Johann George II | |
---|---|
Elector of Saxony | |
Reign | 8 October 1656 - 22 August 1680 |
Predecessor | John George I |
Successor | John George III |
Born | Dresden, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire | 31 May 1613
Died | 22 August 1680 67) Tübingen, Duchy of Württemberg, Holy Roman Empire | (aged
Burial | |
Spouse | Magdalene Sybille of Brandenburg-Bayreuth |
Issue | John George III, Elector of Saxony |
House | House of Wettin |
Father | John George I, Elector of Saxony |
Mother | Magdalene Sybille of Prussia |
Religion | Lutheran |
Signature |
Johann George II (31 May 1613 - 22 August 1680) was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.
He was the third but eldest surviving son of John George I, Elector of Saxony [1] and Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia, his second spouse. [2] [3] He succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony when John George I died on 8 October 1656. [1]
In 1657 John George made an arrangement with his three brothers with the object of preventing disputes over their separate territories, and in 1664 he entered into friendly relations with Louis XIV. He received money from the French king, but the existence of a strong anti-French party in Saxony induced him occasionally to respond to the overtures of the Emperor Leopold I. [1]
The elector's primary interests were not in politics, but in music and art. He adorned Dresden, which under him became the musical centre of Germany; welcoming foreign musicians and others he gathered around him a large and splendid court, and his capital was the constant scene of musical and other festivals. [1] He commissioned the building of the first opera house, the Opernhaus am Taschenberg.
In 1658 John George was accepted into the Fruitbearing Society, through the patronage of Duke William of Saxe-Weimar. [4]
His enormous expenditure on the arts compelled John George in 1661 to grant greater control over monetary matters to the estates, a step which laid the foundation of the later system of finance in Saxony. Also, his government was less effective in establishing absolutist rule and a standing army than were Bohemia or Prussia. [1]
John George's reign saw the slow economic reconstruction of Saxony after the Thirty Years' War. New trades and manufactures developed, such as textiles, hard coal and glass. Locally mined silver filled the electorate's empty treasury, and the Leipzig Trade Fair and the Bohemian Exulanten of 1654 also stimulated economic activity. [5]
In Dresden on 13 November 1638 John George married his cousin Magdalene Sibylle of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. They had at least two children;
A third child, Sibylle Marie, is believed to have died in childhood.
Albert Frederick was the Duke of Prussia, from 1568 until his death. He was a son of Albert of Prussia and Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He was the second and last Prussian duke of the Ansbach branch of the Hohenzollern family.
Johann George III was Elector of Saxony from 1680 to 1691. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.
John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45-year reign.
John George IV was Elector of Saxony from 1691 to 1694.
Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.
Christian I of Saxony was Elector of Saxony from 1586 to 1591. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.
Friedrich Wilhelm II, was a duke of Saxe-Altenburg.
Sophia Eleonore of Saxony was a duchess of Saxony by birth and the landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1627 to 1661 through her marriage to Landgrave George II. She was the eldest surviving child of John George I, Elector of Saxony, and Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia.
Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels, was a Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt of the House of Wettin and administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg.
Christian I of Saxe-Merseburg, was the first duke of Saxe-Merseburg and a member of the House of Wettin.
Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz was a duke of Saxe-Zeitz and member of the House of Wettin.
Christian Ernst of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.
Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark and Norway was the eldest daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Electress of Saxony from 1680 to 1691 as the wife of John George III.
Duchess Marie Eleonore of Cleves was the Duchess of Prussia by marriage to Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia. She was the eldest child of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Maria of Austria.
Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia was an Electress of Saxony as the spouse of John George I, Elector of Saxony.
Magdalene Sibylle of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was Electress of Saxony from 1656 to 1680 as the wife of John George II. The daughter of Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, and Marie of Prussia, she was by birth a Markgräfin, or Margravine, and a member of the Brandenburg-Bayreuth branch of the House of Hohenzollern.
Magdalene Sibylle of Saxony, in Denmark known as Magdalena Sibylla, was the Princess of Denmark and Norway from 1634 to 1647 as the wife of Prince-Elect Christian of Denmark, and the Duchess consort of Saxe-Altenburg as the wife of Frederick Wilhelm II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg.
Marie of Prussia was a Prussian duchess by birth and Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth by marriage.
Princess Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, often referred to as Christiane was the consort of Christian I, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg, who was the ruling Duke of Saxe-Merseburg from 1650 until his death.
Sibylle is a given name. It may refer to: