Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg (28 August 1587 in

Wolmirstedt Wolmirstedt () is a town in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located 14 km north of Magdeburg, on the river Ohre. The town Wolmirstedt consists of Wolmirstedt proper and the ''Ortschaften'' (municipal divisions) Elbeu, F ...

– 1 January 1665 in

Zinna Abbey Zinna Abbey (german: Kloster Zinna) is a former Cistercian monastery, the site of which is now occupied by a village also called Kloster Zinna, today part of Jüterbog in Brandenburg, Germany, about south of Berlin. The village was established b ...

) was a titular Margrave of Brandenburg, and from 1598 to 1631 Archbishop of

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 Magdebu ...

Life

Christian Wilhelm was a son of Elector Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg (1546-1608) from his first marriage with

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

(1549-1602), a daughter of Margrave

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

of Brandenburg-Küstrin (1513-1571). He was elected as Archbishop of Magdeburg in 1598. However, the city of Magdeburg did not recognize him as Prince-Bishop, because his election had not been confirmed by the emperor. When he married in 1614, he assumed the title of

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

on. That same year, he also became coadjutor of

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 bomb ...

. In 1624, he became administrator of Halberstadt. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, he entered into an alliance with Denmark. In 1626, he led an army from Lower Saxony into the

Battle of Dessau Bridge The Battle of Dessau Bridge () was a significant battle of the Thirty Years' War between Danish Protestants and the Imperial German Catholic forces on the Elbe River outside Dessau, Germany on 25 April 1626. This battle was an attempt by Ernst ...

. After

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

won this battle, he fled abroad. In 1629, he fled to the court of King

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

. In 1630, he returned to Germany. The

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. ...

of Magdeburg formally deposed him in 1631. Sweden promised to assist him when he attempted to reconquer his Archbishopric. Nevertheless, the reconquest failed and he was badly injured during the siege of Magdeburg in 1631. He was taken up in the army camp

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. I ...

, where his wounds were tended and

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

s persuaded him to convert to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. A pamphlet with the title was published in his name, and he was released. Under the Peace of Prague of 1635, he received an annual sum of taler from the revenues of the archbishopric of Magdeburg, plus the districts

Loburg Loburg is a town and former municipality in the Jerichower Land district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Ehle, north of Zerbst. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the town Möckern Möckern is a town in the Jerichowe ...

and

Zinna Zinna is a village and a former municipality in the district Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Torgau. See also * Treaty of Zinna * Zinna Abbey Zinna Abbey (german: Kloster Zinna) is a former C ...

. In 1651, he purchased the Nový Hrad estate in Bohemia. He died at

in 1665.

Marriage and issue

Christian William married three times. His first wedding took place on 1 January 1615 in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

, where he married Dorothea (1596-1643), a daughter of the Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. From this marriage, he had a daughter, Sophie Elisabeth (1616-1650), married in 1638 to Duke Frederick William II of Saxe-Altenburg (1603-1669). On 22 February 1650 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, he married Barbara Eusebia (d. 1656), a daughter of Count

Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice Jaroslav (also written as Yaroslav or Jarosław in other Slavic languages) is a Czech and Slovak first name, pagan in origin. There are several possible origins of the name Jaroslav. It is very likely that originally the two elements of the nam ...

and his first wife, Maria Eusebie von Sternberg. On 28 May 1657, he married, again in

, to Countess Maximiliane (1608-1663), daughter of Count Weichard of Salm-Neuburg and Sidonia von Minckwitz.

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg, Christian William of 1587 births 1665 deaths Christian William German people of the Thirty Years' War Margraves of Brandenburg 17th-century German people Archbishops of Magdeburg 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism