Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
Encyclopedia
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, 2 November 1649 – Weissenfels, 24 May 1697), was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
Saxe-Weissenfels
Saxe-Weissenfels was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656/7 until 1746 with its residence at Weißenfels. Ruled by a cadet branch of the Albertine House of Wettin, the duchy passed to the Electorate of Saxony upon the extinction of the line....
-Querfurt and member of the House of Wettin.
He was the first son of August, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
August, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels , was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt of the House of Wettin and administrator of the archbishopric of Magdeburg....
, and his first wife, Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a German noblewoman, a member of the House of Mecklenburg and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Weissenfels....
.
Accession to the Duchy and Continuation of the Patronage
After the death of his father on 4 June 1680 and the loss of the Archbishopric of MagdeburgArchbishopric of Magdeburg
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese and Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River....
(which was secularized by Brandenburg and made over into the Duchy of Magdeburg
Duchy of Magdeburg
The Duchy of Magdeburg was a province of Brandenburg-Prussia from 1680 to 1701 and a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1807. It replaced the Archbishopric of Magdeburg after its secularization by Brandenburg. The duchy's capitals were Magdeburg and Halle, while Burg was another...
), Johann Adolf dedicated his first efforts to finishing the still incomplete Schloss Neu-Augustusburg that was begun by his father in 1660; construction at the castle resumed on 18 August 1680.
The consecration of the castle chapel took place on 1 November 1682 and the castle was finally paved in the year 1694. A large theater had been built earlier that sponsored performances of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in German beginning in 1685.
At his estate, near the Guardhouses (Kavaliershaeuser), Johann Adolf created the most important formal garden in central Germany of his time. In 1690 pipes were built to supply the castle complex with water from the Selauer Area. The city of Weissenfels prospered to the point where is became not only an administrative center, but also an economic center.
Johann Adolf was a patron of the arts following the model of his father and other members of his family; as court Kapellmeister he appointed Johann Philipp Krieger, who had already served under the late duke. Johann Adolf also discovered the musical talent of the son of his court surgeon Georg Händel and encouraged him to let the young Georg Friedrich
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
seek training in music.
Like his father (who had served as its head), Johann Adolf was accepted into the Fruitbearing Society
Fruitbearing Society
The Fruitbearing Society was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility to emulate the idea of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence and similar groups already thriving in Italy, to be followed in later years also in France and Britain...
.
Controversy over the Barby Inheritance
After the extinction of the male line of the counts of BarbyBarby, Germany
Barby is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe river, near the confluence with the Saale, approx. southeast of Magdeburg...
and lords of Rosenberg
Rosenberg
- Places :* Rosenberg, Baden, a municipality in the district of Neckar-Odenwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Rosenberg , a municipality in the district of Ostalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
in 1659, Johann Adolf' father, duke August, continued to administer these areas (which were not a part of this patrimony) in spite of the protests of the Electors of Brandenburg and Saxony
John George II, Elector of Saxony
John George was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680.He was the third but eldest surviving son of the Elector John George I of Saxony and Magdalene Sybille of Prussia, his second spouse....
, who desired those lands in accordance with the terms of the Peace of Westphalia
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
.
In 1666, the Elector of Saxony finally consented to give Barby and Rosenberg to duke August until the extinction to the Weissenfels line. After the death of the duke, Barby was inherited by one of his younger sons, Heinrich
Heinrich of Saxe-Weissenfels, Count of Barby
Heinrich of Saxe-Weissenfels, Count of Barby , was a German prince of the House of Wettin and count of Barby....
. Johann Adolf, who saw his inheritance reduced by his father, protested. After his father's death, Johann Adolf turned to the elector of Brandenburg to obtain a declaration of nullity for the sales contract that relinquished Rosenberg. In April 1681 it was sold for 60.000 Taler to the Elector Frederick of Brandenburg
Frederick I of Prussia
Frederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union . The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia . From 1707 he was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
. Due to the debts accumulated by his father, Johann Adolf was forced in 1687 to sell Burg bei Magdeburg
Burg bei Magdeburg
Burg bei Magdeburg is a town of about 24,700 inhabitants on the Elbe-Havel-Canal in Germany, northeast of Magdeburg. It is situated around a former weir, the Sachsenschleusen...
.
Dispute with the Electorate of Saxony
After the death of Elector Johann Georg II of SaxonyJohn George II, Elector of Saxony
John George was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680.He was the third but eldest surviving son of the Elector John George I of Saxony and Magdalene Sybille of Prussia, his second spouse....
in 1680, the will of his father Johann Georg I was disputed by the new Elector Johann Georg III
John George III, Elector of Saxony
Johann Georg III was Elector of Saxony from 1680 to 1691.-Early life:Johann Georg was the only son of the Elector Johann Georg II and Magdalene Sybille of Brandenburg-Bayreuth....
with regard to the appanages of his younger sons; he refused to recognize the principalities and collateral lines of his cousins. This brought some difficulties to Johann Adolf after he recognized a threat from the Saxonian Electorate to his own territories. The conflict could only be settled with the Contract of Torgau (12 May 1681) and two other contracts signed in Dresden in 1682 and 1688; with these pacts, Johann Adolf secured his rule over Querfurt
Querfurt
Querfurt a town in Saalekreis district in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, situated in a fertile area on the Querne, west from Merseburg, on a branch line from Oberroblingen. Pop. 12,935 .-History:...
and his seat in the Upper-Saxonian Council (Kreistag).
On his death, his three surviving sons, Johann Georg, Christian, and Johann Adolf II, successively assumed rulership over the duchy of Saxe-Weissenfels.
Marriages and Issue
In AltenburgAltenburg
Altenburg is a town in the German federal state of Thuringia, 45 km south of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district.-Geography:...
on 25 October 1671, Johann Adolf married Johanna Magdalene of Saxe-Altenburg. They had eleven children:
- Magdalene Sibylle (b. Halle, 3 September 1673 - d. EisenachEisenachEisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...
, 28 November 1726), married on 28 July 1708 to Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach. - August Frederick (b. Halle, 15 September 1674 - d. Halle, 16 August 1675).
- Johann Adolf (b. Halle, 7 June 1676 - d. Halle 18 June 1676).
- Johann Georg, Duke of Saxe-WeissenfelsJohann Georg, Duke of Saxe-WeissenfelsJohann Georg, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels , was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and a member of the House of Wettin....
(b. Halle, 13 July 1677 - d. Weissenfels, 16 March 1712). - Stillborn son (Halle, 24 July 1678).
- Johanna Wilhelmine (b. Halle, 20 January 1680 - d. Halle, 4 July 1730).
- Frederick Wilhelm (b. Weissenfels, 18 January 1681 - d. Weissenfels, 20 November 1681).
- Christian, Duke of Saxe-WeissenfelsChristian, Duke of Saxe-WeissenfelsChristian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels , was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and member of the House of Wettin....
(b. Weissenfels, 23 February 1682 - d. SangerhausenSangerhausenSangerhausen is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, without being part of it.It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. 35 km east of Nordhausen, and 50 km west of Halle...
, 28 June 1736). - Anna Marie (b. Weissenfels, 17 June 1683 - d. Sorau, 16 March 1731), married on 16 June 1705 to Count Erdmann II of PromnitzErdmann II of PromnitzErdmann II, Count von Promnitz was Lord of Zary and Trzebiel in Lower Lusatia, and Pszczyna in Upper Silesia....
. - Sophie (b. Weissenfels, 2 August 1684 - d. Rosswald, Silesia, 6 May 1752), married first on 16 October 1699 to Georg Wilhelm, Margrave of Brandenburg-BayreuthGeorge William, Margrave of Brandenburg-BayreuthGeorge William of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.-Family:...
, and secondly on 14 July 1734 to Joseph Albert, Count of Hoditz and Wolframitz. - Johann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-WeissenfelsJohann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-WeissenfelsJohann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels , was the last duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and a member of the House of Wettin. He was also a commander in the Saxon army....
(b. Weissenfels, 4 September 1685 - d. Leipzig, 16 May 1746).
After the death of his wife in 1686, Johann Adolf married a second time in Querfurt on 3 February 1692 to Christiane Wilhelmine of Bünau. This marriage was morganatic
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
and only made by contract; the completion of the marriage in the presence of a clergyman was left to his discretion. Johann Adolf give her 6,000 Taler as Morgengabe and an annual rent of 3,000 Taler as dowage as well as the use of Schloss Dahme as her residence. He admonished his sons to show her due respect, and should any children come from this marriage he would make further divisions over the family lands. After five years of marriage, Christiane Wilhelmine was created Imperial Countess (Reichgräfin) in 1697 at the request of her husband. They had no children.