Background
She was a daughter of Count Philip III of Hanau-Münzenberg and his wife, Countess Palatine Helena of Simmern. On 15 June 1571 Dorothea married with Count Anton of Ortenburg (5 September 1530 – 23 May 1573), a member of the Aulic Council and governor of Heidenheim on behalf of Württemberg and son of Count Joachin of Ortenburg, who with his ally Frederick III, Elector Palatine established the Protestantism in his domains against the adjacent Roman Catholic Duchy of Bavaria ruled by Albert V. This marriage, in consecuence, strengthened the Protestant cause in Germany and indirectly was seen as a threat to Bavaria.