principality · Germany and Central Europe
Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst
Origins
Rudolf, a son of Joachim Ernst, received Zerbst in the 1603 partition of Anhalt. The town, north of the Elbe, had been a prosperous brewing centre known for its beer, and the line included the lordship of Jever in Frisia, inherited in 1667.
Rule and society
The principality was Lutheran in its later period and modestly governed from a baroque palace in Zerbst. Its most famous member was Sophie Auguste Friederike, daughter of Prince Christian August, who married the future Peter III and became Empress Catherine II of Russia. Her brother Friedrich August, the last prince, lived mostly abroad and hired out soldiers to Britain during the American Revolutionary War.
Decline and legacy
Friedrich August died without heirs in 1793. The principality was divided among the other Anhalt lines, Dessau, Bernburg and Köthen, while Jever passed to Catherine the Great and so to Russia.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was part of Holy Roman Empire1603 CE – 1793 CE
- Lordship of Jever was part of Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst1667 CE – 1793 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-anhalt-zerbst
- MLA
- “Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-anhalt-zerbst. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-anhalt-zerbst.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-anhalt-zerbst (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻