Sibylla of Anhalt was an Ascanian princess of Anhalt

Anhalt

Anhalt was a sovereign county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Dukes of Anhalt :...

 who became Duchess of Württemberg

Württemberg

Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....

 by marriage to Duke Frederick I

Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg

Friedrich I of Württemberg was the son of Georg of Mömpelgard and his wife Barbara of Hesse, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse....

. She was the fourth (but third surviving) daughter of Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt

Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt

Joachim Ernest of Anhalt , was a German prince of the House of Ascania, ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and from 1570 sole ruler of all the Anhalt lands....

, by his first wife Agnes, daughter of Wolfgang I, Count of Barby-Mühlingen.

Life

Sibylla was born in Bernburg

Bernburg

Bernburg is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the district of Salzlandkreis. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 30 km downstream from Halle. The town is dominated by its huge Renaissance castle featuring a museum as well as a popular, recently updated bear pit in its...

 in 1564. In 1577, her elder sister Anna Maria

Anna Maria of Anhalt

Anna Maria of Anhalt , was by birth a member of the House of Ascania and a princess of Anhalt. After her marriage, she was Duchess of Legnica-Brzeg-Oława-Wołów....

 was relieved from her post as Imperial abbess of Gernrode

Gernrode

Gernrode is a town and a former municipality in Germany, in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt. The town was first mentioned in 961 and became a city in 1539. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Quedlinburg...

 and Frose

Frose

Frose is a village and a former municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 15 July 2009, it is part of the town Seeland....

 in order to marry Joachim Frederick

Joachim Frederick of Brieg

Joachim Frederick of Brieg Joachim Frederick of Brieg Joachim Frederick of Brieg , , was a Duke of Oława and Wołów and Brzeg and Legnica ....

, eldest son and heir of the duke of Brieg; under pressure from her father, the Chapter elected Sibylla her successor. Sibylla was confirmed in office by the emperor, Rudolph II. During her reign as Abbess the only record of her activities comes from an abbey document in which she invests the widow of Stefan Molitor (the first Evangelical Superintendent of the abbey) with a piece of land.

In 1581, Sibylla was relieved of her post as Abbess in order to marry Frederick

Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg

Friedrich I of Württemberg was the son of Georg of Mömpelgard and his wife Barbara of Hesse, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse....

, Count of Mömpelgard and heir apparent of the Duchy of Württemberg. The marriage was arranged by her stepmother, Eleonore of Württemberg. The wedding took place in Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

 on 22 May of that year. Her successor as abbess was her younger half-sister Agnes Hedwig (later the Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg).

Only sixteen years old at the time of her wedding, Sibylla bore her husband fifteen children during the first fifteen years of their marriage. However, she did not play a prominent role in court life or have any influence over her husband; marital fidelity was not compatible with his view of the prerogatives of an absolutist monarch

Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...

. After the birth of their last child, the couple virtually lived apart. On his frequent travels to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Frederick did not take Sybilla with him. He succeeded his father's cousin Ludwig as Duke of Württemberg in 1593.

Sibylla was anxious to expand her knowledge of botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

 and chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

. To veil her interest in the dubious discipline of alchemy

Alchemy

Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...

, she explained her activity as gathering an herbal collection for the production of medicine for the poor. As scientific adviser, she appointed Helena Magenbuch, a daughter of Johann Magenbuch, the personal physician of Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

 and Emperor Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

. Helena Magenbuch was awarded the title Pharmacist of the Württemberg court. From 1606/1607, Maria Andreae took over this post.

After the death of her husband in 1608, Sibylla withdrew to Leonberg

Leonberg

Leonberg is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg about 10 miles to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. Approximately 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third biggest borough in the rural district of Böblingen .Leonberg is most famous for its picturesque market...

, where she commissioned the architect Heinrich Schickhardt to develop Schloss Leonberg

Schloss Leonberg

Schloss Leonberg was founded in 1248 by count Ulrich I of Württemberg. The original castle was modified between 1560 and 1565 by the master builder Aberlin Tretsch by order of the duke Christoph....

and create the famous Pomeranzengarten (Orange Garden) in Renaissance style. In 1609 Schickhardt built a lakeside house not far from Leonberg (Seehaus Leonberg) that was used as a hunting lodge. Sibylla died in Leonberg 1614.