Anna Maria von Eggenberg, née Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Encyclopedia
Anna Maria Princess of Eggenberg, née Brandenburg-Bayreuth (* 30 December 1609 in Bayreuth; † 8 May 1680 in Ödenburg) was a Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and, by marriage Johann Anton I von Eggenberg, a Fürst
in (princess) of Eggenberg
.
Christian von Brandenburg-Bayreuth
from his marriage with Marie of Prussia
, daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia
.
She was married according to the Roman Catholic rite into the Styrian
noble family of Eggenberg
on 23 October 1639 in Regensburg
to Prince Johann Anton I. von Eggenberg, Duke of Krumau, who subsequently received the opportunity to acquire the shire of Gorizia and Gradisca
along the Adriatic coast two years later from his boyhood friend, Emperor Ferdinand III
. The marriage ceremony had been negotiated by Christian Wilhelm von Brandenburg and prince Johann Anton I thereby secured for himself Brandenburg support for his claim to a seat in the Imperial Diet
. She demonstrated a strong character and conviction by holding on firmly to her family's Protestant faith in spite of her marriage to the son of Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg
, chief minister of Emperor Ferdinand II
, who had prosecuted the Counter-Reformation
in the Habsburg hereditary lands as well as the Thirty Years' War
.
Upon the early death of her husband in 1649 Anna Maria, together with her father and Wolf von Stubenberg
held the guardianship of both under age sons, agreeing to remain in Habsburg hereditary lands and to raise them in the Catholic tradition, as well as administration of the Eggenberg possessions. This, as well as her extensive correspondence with her two sons, showed her to be a wise, circumspect and loving mother. During her guardianship, coins were minted featuring portraits of both sons at the mint in Český Krumlov Castle
. The princess was also a significant patron supporting the construction of the pilgrimage church of Mary of the Snows near Krumau
in Bohemia
.
Having died unexpectedly at the young age of 39, Johann Anton I left his family with only a draft of a testament
that was both unsigned and not notarized but left the bulk of the possessions to the eldest son. The princess Anna Maria refused to recognize the draft as legitimate and administered the Eggenberg possessions until 1664 when the two brothers took-over control, though it wasn't until 1672 that they actually settled on a division of the possessions amongst themselves. Anna Maria further demonstrated her mothering instincts by going personally to the emperor himself to request that her daughter be compensated with an equivalent sum as a dowry
.
Upon a visit to the town of Ödenburg in Hungary in 1670, she found the religious tolerance more open than in the staunchly Catholic Duchy of Styria
and relocated her court in 1674 there to a small city palace, compared with the castle in Krumau
or the Palais Herberstein, a city palace in Graz
. In Sopron she was allowed to hold Protestant services in her courtyard across the street from the former Protestant Church of St. George, which had previously been turned over to the Jesuits. That city palace in Sopron still bears her name as the Eggenberg House and is still adorned with the coat of arms of the princes of Brandenburg-Bayreuth above the main gate and the Hohenzollern
coat of arms beneath what was the pulpit above the courtyard. She died in this house on 8 May 1680 and is interred with her parents in the City Church of Bayreuth.
Fürst
Fürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
in (princess) of Eggenberg
House of Eggenberg
Eggenberg is the name of an Austrian noble family from Styria whose last male heir died in 1717 bringing an end to the House of Eggenberg.- History :The origin of the Austrian noble house of Eggenberg is shrouded in darkness...
.
Life
Anna Maria was a daughter of the MargraveMargrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
Christian von Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach ....
from his marriage with Marie of Prussia
Marie of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Marie of Prussia was a Prussian princess by birth and Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth by marriage.- Life :...
, daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia
Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia
Albert Frederick was duke of Prussia from 1568 until his death. He was a son of Albert of Prussia and Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He was the second and last Prussian duke of the Ansbach branch of the Hohenzollern family.-Duke of Prussia:...
.
She was married according to the Roman Catholic rite into the Styrian
Duchy of Styria
The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...
noble family of Eggenberg
House of Eggenberg
Eggenberg is the name of an Austrian noble family from Styria whose last male heir died in 1717 bringing an end to the House of Eggenberg.- History :The origin of the Austrian noble house of Eggenberg is shrouded in darkness...
on 23 October 1639 in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
to Prince Johann Anton I. von Eggenberg, Duke of Krumau, who subsequently received the opportunity to acquire the shire of Gorizia and Gradisca
Gorizia and Gradisca
The County of Gorizia and Gradisca was a Habsburg county in Central Europe, in what is now a multilingual border area of Italy and Slovenia. It was named for its two major urban centers, Gorizia and Gradisca d'Isonzo.-Province of the Habsburg Empire:...
along the Adriatic coast two years later from his boyhood friend, Emperor Ferdinand III
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand III was Holy Roman Emperor from 15 February 1637 until his death, as well as King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria.-Life:...
. The marriage ceremony had been negotiated by Christian Wilhelm von Brandenburg and prince Johann Anton I thereby secured for himself Brandenburg support for his claim to a seat in the Imperial Diet
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
. She demonstrated a strong character and conviction by holding on firmly to her family's Protestant faith in spite of her marriage to the son of Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg
Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg
Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg was an Austrian statesman, a son of Seyfried von Eggenberg and great-grandson of Balthasar Eggenberger of the House of Eggenberg.- Biography :...
, chief minister of Emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
, who had prosecuted the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
in the Habsburg hereditary lands as well as the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
Upon the early death of her husband in 1649 Anna Maria, together with her father and Wolf von Stubenberg
Stubenberg
Stubenberg is a municipality in the district of Rottal-Inn in Bavaria in Germany....
held the guardianship of both under age sons, agreeing to remain in Habsburg hereditary lands and to raise them in the Catholic tradition, as well as administration of the Eggenberg possessions. This, as well as her extensive correspondence with her two sons, showed her to be a wise, circumspect and loving mother. During her guardianship, coins were minted featuring portraits of both sons at the mint in Český Krumlov Castle
Český Krumlov Castle
Český Krumlov Castle is located in the city Český Krumlov. It dates back to 1240 when the first castle was built by the Witigonen family, the main branch of the powerful Rosenberg family. By the 17th century the Rosenbergs had died out and the dominion of Krumau was given to Hans Ulrich von...
. The princess was also a significant patron supporting the construction of the pilgrimage church of Mary of the Snows near Krumau
Český Krumlov
Český Krumlov is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town and Český Krumlov Castle...
in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
.
Having died unexpectedly at the young age of 39, Johann Anton I left his family with only a draft of a testament
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
that was both unsigned and not notarized but left the bulk of the possessions to the eldest son. The princess Anna Maria refused to recognize the draft as legitimate and administered the Eggenberg possessions until 1664 when the two brothers took-over control, though it wasn't until 1672 that they actually settled on a division of the possessions amongst themselves. Anna Maria further demonstrated her mothering instincts by going personally to the emperor himself to request that her daughter be compensated with an equivalent sum as a dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
.
Upon a visit to the town of Ödenburg in Hungary in 1670, she found the religious tolerance more open than in the staunchly Catholic Duchy of Styria
Duchy of Styria
The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...
and relocated her court in 1674 there to a small city palace, compared with the castle in Krumau
Český Krumlov
Český Krumlov is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town and Český Krumlov Castle...
or the Palais Herberstein, a city palace in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
. In Sopron she was allowed to hold Protestant services in her courtyard across the street from the former Protestant Church of St. George, which had previously been turned over to the Jesuits. That city palace in Sopron still bears her name as the Eggenberg House and is still adorned with the coat of arms of the princes of Brandenburg-Bayreuth above the main gate and the Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
coat of arms beneath what was the pulpit above the courtyard. She died in this house on 8 May 1680 and is interred with her parents in the City Church of Bayreuth.
Offspring
From her marriage she had the following children:- Maria Elisabeth von Eggenberg (1640–1715), FürstFürstFürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
in of Eggenberg
- ∞ 1656 FürstFürstFürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
Ferdinand Joseph von DietrichsteinDietrichsteinDietrichstein was the name of a German/Austrian noble family.Maximilian von Dietrichstein was created Graf von Dietrichstein on 18 September 1612 and Fürst von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg on 24 March 1639...
(1636–1698)- Johann Christian I von Eggenberg (1641–1710), FürstFürstFürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
of Eggenberg
- Johann Christian I von Eggenberg (1641–1710), Fürst
- ∞ 1666 Prinzessin Maria Ernestina zu SchwarzenbergSchwarzenberg- People :* House of Schwarzenberg, Frankish and Bohemian aristocratic family which was first mentioned in 1172** Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg , Field Marshal in Austrian service during the Napoleonic Wars...
(1649–1719)- Maria Franziska (*/† 1643)
- Johann Seyfried von Eggenberg (1644–1713), FürstFürstFürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
of Eggenberg
- ∞ 1666 Princess Maria Eleonora from and to LiechtensteinPrincely Family of LiechtensteinThe Liechtenstein dynasty, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by constitutional, hereditary right over the nation of Liechtenstein...
(1647–1704) - ∞ 1704 GräfinGrafGraf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
Maria Josepha von Orsini-RosenbergOrsini-RosenbergOrsini-Rosenberg is the name of an old Austrian noble family. Originally sprang out from the family Von Graben from Schloss Alt-Grabenhofen near the city of Graz....
(1690–1715)
Literature
- Barbara Kaiser. Schloss Eggenberg. Graz: Christian Brandstätter Verlag, 2006, p. 60. ISBN 3-902510-80-3 (available in German or English editions through the Universalmuseum Joanneum)
- Walther Ernest Heydendorff. Die Fürsten und Freiherren zu Eggenberg und ihre Vorfahren. Graz: Verlag Styria, 1965, pp.161–163, 175–184.
- Christian von Stramberg, Anton Joseph Weidenbach. Denkwürdiger und nützlicher rheinischer Antiquarius: Welcher die wichtisten und angenehmsten geographischen, historischen und politischen Merkwürdigkeiten des ganzen Rheinstroms, von seinem Ausflusse in das Meer bis zu seinem Ursprunge darstellt, Band 1, Teil 4, R. F. Hergt, 1863, p. 413 ff.