Anna Nitschmann

Anna Caritas Nitschmann, Countess von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, (24 November 1715 – 21 May 1760) was a Moravian Brethren missionary (Missionarin), lyrical poet, and the second wife of Count Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf.

By virtue of her marriage, she became a member of the House of Zinzendorf, one of the most prominent noble families in the region.

She was born the younger daughter of David Nitschmann (1676–1758) and his wife, Anna Schneider (1680–1735); her father was a Moravian confessor and the family fled from persecution when she was ten years old;[1] she served as the Chief Eldress of the Renewed Moravian Church for most of her life, from the age of 14.

[2] Her duties as Chief Eldress were to serve as a spiritual mentor and counsellor to the female members of the congregations.

[4] Most of her life was spent in close connection with the Zinzendorf household, although in 1740 she travelled to America with Johanna Sophia Molther to carry out itinerant mission work among the women of southeastern Pennsylvania.