Dorothea Maria of Saxe-Weimar | |
---|---|
Duchess consort of Saxe-Zeitz | |
Reign | 1657-1675 |
Born |
Weimar |
14 October 1641
Died | 11 June 1675 Moritzburg Palace in Zeitz |
(aged 33)
Spouse | Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz |
Issue |
Erdmuthe Dorothea, Duchess of Saxe-Merseburg Maurice William, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz Prince Christian August Frederick Henry, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz-Pegau-Neustadt |
Father | William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar |
Mother | Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau |
Dorothea Maria of Saxe-Weimar (14 October 1641 - 11 June 1675), was by birth Duchess of Saxe-Weimar from the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Zeitz.
Born in Weimar, Dorothea Maria was the youngest daughter of Duke William IV of Saxe-Weimar from his marriage to Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau, the daughter of Prince John George I of Anhalt-Dessau. She was named after her maternal grandmother Dorothea Maria of Anhalt, who had already died at that point in time.
Her marriage to Duke Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz can be understood against the background of the fact that Maurice had been administrator of the Bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz since 1653 and lived in City Palace in Naumburg. Furthermore, Maurice had been a member since 1646, of the Fruitbearing Society, led by Dorothea Maria's father.
Maurice had been married before and had been a widower since 7 October 1652. When the customary mourning period had ended, he married Dorothea Maria, who was only 15 years old. Maurice's father, Elector John George I of Saxony died. Maurice inherited the Lordship of Zeitz as an apanage, making him the founder of the Saxe-Zeitz branch of the House of Wettin.
Maurice held that the City Palace in Naumburg was not a befitting residence for a person of his station and summoned his father court architect, Johann Moritz Richter, to discuss the design of a magnificent baroque palace, Moritzburg Palace, in his new capital Zeitz.