Augusta of Denmark
Encyclopedia
Princess Augusta of Denmark (8 April 1580 – 5 February 1639) was the third daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark
and Sophia of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, and Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp
as the wife of Duke John Adolf
. She was politically influential during the reign of her son, Duke Frederick III.
to Duke John Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (1575 –1616) and had eight children. The marriage was tense as the spouses disagreed on religious matters. When in 1610 John Adolf fired the Lutheran vicar Jacob Fabricius the Elder, general provost for Holstein and Schleswig ducal share, and replaced him with a Calvinist, Philipp Caesar, as the official vicar of the ducal court in 1614, Augusta refused to attend service and went by foot to the Lutheran church in Slesvig
.
and reinstated Jacob Fabricius in 1616. She was politically influential during the reign of her son. She governed Husum castle as her dowry
and there promoted arts and culture, music and gardening and schools. She supported and recommended the persecuted writer Anna Ovena Hoyer
, when she fled from Holstein-Gottorp to the Swedish queen, Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg
in 1632. She is described as greedy, and in 1631 she came in conflict with her ruling brother Christian IV of Denmark
over the inheritance of their wealthy mother.
Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.-King of Denmark:Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father, he...
and Sophia of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, and Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp
Holstein-Gottorp
Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. Other parts of the duchies were ruled by the kings of Denmark. The...
as the wife of Duke John Adolf
John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.He was a third son of Duke Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and his wife Christine of Hesse-Kassel . He became the first Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck and the Administrator of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen...
. She was politically influential during the reign of her son, Duke Frederick III.
Marriage
She was married on 30 August 1596 in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
to Duke John Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (1575 –1616) and had eight children. The marriage was tense as the spouses disagreed on religious matters. When in 1610 John Adolf fired the Lutheran vicar Jacob Fabricius the Elder, general provost for Holstein and Schleswig ducal share, and replaced him with a Calvinist, Philipp Caesar, as the official vicar of the ducal court in 1614, Augusta refused to attend service and went by foot to the Lutheran church in Slesvig
Slesvig
Slesvig is the Danish name for:* Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, a German city* The former Duchy of Schleswig * A former name for Hedeby, a Viking Age trading center, originally the largest town in the Nordic Countries...
.
Widowhood
As widow, she fired the Calvinist court vicarVicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
and reinstated Jacob Fabricius in 1616. She was politically influential during the reign of her son. She governed Husum castle as her 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...
and there promoted arts and culture, music and gardening and schools. She supported and recommended the persecuted writer Anna Ovena Hoyer
Anna Ovena Hoyer
Anna Ovena Hoyer was a writer and poet, originally German; active in Sweden from 1632...
, when she fled from Holstein-Gottorp to the Swedish queen, Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg
Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg
Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg was a German princess and queen consort of Sweden.She was the daughter of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, and Anna, Duchess of Prussia, daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia....
in 1632. She is described as greedy, and in 1631 she came in conflict with her ruling brother Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
over the inheritance of their wealthy mother.
Issue
Her marriage to John Adolf produced eight children, four boys and four girls. Her last child, a son, did not survive infancy.- Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp (22 December 1597 – 10 August 1659).
- Elisabeth Sofie (12 October 1599 – 25 November 1627), married on 5 March 1621 to Duke Augustus of Saxe-Lauenburg.
- Adolf (15 September 1600 – 19 September 1631).
- Dorothea Augusta (12 May 1602 – 13 March 1682), married in 1633 to Joachim Ernst I, Duke of Holstein-Plön (Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderborg-Plön), son of John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg.
- Hedwig (23 December 1603 – 22 March 1657), married on 15 July 1620 to Augustus, Count Palatine of SulzbachAugustus, Count Palatine of SulzbachAugustus was the Count Palatine of Sulzbach from 1614 until 1632.-Life:Augustus was born in Neuburg in 1582 as the second son of Philip Louis of Palatinate-Neuburg and Anna of Cleves...
. - Anna (19 December 1605 – 20 March 1623).
- Johann (18 March 1606 – 21 February 1655).
- Christian (born and died 1 December 1609).