John II the Younger (26 March 1584 – 9 August 1635) was the Duke of Zweibrücken from 1604 until 1635.

Life

John was born in Bergzabern in 1584 as the eldest son of John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken

John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken

John I of Zweibrücken was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken during 1569-1604.He was born in Meisenheim as the second son of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife Anna of Hesse. In 1588 he changed the state religion from Lutheranism to Calvinism...

 and his wife, Magdalene

Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg

Duchess Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was the fifth child of Duke William "the rich" of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Maria of Austria, a daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I....

. He succeeded his father in 1604. In 1606 he acquired the County of Bischweiler in Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

. From 1610 until 1612 he was the guardian of Frederick V, Elector Palatine

Frederick V, Elector Palatine

Frederick V was Elector Palatine , and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia ....

. In this function he was briefly the deputy of the Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 Rudolph II in 1612, and he minted coins with the Imperial two-headed eagle on reverse.

John died in 1635 in Metz

Metz

Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

 and was buried in the Alexander Church in Zweibrücken

Zweibrücken

Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...

.

Ancestors

John's ancestors in three generations

John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken	Father: John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken John I of Zweibrücken was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken during 1569-1604.He was born in Meisenheim as the second son of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife Anna of Hesse. In 1588 he changed the state religion from Lutheranism to Calvinism...	Paternal Grandfather: Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken was member of the Wittelsbach family of the Counts Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken 1532–1559.-Biography:...	Paternal Great-grandfather: Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Louis II of Zweibrücken was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken from 1514 to 1532.He was the son of Alexander, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife Margarete of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein. He was married in 1525 to Elisabeth of Hesse, daughter of William I, Landgrave of Lower Hesse, and they...
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Elisabeth of Hesse Elisabeth of Hesse (disambiguation) Elisabeth of Hesse may refer to:* Elisabeth , daughter of William II, Landgrave of Hesse* Elisabeth of Hesse , daughter of William I, Landgrave of Lower Hesse and wife of Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken...
		Paternal Grandmother: Anna of Hesse Anna of Hesse Anna of Hesse was a princess of Hesse by birth and marriage Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken.- Life :...	Paternal Great-grandfather: Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I of Hesse, , nicknamed der Großmütige was a leading champion of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany....
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Christine of Saxony Christine of Saxony Christine of Saxony was a German noble, landgravine of Hesse. She was the regent of Hesse in 1547-1549....
	Mother: Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg Duchess Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was the fifth child of Duke William "the rich" of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Maria of Austria, a daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I....	Maternal Grandfather: Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg .William was born in and died in Düsseldorf. He was the only son of John III, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Berg. William took over rule of his father's estates upon his death in 1539...	Maternal Great-grandfather: John III, Duke of Cleves John III, Duke of Cleves John III the Peaceful, Duke of Cleves and Count of Mark was a son of John II, Duke of Cleves and Matilda of Hesse, daughter of Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse.John III became Regent of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg in 1521, and Lord of Ravensberg in 1528.John represented...
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Maria von Geldern
		Maternal Grandmother: Maria of Habsburg, Archduchess of Austria Maria of Habsburg, Archduchess of Austria Archduchess Maria of Austria was the daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary from the House of Habsburg....	Maternal Great-grandfather: Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Anna of Bohemia and Hungary Anna of Bohemia and Hungary Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, also sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica was, by marriage to Ferdinand I, King of the Romans and later Holy Roman Emperor, Queen of the Romans.-Family:She was the elder child and only daughter of king Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third...

Family and children

John married Catherine de Rohan (20 June 1578 - 10 May 1607) on 26 August 1604 and had the following daughter:

1. Magdalena Catherine (26 April 1607 - 20 January 1648)

John married Louise Juliana of the Palatinate (16 July 1594 - 28 April 1640), daughter of Frederick IV, Elector Palatine

Frederick IV, Elector Palatine

Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine , only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous" .-Life:Born in Amberg, his father died in October 1583 and...

, on 13 May 1612 and had the following children:

1. Elizabeth Louise Juliana (16 July 1613 - 29 March 1667)
2. Catherine Elizabeth Charlotte (11 January 1615 - 21 March 1651)
3. Frederick
   Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
   Frederick was the Duke of Zweibrücken from 1635 until 1661.-Life:Frederick was born in Zweibrücken in 1616 as the elder son of John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. He succeeded his father in 1635. During his reign, Palatinate-Zweibrücken was devastated during the Thirty Years' War...
   
    (5 April 1616 - 9 July 1661)
4. Anne Sybille (20 July 1617 - 9 November 1641)
5. John Louis (22 July 1619 - 15 October 1647)
6. Juliana Magdalena (23 April 1621 - 25 March 1672), married to Frederick Louis, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
   Frederick Louis, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
   Frederick Louis was the Duke of Landsberg from 1645 until 1681, and the Duke of Zweibrücken from 1661 until 1681.-Life:...
   
   
7. Maria Amalie (19 October 1622 - 11 June 1641)