Welser, Philippine#
Welser, Philippine, b. Augsburg (Germany), 1527, d. Ambras Palace, Innsbruck (Tyrol), April 24, 1580. Patrician's daughter from Augsburg. At the Imperial Diet of Augsburg she met Archduke Ferdinand II, whom she married in 1557 in Bohemia. This marriage remained a secret from the Imperial Family until 1559 and from the public until 1576. She resided mainly at Ambras Palace, collected medicinal herbs and wrote a book containing many medicinal recipes. Her sons Andreas von Oesterreich (b. Bresnitz/Březnice Castle (Czech Republic), June 15, 1558, d. Rome (Italy), Nov. 12, 1600), Bishop of Constance and Brixen/Bressanone, and Karl von Oesterreich (b. Buerglitz/Křvoklát Palace, Czech Republic (then Buerglitz), Nov. 22, 1560, d. Ueberlingen (Germany), Oct. 31, 1618), Imperial General in Hungary, were appointed Margraves of Burgau (city in Bavaria, then part of "Vorder-Oesterreich").
Literature#
S.-M. Groessing, Kaufmannstochter im Kaiserhaus. P. W. und ihre Heilkunst, 1992; P. W. und Anna Caterina Gonzaga, exhibition catalogue, Schloss Ambras, Innsbruck 1998.