Elisabeth of Brandenburg-Küstrin

Elisabeth of Brandenburg-Küstrin
Elisabeth of Brandenburg-Küstrin (painting by Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1579, Alte Pinakothek, Munich)
Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Tenure	1558-1578
Born	29 August 1540 Küstrin
Died	8 March 1578(1578-03-08) (aged 37) Warsaw
Burial	Königsberg Cathedral
Spouse	George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
House	House of Hohenzollern
Father	John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin
Mother	Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Elizabeth of Brandenburg-Küstrin (29 August 1540 – 8 March 1578), was a princess of Brandenburg-Küstrin and margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach by marriage.

Life

Elizabeth was the elder of two daughters of Margrave John of Brandenburg-Küstrin (1513–1571) from his marriage to Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1518–1574), daughter of the Duke Henry V of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

On 26 December 1558 Elisabeth married Margrave George Frederick I of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach (1539–1603) in Küstrin. From 1577, he acted as governor in the Duchy of Prussia on behalf of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia.

Elisabeth died during her stay at the Warsaw court, where her husband was to be awarded the ducal title by the Polish king Stefan Batory. Elizabeth was buried in Königsberg Cathedral. Her husband ordered the Dutch sculptor Willem van Bloche to create a grave monument for her. It was completed in 1582 and was erected as a "governor monument" in the Cathedral.

References

• Andrea Baresel-Brand: grave monuments of northern European royal houses in the Age of the Renaissance 1550-1650, Ludwig Verlag, 2007, p. 149 ff.
• C.J. St. Czilsky: Princess Elizabeth of Brandenburg: a historical picture of life during the Reformation, Martens, 1859, p. 342