She was the first
Protestant Abbess of Quedlinburg, having embraced
Lutheranism in 1539. Anna did not dare to express her Evangelical confession during the reign of
George, Duke of Saxony. However, George died in 1539 and was succeeded by his Protestant brother,
Henry IV, which left Anna II free to publicly express her Lutheran faith and introduce the
Reformation to Quedlinburg.{{cite book Anna, who governed over a sizeable territory, established Lutheranism in all the houses under her jurisdiction; the choir service in the Abbey Church was abandoned and the monastic offices reduced to four, although the ancient, official titles remained. This resulted in the abrogation of the
Catholic religion at Quedlinburg Abbey. As princess-abbess, Anna II controlled nine churches, two male monasteries and a hospital. During her reign, she established a
consistory and set the salaries for school and church officials. She made all priests swear to the
Augsburg Confession. She turned a Franciscan monastery into a school for both male and female children, although the order raised objections to her decision. Despite her clearly Protestant religious views, both the Pope and the
Holy Roman Emperor gave her permission to choose a coadjutor abbess when she expressed a need for help in her later years.{{cite book Anna died on 4 March 1574 at the age of seventy and was succeeded by
Countess Elisabeth of Regenstein-Blankenburg (Elisabeth II) the following day. == See also ==