Maria Leopoldine of Anhalt-Dessau

Maria Leopoldine of Anhalt-Dessau
Leopoldine Marie of Anhalt-Dessau, Princess of Lippe-Detmold, painting by Christian Lisiewsky, 1765
Spouse(s)	Simon August, Count of Lippe-Detmold
Noble family	House of Ascania
Father	Leopold II Maximilian of Anhalt-Dessau
Mother	Gisela Agnes
Born	18 November 1746(1746-11-18) Dessau
Died	15 April 1769(1769-04-15) (aged 22) Detmold

Marie von Anhalt-Dessau Leopoldine (18 November 1746, Dessau – 15 April 1769, Detmold) was a princess of Anhalt-Dessau by birth and by marriage Countess of Lippe-Detmold.

Life

Leopoldine Marie was a daughter of Prince Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau (1700–1751) from his marriage to Gisela Agnes (1722–1751), daughter of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen. She had a particularly close relationship wirh her sisters Agnes and Casimire, with whom she mostly lived together, even after her marriage, and with whom she conducted an extensive correspondence when they were not together.

At age 18, on 28 September 1765 in Dessau, she married Count Simon August (1727–1782) of Lippe-Detmold, who was twice as old as she was. In her letters to her sisters, she complained about being homesick, so her sisters decided to follow her to Detmold. She personally oversaw the modernizing of the princely residence Detmold Castle and the Court at Lemgo.

She died on 15 April 1769, only four years after her marriage. Later that year, Simon August married her sister Casimire.

Issue

From her marriage with Simon August, Marie Leopoldine had one son:

• Leopold I (1767–1802), Prince of Lippe-Detmold, married in 1796 princess Pauline Christine of Anhalt-Bernburg (1769–1820)

References and sources

• Eva Labouvie: Schwestern und Freundinnen: zur Kulturgeschichte weiblicher Kommunikation, Böhlau Verlag, Cologne / Weimar, 2009, p. 321 ff
• This page is a translation of its German equivalent.

Persondata
Name	Leopoldine Maria of Anhalt-Dessau
Alternative names	Leopoldine Marie von Anhalt-Dessau (German)
Short description	Princess of Anhalt-Dessau by birth, and by marriage, Princess of Lippe-Detmold
Date of birth	18 November 1746
Place of birth	Dessau
Date of death	15 April 1769
Place of death	Detmold