Bernhard II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (ca. 1260 or 1265 – aft. 26 December 1323), was a German prince of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. He was the third son of

Bernhard I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar * Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

, by his wife Princess Sophie, daughter of King

Abel of Denmark Abel Valdemarsen (1218 – 29 June 1252) was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II by his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal, and brother to kings Eric IV and Chr ...

Life

After the death of his father in 1287, Bernhard inherited the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. In accordance with the family law of the House of Ascania, he was obliged to rule jointly with his older brother

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...

without division of their patrimony. John died four years later (1291) and Bernhard became the sole ruler. In the year 1300 Bernhard adopted the title "Count of Bernburg". His princely title was confirmed the next year. After the Anhalt-Aschersleben line became extinct in 1315, Bernhard inherited the senior princely title of Ascania as well as the title prince of

Anhalt-Aschersleben Anhalt-Aschersleben was a short-lived principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Aschersleben in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision from the Principality of Anhalt from 1252 to 131 ...

. However, he could not take actual possession of his cousin

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

's lands

or retain title to this fief, because the territory was lawfully expropriated by the

Bishopric of Halberstadt The Diocese of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese (german: Bistum Halberstadt) from 804 until 1648.

as payment for the debts of the late Prince Otto. Bernhard agreed to this arrangement in writing in 1316, however his descendants continued to dispute the loss of the principality for centuries. Aschersleben was finally awarded to

Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...

in the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

in 1648. In

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

on 27 September 1320, Bernhard was created

Count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and Count of

Brehna Brehna is a town and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Sandersdorf-Brehna. It is situated southwest of Bitterfeld. Important in this city is the chur ...

. He died three years later.

Marriage and issue

On 27 December 1302 Bernhard married Helene (b. 1270 – d. 9 August 1315), daughter of Wizlaw II, Prince of Rügen and widow of John III, Lord of Mecklenburg. They had three sons: #

Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (died 20 August 1348) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. He was the eldest son of Bernhard II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, by his wife Helene, daug ...

(d. 20 August 1348) #Henry (d. aft. 19 August 1337), a Dominican friar at

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...

(1330) #Otto, a Franciscan friar at

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

(1323). {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernhard Ii, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Bernard 02 Bernard 02 1260 births 1323 deaths