John VI, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
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Zerbst
Zerbst is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until the administrative reform of 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the Anhalt-Zerbst district. Since the 1 January 2010 local government reform, Zerbst has about 24,000 inhabitants.It is not clear when was it founded;...
, 24 March 1621 – Zerbst, 4 July 1667), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst
Anhalt-Zerbst
Anhalt-Zerbst was a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by the districts Potsdam-Mittelmark and Wittenberg, the city of Dessau and the districts of Köthen, Schönebeck and Jerichower Land.- History :...
.
He was the only son of Rudolph, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
Rudolph, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
Rudolph of Anhalt-Zerbst , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the unified principality of Anhalt...
, by his second wife Magdalene, daughter of John XVI, Count of Oldenburg.
Life
John succeeded his father in Anhalt-Zerbst at only four months of age; during his long minority, his paternal uncle Augustus of Anhalt-PlötzkauAugustus, Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau
Augustus of Anhalt-Plötzkau , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the unified principality of Anhalt...
acted as regent in the principality.
John's education was supervised primarily by his mother. Political instability caused by warfare during the Thirty Years War caused John to be educated in Zerbst, Coswig
Coswig
Coswig can refer to two towns in Germany, both on the river Elbe:*Coswig, Saxony, in the district of Meißen, Saxony*Coswig, Anhalt, in the district of Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt...
, and Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
at various times. From 1633 he continued his education at the court of his maternal uncle Anthony Günther, Count of Oldenburg.
Immediately after he reached adulthood and formally assumed the government of his state, John made Lutheranism
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...
the official religion of Zerbst. He increased the size of his principality noticeably by acquiring various fiefs.
In 1642 his uncle Louis of Anhalt-Köthen
Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
Louis I of Anhalt-Köthen , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the unified principality of Anhalt. From 1603, he was ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen...
, admitted John to 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...
together with the Hofrat Konrad Balthasar Pichtel and the Hofjunker Joachim von Boeselager. He chose the motto anmutiger Schärfe ("graceful sharpness"). As an emblem the flower Tropaeolaceae was reserved for him.
Marriage and issue
In GottorpGottorp
Gottorf Castle is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the ancestral home of the Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg...
on 16 September 1649 John married Sophie Auguste
Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp
Sophie Augusta of Holstein-Gottorp was a daughter van Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and Duchess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony.- Marriage and issue :...
(b. Gottorp
Gottorp
Gottorf Castle is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the ancestral home of the Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg...
, 5 December 1630 – d. Coswig, 12 December 1680), daughter of Frederick III, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp
Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.He was the elder son of Duke Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Augusta of Denmark. His mother was a daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark....
. They had fourteen children:
- John Frederick (b. Zerbst, 11 October 1650 – d. Zerbst, 13 March 1651).
- George Rudolph (b. Zerbst, 8 September 1651 – d. Zerbst, 26 February 1652).
- Karl William, Prince of Anhalt-ZerbstKarl, Prince of Anhalt-ZerbstKarl William, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst....
(b. Zerbst, 16 October 1652 – d. Zerbst, 8 November 1718). - Anthony Günther, Prince of Anhalt(-Zerbst)-MühlingenAnthony Günther, Prince of Anhalt-MühlingenAnthony Günther, Prince of Anhalt-Mühlingen was a German prince of the House of Ascania, the first ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Mühlingen....
(b. Zerbst, 11 January 1653 – d. Zerbst, 10 December 1714). - John Adolph (b. Zerbst, 2 December 1654 – d. Zerbst, 19 March 1726).
- John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt(-Zerbst)-DornburgJohn Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-DornburgJohn Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg , was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dornburg....
(b. Zerbst, 4 May 1656 – d. DornburgDornburgDornburg is a town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It sits atop a small hill of 400 ft above the Saale. Since 1 December 2008, it is part of the town Dornburg-Camburg.-Main sights:...
, 1 November 1704). - Joachim Ernest (b. Zerbst, 30 July 1657 – d. Zerbst, 4 June 1658).
- Magdalene Sophie (b. Zerbst, 31 October 1658 – d. Zerbst, 30 March 1659).
- Frederick (b. Zerbst, 11 July 1660 – d. Zerbst, 24 November 1660).
- Hedwig Marie Eleonore (b. Zerbst, 30 January 1662 – d. Zerbst, 30 June 1662).
- Sophie Auguste (b. Zerbst, 9 March 1663 – d. WeimarWeimarWeimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, 14 September 1694), married on 11 October 1685 to Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-WeimarJohann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-WeimarJohann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar , was a duke of Saxe-Weimar.He was the second son of Johann Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Christine Elisabeth of Holstein-Sonderburg....
. - A daughter (b. and d. Zerbst, 12 February 1664).
- Albert (b. and d. Zerbst, 12 February 1665).
- Augustus (b. Zerbst, 23 August 1666 – d. Zerbst, 7 April 1667).