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Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach Wikipedia

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Anna Amalia Duchess of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach (October 24, 1739–April 10, 1807) was an influential cultural force in Weimar, Saxe-Weimar, Holy Roman Empire, and regent of the states of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach from 1759 to 1775.

The daughter of Karl I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenb??ttel, she was born at Wolfenb??ttel and married Ernest Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach|Ernst August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, in 1756. Ernst died in 1758, leaving her regent for their infant son, Carl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach|Carl August.

During Carl August's 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 F??rstin Anna-Amalia.

Last Modified:   2005-12-19