Sophie Elisabeth von Anhalt-Dessau

Sophie Elisabeth of Anhalt-Dessau (10 February 1589 – 9 February 1620) was a German princess of the House of Ascania. She was the last abbess of Gernrode (r.1593-1614). After leaving the abbey, Sophie Elisabeth married George Rudolf of Liegnitz and was duchess of Liegnitz until her death in 1620.

Family Sophie Elisabeth was a member of the House of Ascania. Her parents were John George I of Anhalt-Dessau and his first wife, Dorothea of Mansfeld-Arnstein (1561-1594), daughter of John Albert VI of Mansfeld-Arnstein. Sophie Elisabeth had four full siblings, and eleven half-siblings (from her father's second marriage to Dorothea of Simmern). These included John Casimir, Eleonore Dorothea, Sibylle Christine, George Aribert and Susanna Margarete.

Abbess of Gernrode From the age of four, Sophie Elisabeth was abbess of Gernrode. The abbey had been in decline for some time before Sophie Elisabeth's abbacy. In particular, since the fifteenth century members of Sophie Elisabeth's dynasty, the House of Anhalt (descended from the House of Ascania) had successively tried to incorporate the abbey into their own domains. By the time Sophie Elisabeth became abbess, the abbey's possessions covered only about two square miles. Between 1610 and 1614, members of the House of Anhalt incorporated these last remaining possessions of Gernrode into their own domains.

In 1614, Sophie Elisabeth left the abbey in order to marry. Her relatives, the princes of Anhalt, refused to appoint a new abbess and completed the incorporation of Gernrode into their territory. Sophie Elisabeth was thus the last abbess of Gernrode.

Marriage On 4 November 1614 Sophie Elisabeth married her cousin, George Rudolf of Liegnitz in Dessau. A book was written to record their magnificent wedding celebrations. After marrying Sophie Elisabeth, George Rudolf converted from Lutheranism to Calvinism.

As duchess of Liegnitz, Sophie Elisabeth was a literary and musical patron. She brought many volumes of French and Italian works were brought to the ducal library. The writer Martin Opitz wrote several poems about Sophie Elisabeth.

Sophie Elisabeth and George Rudolf had no children together. She died, aged thirty, in 1620.