Hedwig of the Palatinate-Sulzbach

Marie Hedwig Auguste of Sulzbach (German: Marie Hedwig Auguste von Sulzbach; born: 15 April 1650 in Sulzbach; died: 23 November 1681 in Hamburg) was a Countess Palatine of Sulzbach by birth and by marriage, Archduchess of Austria and by her second marriage, Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg.

Life

Hedwig was a daughter of the Duke and Count Palatine Christian August of Sulzbach (1622–1708) from his marriage to Amalie (1615–1669) daughter of Count John VII of Nassau-Siegen.

She married on 3 June 1665 per cura in the court chapel of Sulzbach to Archduke Sigismund Francis of Austria-Tyrol (1630–1665), who had, after his brother's unexpected death, resigned from his ecclesiastical positions, in order to marry. He could not consummate his marriage. He was travelling to meet his bride, but fell seriously ill and died in Innsbruck, twelve days after the marriage.

Hedwig's second husband was on 9 April 1668 in Sulzbach Duke Julius Francis of Saxe-Lauenburg (1641–1689). Her father had a memorial stone erected in the parish church in Sulzbach in 1668 to commemorate her second marriage. Hedwig had been assured an annual income of 20000guilders at her first marriage; Julius Francis made a deal with the imperial court, in which Hedwig would receive a lump sum instead.

Hedwig died in 1681 and was buried in the White Castle at Ostrov (German: Schlackenwerth).

Issue

Hedwig from her second marriage had the following children:

• Anna Maria Theresia (1670–1671)
• Anna Maria Franziska (1672–1741)

married firstly in 1690 Count Palatine Philip William of Neuburg (1668-1693)

married secondly 1697 Grand Duke Gian Gastone de' Medici of Tuscany (1671-1737)

• Sybille (1675–1733)

married in 1690 Margrave Louis William of Baden-Baden (1655-1707)

References and sources

• Theologische Quartalschrift, vol. 50, H. Laupp, 1868, p. 106 Digitized
• Johann Samuel Ersch: Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste, section 2 part 28, J. f. Gleditsch, 1851, p. 363