Anna III, Abbess of Quedlinburg

Princess-Abbess Anna III

Anna III, also known as Anna of Stolberg (3 April 1565 - 12 May 1601) was Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg from 1584 until her death.

Anna was the daughter of Count Henry of Stolberg (1509-1572) and his wife, Elisabeth of Gleichen (died 1578).

Anna III was elected to succeed Elisabeth II, Abbess of Quedlinburg. The election of the new princess-abbess was confirmed by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. She frequently confronted Quedlinburg city council and the city patron, Christian I, Elector of Saxony, and appealed to the Emperor for support.

Elector Christian I died in 1591 and was succeeded by Elector Christian II under the regency of Frederick William I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. The Princess-Abbess selected Anne Margaret of Brunswick-Harburg as her coadjutrix but the Duke of Saxe-Weimar refused to consent as he wanted his own sister, Maria, to succeed Anna III.

Anna III died suddeny aged 36 after a walk. The official cause of her death was stroke. She was succeeded by her enemy's sister.

Regnal titles
Anna III House of Stolberg
Preceded by Elisabeth II	Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg 1584- 1601	Succeeded by Maria

Abbesses of Quedlinburg

Roman Catholic abbesses (966–1540)	Matilda Adelaide I Beatrice I Adelaide II Eilica Agnes I Gerberga Beatrice II Meregart Adelaide III Agnes II Sophia Bertradis I Cunigunde Osterlinde Gertrud Bertradis II Jutta Luitgard Agnes III Elisabeth I Margaret Irmgard Adelaide IV Anna I Hedwig Magdalene Anna II

Lutheran abbesses (1540–1803)	Anna II Elisabeth II Anna III Maria Dorothea Dorothea Sophia Anna Sophia I Anna Sophia II Anna Dorothea Marie Elisabeth Anna Amalia Sophia Albertina

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 11, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.