Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein


Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein was a Countess of Wolfstein by birth and a Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach by marriage.

Early life and ancestry

Sophie Christiane was a daughter of Count Albrecht Frederick of Wolfstein-Sulzbürg from his marriage to Countess Sophia Louise of Castell-Remlingen, daughter of Count Georg Wolfgang of Castell-Remlingen and Countess Sophie Juliane of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Pfedelbach. Sophie Christiane's maternal uncle Count Wolfgang Dietrich of Castell-Remlingen was married to Countess Dorothea Renata von Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, an aunt of Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf. Due to the connection, Sophie Christiane was consequently raised strictly religiously in the Pietist manner, in which she remained for the rest of her life.

Marriage

On 14 August 1687, she married Christian Heinrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach, at Obersulzbürg Castle, an ancestral seat of her family. The margrave's court at Bayreuth felt that his spouse was "not befitting", as her family only recently acquired the status of reigning Imperial Count for immediate Lordship of Sulzbürg-Pyrbaum. In the end, after many obstacles, the marriage was recognized and treated as an equal one.
After the birth of their first child, the couple moved into the castle at Schönberg, where Sophie Christiane, who was described as "admirable," took care of raising her many children, half of whom went on to die in early childhood. Despite constant pregnancies, she composed a prayer book, the so-called Schönberger Gesangbuch, containing the prayers used in the daily "prayer meeting". In 1703, Christian Heinrich and King Frederick I of Prussia concluded the Treaty of Schönberg, in which Christian Heinrich ceded Brandenburg-Ansbach to Prussia in exchange for the Weferlingen district near Magdeburg. The family then moved to Weferlingen Castle.

Later life in Denmark

After her husband's death, her son-in-law, King Christian VI of Denmark, invited her to Denmark, which became a Pietist refuge.

Death

Margravine Sophie Christiane died in Copenhagen on 23 August in 1737, at the age of 69. Her body was buried in the Roskilde Cathedral, Copenhagen, Kingdom of Denmark.

Issue

Sophie Christiane had 24 pregnancies in 27 years but gave birth to only 14 children of which seven survived into adulthood:
  1. Georg Frederick Karl, who finally inherited Bayreuth in 1726.
  2. Albert Wolfgang.
  3. Dorothea Charlotte ; married on 7 August 1711 to Karl Ludwig, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim.
  4. Frederick Emanuel ; died in infancy.
  5. Christiane Henriette ; died in early childhood.
  6. Frederick Wilhelm ; died in infancy.
  7. A miscarriage of a daughter in the 4th month of pregnancy.
  8. A miscarriage of a daughter in the 6th month of pregnancy.
  9. Christiane.
  10. Christian August ; died in early childhood.
  11. Sophie Magdalene ; married on 7 August 1721 to King Christian VI of Denmark.
  12. Christine Wilhelmine ; died in early childhood.
  13. Frederick Ernest ; married on 26 December 1731 to Duchess Christine Sophie of Brunswick-Bevern. The union was childless.
  14. Marie Eleonore ; died in infancy.
  15. Sophie Caroline ; married on 8 December 1723 to George Albert, Prince of East Frisia.
  16. A miscarriage in the 1st month of pregnancy.
  17. A miscarriage of a son in the 4th and a half month of pregnancy.
  18. Frederick Christian, inherited Bayreuth in 1763.
  19. A miscarriage in the 1st month of pregnancy.
  20. A miscarriage in the 1st month of pregnancy.
  21. A miscarriage in the 1st month of pregnancy.
  22. A miscarriage of a son in the 5th and a half month of pregnancy.
  23. A miscarriage of a son in the 4th and a half month of pregnancy.
  24. A miscarriage in 1714.