Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Anna Amalia Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (October 24, 1739–April 10, 1807) was an influential cultural force in Weimar, Germany in the 18th century.
The daughter of Karl I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, she was born at Wolfenbüttel and married Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Weimar in 1756. Ernest died in 1758, leaving her regent for their infant son, Carl August.
During Carl August's protracted minority she administered the affairs of the duchy with notable prudence, strengthening its resources and improving its position in spite of the troubles of the Seven Years' War.
As a patron of the arts and literature, she attracted to Weimar many of the most eminent men in Germany, including Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. She hired Christoph Martin Wieland, a poet and translator of William Shakespeare, to tutor her son. She also established the Duchess Anna Amalia Library, now home to some 850,000 volumes.
Anna Amalia was also a notable composer; among her significant works is a Singspiel called Erwin und Elmire (1776), basing her musical on a text by Goethe.
In 1775 she retired into private life, her son having attained his majority. Carl August was also an influential German leader.
A memorial to the duchess is included in Goethe's works under the title Zum Andenken der Furstin Anna-Amalia.
Further reading
- F. Bornhak, Anna Amalia, Herzogin von Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Berlin, Germany: 1892.
External link
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
