Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony

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Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony
Electress consort of Bavaria
Tenure	1747-1777
Spouse	Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria
Full name
German: Maria Anna Sophia Sabina Angela Franziska Xaveria
House	House of Wittelsbach House of Wettin
Father	Augustus III of Poland
Mother	Maria Josepha of Austria
Born	29 August 1728(1728-08-29) Dresden
Died	17 February 1797 (aged 68) Munich
Burial	Katholische Hofkirche

Princess Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony (Anna Sophie Sabina Angela Franziska Xaveria; 29 August 1728 in Dresden – 17 February 1797 in Munich) was a daughter of Augustus III of Poland and Maria Josepha of Austria. She was married to the Bavarian Elector Maximilian III Joseph in 1747.

Having no children and heir, Maria Anna negotiated with Frederick II of Prussia after her husband's death in 1777 to secure Bavaria's independence against Austria and to support the succession rights of the Wittelsbach branch Palatinate Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld in Bavaria, since the new Elector Charles Theodore proceeded to cede Lower Bavaria to Austria. A secret treaty with Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II had been concluded, in exchange for Lower Bavaria Charles Theodore was to receive the Austrian Netherlands close to his dominions, the Palatinate, Jülich and Berg.

These plans failed with the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778, in which the Prussian king stifled the Austrian attempts to exchange the Austrian Netherlands for Bavaria. When Emperor Joseph II tried the scheme again in 1784, Frederick created the Fürstenbund.

Maria Anna spent the rest of her life in Fürstenried Palace and enjoyed the gratitude of the Bavarian people and the heirs of the Zweibrücken branch Charles II, Duke of Zweibrücken and his brother Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria who finally succeeded Charles Theodore in 1799.

[edit] Ancestry

v • d • e Ancestors of Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony

16. John George II, Elector of Saxony               8. John George III, Elector of Saxony                       17. Magdalene Sibylle of Brandenburg-Bayreuth               4. Augustus II of Poland                             18. Frederick III of Denmark               9. Anne Sophie of Denmark                       19. Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg               2. Augustus III of Poland                                   20. Erdmann August of Brandenburg-Bayreuth               10. Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth                       21. Sophie of Brandenburg-Ansbach               5. Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth                             22. Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg               11. Sofie Luise of Württemberg                       23. Anna Katharina of Salm-Kyrburg               1. Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony                                         24. Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor               12. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor                       25. Maria Anna of Spain               6. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor                             26. Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine               13. Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg                       27. Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt               3. Maria Josepha of Austria                                   28. George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg               14. John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                       29. Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt               7. Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick                             30. Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern               15. Benedicta-Henrietta of Simmern                       31. Anna Gonzaga

Preceded by Maria Amalia of Austria

Electress of Bavaria 1747-1777

Succeeded by Elizabeth Augusta of Sulzbach