Quick Facts
Biography
Agnes of Hesse-Kassel (14 May 1606 in Kassel – 28 May 1650 in Dessau) was a princess of Hesse-Kassel by birth and by marriage Duchess of Anhalt-Dessau.
Life
Agnes was a daughter of Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (1572-1632) from his second marriage to Juliane (1587-1643), the daughter of Count John of Nassau-Dillenburg. She was raised together with her siblings. She spoke six languages and composed music.
On 18 May 1623 she married Prince John Casimir of Anhalt-Dessau (1596-1660). During the Thirty Years' War, she managed to sothen the plight of Anhalt-Dessau by negotiating with the generals, both orally and in writing. She was considered a keen economist and mathematician. In 1645, she built a fortified house in Nischwitz, which was later developed into Oranienbaum Castle.
Issue
From her marriage Agnes had the following children:
- Maurice (1624-1624)
- Dorothea (1625-1626)
- Juliane (1626-1652)
- John George II (1627-1693), who was Prince of Anhalt-Dessau from 1660 to 1693
- married in 1659 to Princess Henriette Catherine of Nassau (1637-1708)
- Louise (1631-1680)
- married in 1648 to Duke Christian of Brzeg (1618-1672)
- Agnes (1644-1644)