Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg
Encyclopedia
Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg (13 June 1672 – 15 October 1741) was the legal Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg in the eyes of the Holy Roman Emperor, the overlord of Saxe-Lauenburg, from 1689 until 1728; however, because her distant cousin George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
George William was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled first over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, then over the Lüneburg subdivision. In 1689 he occupied the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg....

, conquered the duchy by force in 1689, she exercised no control over the territory, instead living in her 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...

.

She was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of the last Medici Grand Duke, Gian Gastone
Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Gian Gastone de' Medici was the seventh and last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, Princess of France...

.

Anna Maria Franziska was the elder surviving daughter of Julius Franz, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, and Maria Hedwig of the Palatinate-Sulzbach. She married Philipp Wilhelm August of the Palatinate in 1690, whom she had her only child with, Maria Anna, in 1691. She was widowed in 1693. Four years later, she married Gian Gastone de' Medici, a Prince of Tuscany. With her brother-in-law Ferdinando de' Medici's death in 1713, her husband became Tuscany's heir-apparent. She became Grand Duchess of Tuscany upon the incument ruler's death in 1723. She was Grand Duchess for fourteen years before being widowed by Gian Gastone in 1737.

Early life

Anna Maria Franziksa of Saxe-Lauenburg was born on 13 June 1673. She was the second child of the reigning duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and Maria Hedwig of Sulzbach, who died when Anna Maria Franziska was nine years-old.

With the death of her father Duke Julius Francis on 30 September 1689 the Lauenburg line of the House of Ascania was extinct in the male line. However, female succession was possible by the Saxe-Lauenburgian laws. So the legal female heir to the throne, Duchess Anna Maria Franziska, and her sister Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg fought for the succession of the former, the elder of them. Also Julius Francis' cousin, Eleonore Charlotte of Saxe-Lauenburg-Franzhagen
Eleonore Charlotte of Saxe-Lauenburg-Franzhagen
Eleonore Charlotte of Saxe-Lauenburg-Franzhagen was a duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg by birth and, by marriage, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Franzhagen, whose line and territorial legacy she co-founded.- Life :...

, claimed the succession. Their weakness was abused by Duke George William
George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
George William was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled first over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, then over the Lüneburg subdivision. In 1689 he occupied the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg....

 of the neighbouring Brunswick-Lunenburg
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...

ian Principality of Lunenburg-Celle, who invaded Saxe-Lauenburg with his troops, thus inhibiting Anna Maria's ascension as Duchess regnant.

Also other monarchies claimed the succession, evoking a conflict further involving the neighbouring duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1348, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV...

 and of Danish Holstein, as well as the five Ascanian-ruled Principalities of Anhalt, the Electorate of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...

, which had succeeded the Saxe-Wittenbergian Ascanians in 1422, Sweden and Brandenburg. The conflict was finally settled on 9 October 1693 (Hamburger Vergleich), definitely ousting the dispossessed Anna Maria and her sister. Both sisters never gave up the claim.

Emperor Leopold I rejected Celle's succession and thus retained the Saxe-Lauenburgian exclave of Hadeln
Land Hadeln
Land Hadeln is a historic landscape and former administrative district in North Germany with its seat in Otterndorf on the lower reaches of the River Elbe, in the Elbe-Weser Triangle between the estuaries of the Elbe and Weser...

, which was out of Celle's reach, in his custody. Only in 1728 his son Emperor Charles VI enfeoffed George II Augustus
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...

 with Saxe-Lauenburg, finally legitimising the de facto takeover by his grandfather in 1689 and 1693. In 1731 George II Augustus also gained Hadeln from imperial custody.

First marriage

Anna Maria married Philipp Willhelm August of the Palatinate-Neuburg. The wedding was at Raudnitz in 29 October 1690. He was the eighth son of Philip William, Elector Palatine. They had two children together, one survived to adulthood:
  • Leopoldine Eleonore Elisabeth Auguste, (b. Neuburg, 22 October 1691 - d. Reichstadt, 8 March 1693).

  • Marie Anne Karoline Louise Franziska, (b. Reichstadt, 30 January 1693 - d. Ahaus, 12 September 1751), married on 5 February 1719 to Duke Ferdinand Maria Innocenz of Bavaria (1699–1738), he was the sixth son of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
    Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
    Maximilian II , also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg...

     and an Imperial Field Marshal; with whom she had two sons and one daughter:
    • Duke Maximilian Joseph Franz of Bavaria, (b. Munich, 11 April 1720 - d. Munich, 28 April 1738),
    • Duke Klemens Franz de Paula of Bavaria, (b. Munich, 19 April 1722 - d. Munich, 6 August 1770), married 17 January 1742 to Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Sulzbach (1722–1790), daughter of Joseph Charles, Count Palatine of Sulzbach and Elizabeth Augusta of the Palatinate, the couple had one son and three daughters, who all died very young
    • Duchess Therese Emanuele of Bavaira, (b. Munich, 22 July 1723 - d. Frankfurt, 27 March 1743),


Philipp Wilhelm died on 5 April 1693.

Second marriage

Cosimo III de' Medici coaxed his son into marrying Anna Maria Franziska for dynastic purposes, she was very wealthy, and brought a possible claim to the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg through her father. The Medici family need an heir, Gian Gastone's brother, Ferdinando, had not produced a child. They were married on 2 July 1697 by the Bishop of Osnabruck
Bishop of Osnabrück
The Bishop of Osnabrück is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück, the current incumbent is Franz-Josef Hermann Bode. Theodor Kettmann is his auxiliary bishop.- List of Bishops of Osnabrück :*Paul Ludolf Melchers...

 at Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

. They lived in Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...

, at the castle of Ploschkowitz
Ploskovice
Ploskovice is a village and municipality in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 384 ....

, near Reichstadt
Zákupy
Zákupy is a town in the Česká Lípa District, Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. The number of inhabitants is 2,642.-History:The earliest preserved document where the city appears is from 1306....

.

The new Princess of Tuscany had sprawling estates in the region. At the time of their marriage, contemporaries described the princess as "appalling and immensely fat". Anna Maria Franziska dominated her weak husband, which drove him into the arms of alcohol. He deplored her behaviour, "capriciousness, peevish faces and sharp words". Gian Gastone stayed with his wife for a mere ten months, before fleeing to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

. The princess refused to leave Reichstadt, despite her husband's constant protestations. She believed that the Medici were in the habit of murdering their consorts.

The Grand Duke attempted to force his daughter-in-law to move back to Tuscany with Gian Gastone. He asked the Pope, Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...

, to send the Archbishop of Prague to reproach her, and convince her to fulfil her wifely obligations. She replied that there was no point because Gian Gastone was "absolutely impotent". He left without her in 1708. Ferdinando, the heir to the collapsing grand duchy, died in 1713. Ergo, she became the Grand Princess of Tuscany.

Later life

Gian Gastone became Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1723, and, she, the Grand Duchess. Her husband continued to live in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, Tuscany's capital, and never saw his wife again. Gian Gastone lived a frivolous life there, staying up all night and waking up in the afternoon. As Grand Duchess, Anna Maria Franziska kept to her life of solitude at her castle, where she talked to the horses in the stables. Gian Gastone died in 1737. As the Medici had no male heir, Francis Stephan of Lorraine ascended the grand ducal throne. She died in 1741.

Ancestry



See also

  • Grand Duchy of Tuscany
    Grand Duchy of Tuscany
    The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence...

  • House of Medici
  • Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
    Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
    Cosimo III de' Medici was the penultimate Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. Cosimo's 53-year long reign, the longest in Tuscan history, was marked by a series of ultra-reactionary laws which regulated prostitution and...


See also

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