Anna of Hesse

Early life

Anna was a daughter of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse (1501–1567) from his marriage to Princess Christine of Saxony (1505–1549), a daughter of Duke George of Saxony.

Biography

She married Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken (1526–1569) on 24 February 1544. After the death of her husband, Anna and her brother William and Elector Palatine Louis VI jointly acted as guardians for her children. William was also the executor of Wolfgang's testament.

Around 1590, Anna founded the St. Anne's churchyard in Heidelberg. In 1596, a stone monument in her honor was erected in this churchyard. When the churchyard was closed in 1845, the monument was moved to the Bergfriedhof churchyard.

Anna died in 1591 and was buried in the Lutheran Church of Meisenheim Castle.

Issue

Anna was constantly pregnant during much of her marriage, giving birth to thirteen children in just eighteen years. Ten of them lived to adulthood:

Christine (1546–1619)

Philip Louis (1547–1614), Count Palatine of Palatinate-Neuburg

married in 1574 princess Anna of Cleves (1552–1632)

John I (1550–1604), Count Palatine of Palatinate-Zweibrücken

married in 1579 princess Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1553–1633)

Dorothea Agnes (1551–1552), died in infancy

Elizabeth (1553–1554), died in infancy

Anna (1554–1576)

Elizabeth (1555–1625)

Otto Henry (1556–1604), Count Palatine of Palatinate-Sulzbach

married in 1582 duchess Marie Dorothea of Württemberg (1559–1639)

Frederick (1557–1597), Count Palatine of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauss-Parkstein

married in 1587 duchess Catherine Sophie of Legnica (1561–1608)

Barbara (1559–1618)

married in 1591 Count Gottfried of Oettingen-Oettingen (1554–1622)

Charles I (1560–1600), Count Palatine of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld

married in 1586 duchess Maria Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1570–1649)

Maria Elisabeth (1561–1629)

married in 1585 Count Emich XII of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg (1562–1607)

Susanna (1564–1565), died in infancy