John George of Brandenburg (11 September 1525 – 8 January 1598) was a Prince-elector

Prince-elector

The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...

 of the Margraviate of Brandenburg

Margraviate of Brandenburg

The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....

 (1571–1598) and a Duke of Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

. 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...

, he was the son of Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg

Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg

Joachim II Hector was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg . A member of the House of Hohenzollern, Joachim II was the son of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden...

, and his first wife Magdalena of Saxony

Magdalena of Saxony

Magdalena of Saxony was Margravine of Brandenburg, its "Electoral Princess", the Electoral equivalent of a crown princess.She was the daughter of George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony and his wife Barbara...

.

Faced with large debts 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. Though a staunch Lutheran

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

 opposed to the rise of Calvinism

Calvinism

Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

, he permitted the admission of Calvinist refugees from the wars in the Spanish Netherlands and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. He was succeeded by his son Joachim Frederick

Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg

Joachim III Frederick , of the House of Hohenzollern, was Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1598 until his death.-Biography:...

.

Upon the death of his kinsman Albert I, Duke of Prussia

Albert I, Duke of Prussia

Albert of Prussia was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and, after converting to Lutheranism, the first duke of the Duchy of Prussia, which was the first state to adopt the Lutheran faith and Protestantism as the official state religion...

 in 1568, the Duchy of Prussia was inherited by the latter's underage son Albert Frederick

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:...

. 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

John George was married three times.

His first wife was Princess Sophie of Legnica

Sophie of Legnica

Sophie of Legnica was a daughter of Duke Frederick II of Legnica, Brzeg and Wohlau and his second wife Sophie of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach ....

 (ca. 1525 – 6 February 1546), whom he married in 1545. They had one child together:

1. Joachim Frederick
   Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg
   Joachim III Frederick , of the House of Hohenzollern, was Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1598 until his death.-Biography:...
   
    (27 January 1546–1608)

Secondly, he married Margravine Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach was a princess of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage.- Life :...

 (12 May 1529 – 2 November 1575), daughter of George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach

George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach

George of Brandenburg-Ansbach was a Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from the House of Hohenzollern.- Early life :...

, in 1548. They had the following children:

1. George Albert (1555–1557)
2. John
3. Albert
4. Magdalena Sabina
5. Erdmuthe
   Erdmuthe of Brandenburg
   Erdmuthe of Brandenburg was a Princess of Brandenburg and by marriage Duchess of Pomerania.- Life :...
   
    (26 June 1561 – 13 November 1623), married in 1577 to Duke John Frederick of Pomerania
6. Marie
7. Magdalena
8. Margaret
9. Anna Maria
   Anna Maria of Brandenburg
   Anna Maria of Brandenburg was an Princess of Brandenburg by birth and marriage Duchess of Pomerania.- Life :...
   
    (3 February 1567 – 4 November 1618), married in 1581 to Duke Barnim X of Pomerania
   Barnim X, Duke of Pomerania
   Barnim X, or according to another count Barnim XII was a duke of Pomerania and a member of the House of Griffins. He administered from 1569, the Rügenwalde district...
   
   
10. Sophie
    Sophie of Brandenburg
    Sophie of Brandenburg was a Princess of Brandenburg and by marriage Electress of Saxony. From 1591 she was the regent of Saxony during the minority of her son Christian II.- Biography :...
    
     (6 June 1568 – 7 December 1622), married in 1582 to Elector Christian I of Saxony

Thirdly, he married 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 :...

 ( – 5 October 1607) in 1577. They had the following children:

1. Christian
   Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
   Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach ....
   
    (1581–1655)
2. Magdalena
   Magdalena von Brandenburg
   Magdalene of Brandenburg, also Magdalene and Magdalen, was the daughter of John George, Elector of Brandenburg and his third wife Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst...
   
    (7 January 1582 – 4 May 1616), married in 1598 to Landgrave Louis V of Hesse-Darmstadt
3. Joachim Ernest
   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...
   
    (1583–1625)
4. Agnes
   Agnes of Brandenburg (1584-1629)
   Agnes of Brandenburg was an Princess of Brandenburg by birth and by marriage successively Duchess of Pomerania and of Saxe-Lauenburg.- Life :...
   
    (1584–1629), married:
   1. in 1604 Duke Philipp Julius of Pomerania;
   2. in 1628 Duke Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg
      Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg
      Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg was a prince of Saxe-Lauenburg and a general during the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
      
      
5. Frederick
   Frederick IX, Margrave of Brandenburg
   Frederick IX of Brandenburg was a Margrave of Brandenburg.- Life :...
   
    (1588–1611)
6. Elisabeth Sophia of Brandenburg (July 13, 1589 – December 24, 1629), married:
   1. in 1613 to Reichsfürst (Prince) Janusz Radziwiłł;
   2. on 27 February 1628 to Duke Julius Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg
7. Dorothea Sibylle (19 October 1590 – 9 March 1625), married in 1610 to Duke John Christian of Brieg
   John Christian of Brieg
   John Christian of Brieg , 25 December 1639), was a Duke of Brzeg–Legnica–Wołów ....
   
   
8. George Albert
   George Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg
   George Albert of Brandenburg George Albert of Brandenburg George Albert of Brandenburg (born: 20 November 1591 in Berlin; died: 29 November 1615 in Słońsk , was Margrave of Brandenburg as George Albert II.- Life :George Albert was a member of the House of Hohenzollern...
   
    (1591–1615)
9. Sigismund (20 November 1592 – 30 April 1640)
10. John (1597–1627), Bishop of Havelberg
    Bishopric of Havelberg
    The Bishopric of Havelberg was a Roman Catholic diocese founded by King Otto I, King of the Germans, in 946. The diocese was suffragan to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Its most famous bishop was Anselm of Havelberg. Its seat was in Havelberg in the Northern March and it roughly covered the...
    
    
11. Joha George (1598–1637)

Ancestors

John George's ancestors in three generations

John George, Elector of Brandenburg	Father: Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim II Hector was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg . A member of the House of Hohenzollern, Joachim II was the son of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden...	Paternal Grandfather: Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg	Paternal Great-grandfather: John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Margaret of Thuringia Margaret of Thuringia Margaret of Saxony was a German noblewoman, Electress of Brandenburg by marriage.She was the daughter of William III, Duke of Luxemburg, and Anne, Duchess of Luxembourg.-Family and children:...
		Paternal Grandmother: Elisabeth of Denmark	Paternal Great-grandfather: John of Denmark
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Christina of Saxony Christina of Saxony Christina of Saxony , was a Saxon princess who became Queen consort of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. She was born a granddaughter of Frederick the Gentle of Saxony, and daughter of Ernest, Elector of Saxony and Elisabeth of Bavaria.-Biography:She was married to John, King of Denmark, Norway and...
	Mother: Magdalena of Saxony Magdalena of Saxony Magdalena of Saxony was Margravine of Brandenburg, its "Electoral Princess", the Electoral equivalent of a crown princess.She was the daughter of George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony and his wife Barbara...	Maternal Grandfather: George, Duke of Saxony George, Duke of Saxony George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony , was duke of Saxony from 1500 to 1539.Duke George was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece.-Early life:...	Maternal Great-grandfather: Albert, Duke of Saxony Albert, Duke of Saxony Albert III was a Duke of Saxony. He was nicknamed Albert the Bold or Albert the Courageous and founded the Albertine line of the House of Wettin....
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Sidonie of Poděbrady Sidonie of Poděbrady Sidonie of Poděbrady was a daughter of George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia, and his first wife Kunigunde of Sternberg. She was the twin sister of Catherine of Poděbrady, wife of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary....
		Maternal Grandmother: Barbara Jagiellon	Maternal Great-grandfather: Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna....
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Elisabeth of Austria

External links

• A portrait with ducal title