Princess Dorothea of Saxony (7 January 1591 - 17 November 1617) reigned as Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg from 1610 until her death.

Dorothea was born in Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

 to Christian I, Elector of Saxony

Christian I, Elector of Saxony

Christian I of Saxony was Elector of Saxony from 1586 to 1591.He was the sixth but second surviving son of Elector Augustus of Saxony and Anna of Denmark...

, and his wife, Princess Sophie of Brandenburg

Sophie of Brandenburg

Sophie of Brandenburg was a Princess of Brandenburg and by marriage Electress of Saxony. From 1591 she was the regent of Saxony during the minority of her son Christian II.- Biography :...

. Her baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 was notably held without the customary exorcism

Exorcism

Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...

.

Reign

On 18 April 1610, Dorothea was elected successor of Princess-Abbess Maria of Quedlinburg

Maria, Abbess of Quedlinburg

Duchess Maria of Saxe-Weimar was Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg from 1601 until her death.Born in Weimar, Maria was the daughter of John William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Sybille of Cleves....

. Vogt

Vogt

A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...

 and patron of the abbey-principality at the time was Dorothea's brother, Christian II, Elector of Saxony. Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor

Rudolf II was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Hungary and Croatia , King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria...

 confirmed her election on 19 July.

Dorothea's relatively short reign was uneventful. She granted additional rights to the town of Quedlinburg and raised the income of preachers and teachers.

The 26-year-old Princess-Abbess died suddenly in Dresden during a visit to her brother. She was buried in Freiberg

Freiberg

-Places:* Freiberg, Saxony, Germany** Freiberg , Saxony, Germany** Freiberg subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp* Freiberg am Neckar, Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany...

. As she had not selected her coadjurix, the chapter elected Countess Palatine Anna Sophia of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld

Anna Sophia I, Abbess of Quedlinburg

Countess Palatine Anna Sophia of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld reigned as Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg and, as such, she is referred to as Anna Sophia I....

.

Ancestry

Dorothea's ancestors in three generations

Dorothea, Abbess of Quedlinburg	Father: Christian I, Elector of Saxony Christian I, Elector of Saxony Christian I of Saxony was Elector of Saxony from 1586 to 1591.He was the sixth but second surviving son of Elector Augustus of Saxony and Anna of Denmark...	Paternal Grandfather: Augustus, Elector of Saxony Augustus, Elector of Saxony Augustus was Elector of Saxony from 1553 to 1586.-First years:Augustus was born in Freiberg, the youngest child and third son of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony, and Catherine of Mecklenburg. He consequently belonged to the Albertine branch of the Wettin family...	Paternal Great-grandfather: Henry IV, Duke of Saxony Henry IV, Duke of Saxony Henry IV the Pious, Duke of Saxony was a Duke of Saxony from the House of Wettin.-Biography:Heinrich was the second son of Albert, Duke of Saxony and his wife Sidonie Podiebrad, princess of Bohemia...
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Catherine of Mecklenburg Catherine of Mecklenburg Catherine of Mecklenburg , Duchess of Saxony, was the daughter of the Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg and Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin. She married on 6 July 1512 in Freiberg Duke Henry the Pious of Saxony...
		Paternal Grandmother: Anna of Denmark Anne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony Anne of Denmark or Anna was Electress of Saxony and Margravine of Meissen. She was a member of the House of Oldenburg.- Life :...	Paternal Great-grandfather: Christian III of Denmark Christian III of Denmark Christian III reigned as king of Denmark and Norway. He was the eldest son of King Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:...
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg , consort of Christian III from 1525 and Queen consort of Denmark and Norway. She was daughter of Duke Magnus I of Saxe-Lauenburg and Catherine, daughter of Henry IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
	Mother: Sophie of Brandenburg Sophie of Brandenburg Sophie of Brandenburg was a Princess of Brandenburg and by marriage Electress of Saxony. From 1591 she was the regent of Saxony during the minority of her son Christian II.- Biography :...	Maternal Grandfather: John George, Elector of Brandenburg John George, Elector of Brandenburg John George of Brandenburg was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and a Duke of Prussia...	Maternal Great-grandfather: Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim II Hector was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg . A member of the House of Hohenzollern, Joachim II was the son of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden...
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Magdalena of Saxony Magdalena of Saxony Magdalena of Saxony was Margravine of Brandenburg, its "Electoral Princess", the Electoral equivalent of a crown princess.She was the daughter of George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony and his wife Barbara...
		Maternal Grandmother: Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach was a princess of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage.- Life :...	Maternal Great-grandfather: George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach George of Brandenburg-Ansbach was a Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from the House of Hohenzollern.- Early life :...
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Hedwig of Münsterberg-Oels Hedwig of Münsterberg-Oels Hedwig of Münsterberg Oels was born Duchess of Münsterberg and Oels and Countess of Kladsko and by marriage Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach....