Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach
| Sophia Albertine, Countess of Erbach-Erbach | |
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Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach, Duchess of Saxony-Hildburghausen
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| Spouse(s) | Ernest Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen |
| Father | Count George Louis I of Erbach-Erbach |
| Mother | Countess Amalia Katharina of Waldeck-Eisenberg |
| Born |
30 July 1683 Erbach |
| Died | 4 September 1742 (aged 59) Eisfeld |
Sophia Albertine, Countess of Erbach-Erbach (30 July 1683, in Erbach – 4 September 1742, in Eisfeld), was Countess of Erbach-Erbach by birth and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen. From 1724 to 1728, she was Regent of this Thuringian state.
Sophia Albertine was the youngest daughter of General Count George Louis I of Erbach-Erbach (1643–1693) and his wife Countess Amalia Katharina of Waldeck-Eisenberg (1640–1697). She married on 4 February 1704 in Erbach Duke Ernest Frederick I of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Sophia Albertine was responsible for the education of their children because her husband was largely devoted to the life of a soldier outside the country.
After her husband's death in 1724 Sophia Albertine acted as regent for her minor son, Ernest Frederick II of Saxe-Hildburghausen. She managed to reduce the national debt by savings and cuttings. A large part of the court was dismissed and the costly Guard was dissolved. She reduced the number of taxes from 16 to 8. In an attempt to obtain cash, she sold off the valuable ducal library.
Her husband had sold the District of Schalkau to the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen in 1723, in order to raise money. She regarded this sale as illegal. Influenced by Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen, who was in Hildeburghausen at the time, Sophia Albertine declared war on Saxe-Meiningen and had Schalkau occupied militarily on 11 July 1724.
After a fire in the town of Hildeburghausen in 1725, she played a major role in support of those affected. The main hall in the Hildburghausen Palace was equipped with an inlaid floor with a design in a star shape, in the center of which were the Duchess's initials "SA".
After her son took over government in 1728, she retired to her Wittum seat of Eisfeld, where she died on 4 September 1742.
With her husband Ernest Frederick she had the following children:
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