John George, Elector of Brandenburg
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John George | |
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John George, Elector of Brandenburg (Oil on canvas by Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1564) | |
Elector of Brandenburg | |
Reign | 3 January 1571 – 8 January 1598 |
Predecessor | Joachim II Hector |
Successor | Joachim Frederick |
Born | Cölln, Margraviate of Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire | 11 September 1525
Died | 8 January 1598 Cölln, Margraviate of Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire | (aged 72)
Burial | |
Spouses | |
Issue among others… |
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House | Hohenzollern |
Father | Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg |
Mother | Magdalena of Saxony |
Religion | Lutheran |
John George of Brandenburg (German: Johann Georg von Brandenburg; 11 September 1525 – 8 January 1598) was a prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1571–1598).
Early life
[edit]Born as a member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the son of Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg, and his first wife Princess Magdalena of Saxony.
Biography
[edit]Faced with large debts of 2.5 million guilder accumulated during the reign of his father, John George instituted a grain tax which drove part of the peasantry into dependence on a nobility that was exempt from taxation. He had Jews expelled from Brandenburg in 1573, stripped of their assets and prohibited from returning. Though a staunch Lutheran opposed to the rise of Calvinism, he permitted the admission of Calvinist refugees from the wars in the Spanish Netherlands and France. On 13 July 1574, he founded the Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, the first humanistic educational institution in Berlin. He was succeeded by his son Joachim Frederick.
Upon the death of his kinsman Albert I, Duke of Prussia in 1568, the Duchy of Prussia was inherited by the latter's underage son Albert Frederick. John George's father was a co-inheritor of the Duchy of Prussia. In 1577 the Brandenburg electors became co-regent with Duke Albert Frederick of Prussia.
Family and children
[edit]John George was married three times.
His first wife was Princess Sophie of Legnica (ca. 1525 – 6 February 1546), whom he married in 1545. They had one child together:
- Joachim Frederick (27 January 1546 – 18 July 1608)
Secondly, he married Margravine Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach (12 May 1529 – 2 November 1575), daughter of George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, in 1548. They had the following children:[1][2]
- George Albert (19 February 1555 – 8 January 1557)
- John (1557 – died young), twin with Albert
- Albert (1557 – died young), twin with John
- Magdalena Sabina (1559 – died young)
- Erdmuthe (26 June 1561 – 13 November 1623), married in 1577 to Duke John Frederick of Pomerania
- Marie (1562 – died young)
- Hedwig (1563 – died young)
- Magdalena (1564 – died young)
- Margaret (1565 – died young)
- Anna Maria (3 February 1567 – 4 November 1618), married in 1581 to Duke Barnim X of Pomerania
- Sophie (6 June 1568 – 7 December 1622), married in 1582 to Elector Christian I of Saxony
Thirdly, he married Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst (15 September [O.S. 5 September] 1563 – 5 October 1607) in 1577. They had the following children:
- Christian (30 January 1581 – 30 May 1655)
- Magdalena (7 January 1582 – 4 May 1616), married in 1598 to Landgrave Louis V of Hesse-Darmstadt
- Joachim Ernest (22 June 1583 – 7 March 1625)
- Agnes (17 July 1584 – 26 March 1629), married:
- in 1604 Duke Philipp Julius of Pomerania;
- in 1628 Duke Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg
- Frederick (22 March 1588 – 19 May 1611)
- Elisabeth Sophia (13 July 1589 – 24 December 1629), married:
- in 1613 to Reichsfürst (Prince) Janusz Radziwiłł;
- on 27 February 1628 to Duke Julius Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg
- Dorothea Sibylle (19 October 1590 – 9 March 1625), married in 1610 to Duke John Christian of Brieg
- George Albert (20 November 1591 – 29 November 1615)
- Sigismund (20 November 1592 – 30 April 1640)
- John (13 July 1597 – 23 September 1627), Bishop of Havelberg
- John George (4 August 1598 – 27 January 1637)
Ancestors
[edit]John George, Elector of Brandenburg | Father: Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg |
Paternal Grandfather: Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg |
Paternal Great-grandfather: John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg |
Paternal Great-grandmother: Margaret of Thuringia | |||
Paternal Grandmother: Elisabeth of Denmark |
Paternal Great-grandfather: John of Denmark | ||
Paternal Great-grandmother: Christina of Saxony | |||
Mother: Magdalena of Saxony |
Maternal Grandfather: George, Duke of Saxony |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Albert, Duke of Saxony | |
Maternal Great-grandmother: Sidonie of Poděbrady | |||
Maternal Grandmother: Barbara Jagiellon |
Maternal Great-grandfather: Casimir IV Jagiellon | ||
Maternal Great-grandmother: Elisabeth of Austria |
References
[edit]- ^ Princess Sabine zu Brandenburg, Electress of Brandenburg in: ourfamilyhistories.org Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine [retrieved 14 November 2015].
- ^ Sabine Princess of Brandenburg in: tree.familyhistory.uk.com [retrieved 14 November 2015].