Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
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Cölln
In the 13th century Cölln was the sister town of Old Berlin , located on the southern Spree Island in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Today the island is located in the historic core of the central Mitte locality of modern Berlin...
, 30 January 1581 – Bayreuth, 30 May 1655) was a member of the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
and Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
Principality of Bayreuth
The Principality of Bayreuth or Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a reichsfrei principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Bavarian city of Bayreuth. Until 1604 its capital city was Kulmbach; then the margraves used their palaces in Bayreuth as their residence...
(later renamed Brandenburg-Bayreuth).
He was the eldest of eleven children born to John George, Elector of Brandenburg
John George, Elector of Brandenburg
John George of Brandenburg was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and a Duke of Prussia...
by his third wife Princess Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst
Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst
Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst was a princess of Anhalt by birth and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage.- Life :...
.
Life
The death of the childless Georg Frederick the Elder in 1603 marked the extinction of the original Franconian line of the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach. Christian inherited KulmbachKulmbach
Kulmbach is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its famous sausages, or Bratwürste.-Location:...
and his younger brother Joachim Ernst
Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach was a German nobleman. He ruled as margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1603 to 1625, succeeding his father John George and succeeded by his son Frederick III.- Youth :Joachim Ernst was the son of the elector John George of Brandenburg and his third...
received Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
.
This land partition had already been legitimized in 1598 by the Contract of Gera, which was prepared for this purpose. Christian's assumption of the government of Kulmbach took place at the same time as that of Joachim Ernst in Ansbach. In 1604 Christian moved the seat of power from Kulmbach to Bayreuth and Plassenburg
Plassenburg
Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs and used as their seat the Plassenburg...
, however Kulmbach was retained as a regional fortress. From that moment, the principality changed its name from Brandenburg-Kulmbach to Brandenburg-Bayreuth.
In 1606 Christian was elected colonel of the Franconian Circle
Franconian Circle
The Franconian Circle was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy — roughly corresponding with the present-day Bavarian Regierungsbezirke of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia — while western...
(German: Kreisobrist). He was also one of the founders of the Protestant Union
Protestant Union
The Protestant Union or Evangelical Union was a coalition of Protestant German states that was formed in 1608 to defend the rights, lands and person of each member....
and formed an alliance during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
with Sweden. Emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
tried to depose him as ruler of Bayreuth in 1635; however, he continued in office.
Family and children
In PlassenburgPlassenburg
Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs and used as their seat the Plassenburg...
on 29 April 1604, Christian married Marie, daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia
Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia
Albert Frederick was 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.-Duke of Prussia:...
. They had nine children:
- Elisabeth Eleonore (b. Plassenburg, 19 October 1606 – d. Plassenburg, 20 October 1606).
- Georg Frederick (b. and d. Kulmbach, 23 March 1608).
- Anna Maria (b. Bayreuth, 30 December 1609 – d. Ödenburg, 8 May 1680); married on 23 October 1639 to Prince Johann Anton I von EggenbergHouse of EggenbergEggenberg is the name of an Austrian noble family from Styria whose last male heir died in 1717 bringing an end to the House of Eggenberg.- History :The origin of the Austrian noble house of Eggenberg is shrouded in darkness...
. - Agnes Sophie (b. Bayreuth, 19 July 1611 – d. Bayreuth, 1 December 1611).
- Magdalene Sibylle (b. Bayreuth, 27 October 1612 – d. Dresden, 20 March 1687); married on 13 November 1638 to Elector John George II of Saxony.
- Christian Ernst (b. Bayreuth, 18 November 1613 – d. Bayreuth, 4 February 1614).
- Erdmann AugustErdmann August of Brandenburg-BayreuthErdmann August of Brandenburg-Bayreuth , was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Hereditary Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth....
(b. Bayreuth, 8 October 1615 – d. Hof, 6 February 1651), Hereditary Margrave (German: Erbmarkgraf) of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. - Georg AlbrechtGeorg Albrecht of Brandenburg-BayreuthGeorg Albrecht of Brandenburg-Bayreuth , was a German prince and member of the House of Hohenzollern....
(b. Bayreuth, 20 March 1619 – d. Schretz, 27 September 1666), inherited Kulmbach but never reigned. - Frederick Wilhelm (b. Bayreuth, 11 May 1620 – d. Bayreuth, 12 May 1620).