Elisabeth of Hesse, Hereditary Princess of Saxony

Elisabeth of Hesse (4 March 1502 – 6 December 1557) was Hereditary Princess of Saxony in 1519-1537 by marriage to John of Saxony. After the death of her husband, she managed her Wittum (estates that were assigned to her upon marriage), the Saxon districts of Rochlitz and Kriebstein between 1537 and 1547, earning her the name Elisabeth of Rochlitz. She allowed for the spread of Protestantism in her territories. She acted as mediator between her Catholic mother and Lutheran brother, and as the nurse of Maurice of Saxony.

Early life Elisabeth of Hesse was born on 4 March 1502. Her childhood was marked by the struggles of her mother Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin against the Hessian nobility. After the death of her father, William II of Hesse in 1509, in violation of the instructions in his testament, they formed a five-member council, chaired by the steward Ludwig von Boyneburg of Lengsfeld. This Council took over the government on behalf of Elisabeth's brother Philip I, and took Anna and her children under guardianship.

During this period Elisabeth lived with her mother in Gießen, while her brother remained in Kassel under the supervision of Ludwig von Boyneburg of Lengsfeld.

Elisabeth and her mother were financially dependent on the council, who kept them short of money, a fact that was highlighted in 1512. Anna's sister Catherine had married Henry IV of Saxony, and Anna wanted to present Elisabeth at the Saxon court, as she had been promised at a very early age to John, the eldest son of George Duke of Saxony. When Anna requested money to purchase some damask for a dress suitable for court, the request was denied, and the visit then had to be cancelled.

In 1514 Anna regained the regency of Hesse. She received the district of Rochlitz (this included the town of Rochlitz, Rochlitz Castle, Mittweida and Geithain) and the Kriebstein district (including Waldheim and Hartha). Consequently, she is referred to by the name "of Rochlitz". In Rochlitz, Elisabeth brought up Barbara of Hesse, the daughter of her brother.

Elisabeth allowed the Lutheran doctrine in her territory from 1537 onwards, while the rest of Saxony, under her father in law, still adhered to Catholicism. Her brother sent the Protestant preacher Johann Schütz to her and she also joined the Schmalkaldic League in the summer of 1538. She later acted as advisor to Duke Maurice of Saxony when he inherited from his father. In 1540, she exposed the secret bigamy of her brother, Phillip.

After the defeat of the Schmalkalden League, Elisabeth left Rochlitz; her brother gave her the Hessian part of Schmalkalden. She lived here from 1547 at court in Hesse. Her brother fell into imperial captivity, and his wife, Christine of Saxony (1505–1549) took steps to get him released. During this time, Elizabeth was often in Kassel, in order to supervise the education of Philip's children. In 1556 Elisabeth fell seriously ill, after which her brother set up the first pharmacy in Schmalkalden. She died there on 6 December 1557 and was buried in St. Elisabeth's Church in Marburg, one of the last Landgrave burials there.