 6 September in the parish church of Pretzsch. Neither her husband nor her son were present at the funeral.
In commemoration of her death, Johann Sebastian Bach composed the cantata "Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl" to a text of Johann Christoph Gottsched, first performed on 15 October 1727 in the Paulinerkirche in Leipzig.
She was great-grandmother to Louis XVI of France, Louis XVIII of France, Charles X of France and Charles IV of Spain.
[edit] Ancestry
| Christiane Eberhardine, Queen of Poland | Father: Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth |
Paternal Grandfather: Erdmann August, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth |
| Paternal Great-grandmother: Marie of Prussia |
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| Paternal Grandmother: Sofie of Brandenburg-Ansbach |
Paternal Great-grandfather: Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach |
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| Paternal Great-grandmother: Sofie of Solms-Laubach |
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| Mother: Sofie Luise of Württemberg |
Maternal Grandfather: Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Johann Frederick, Duke of Württemberg |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Barbara Sophia of Brandenburg |
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| Maternal Grandmother: Anna Catharina or Anna Dorothea of Salm-Kyrburg |
Maternal Great-grandfather: John Casimir of Salm-Kyrburg |
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| Maternal Great-grandmother: Dorothea of Solms-Laubach |
[edit] Further reading
- Stichart, Franz Otto: Galerie der sächsischen Fürstinnen; biogr. Skizzen sämtlicher Ahnfrauen des kgl. Hauses Sachsen, Leipzig 1857
- Blanckmeister, Franz: Kurfürstin Christiane Eberhardine von Sachsen: eine ev. Bekennerin, Barmen 1892
- Meyer, Johannes: Frauengestalten und Frauenwalten im Hause Wettin, Bautzen 1912
- Haake, Paul: Christiane Eberhardine und August der Starke: eine Ehetragödie, Dresden 1930
- Lauckner, Martin: Eine alte Unterschrift von zarter Hand, in: Sächs. Heimat, Hamburg, Jg. 1981
- Czok, Karl: August der Starke und Kursachsen, Leipzig 1987. Aufgeklärter Absolutismus und kirchlich-religiöse Toleranzpolitik bei August dem Starken, In: Sachsen und die Wettiner. Chancen und Realitäten (Sondernummer der Dresdner Hefte); Dresden 1990
- Fellmann, Walter: Prinzessinnen. Glanz, Einsamkeit und Skandale am sächsischen Hof, Leipzig 1996
[edit] Succession
| Royal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Marie Casimire Louise de la Grange d'Arquien |
Queen consort of Poland (titular) 1697-1706 |
Succeeded by Katarzyna Opalińska |
| Preceded by Katarzyna Opalińska |
Queen consort of Poland (titular) 1709-1727 |
Succeeded by Katarzyna Opalińska |
| Preceded by Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach |
Electress consort of Saxony 1694 - 1727 |
Succeeded by Maria Josepha of Austria |
