Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (german: Kurfürst Friedrich IV. von der Pfalz; 5 March 1574 – 19 September 1610), only surviving son of

Louis VI, Elector Palatine Louis VI, Elector Palatine (4 July 1539 in Simmern – 22 October 1583 in Heidelberg), was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of ...

and

Elisabeth of Hesse Elisabeth of Hesse (13 February 1539 – 14 March 1582) was a German noblewoman. She was a daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse and Christine of Saxony, daughter of George, Duke of Saxony. On 8 July 1560 she married Louis VI, Elector Pal ...

, called "Frederick the Righteous" (german: Friedrich Der Aufrichtige; French: ''Frédéric IV le juste'').

Life

Born in

Amberg Amberg () is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. In 2020, over 42,000 people lived in the town. History The town was first mentioned in 1034, at that time under t ...

, his father died in October 1583 and Frederick came under the guardianship of his uncle, John Casimir, an ardent

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

. The

mathematician and astronomer Bartholemaeus Pitiscus served as Frederick's tutor and later became court preacher. In January 1592, Frederick assumed control of the government of the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

upon the death of John Casimir. Frederick continued John Casimir's anti-

Catholic 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 ...

measures and in 1608 became the head of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

military alliance known as the

Protestant Union The Protestant Union (german: Protestantische Union), also known as the Evangelical Union, Union of Auhausen, German Union or the Protestant Action Party, was a coalition of Protestant German states. It was formed on 14 May 1608 by Frederick I ...

. He soon fell prey to

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, leaving state matters largely to his chief minister Christian of Anhalt.Parker 1997 p. 23 Frederick IV died in 1610 in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Family and children

In 1593 he married

Louise Juliana of Nassau Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau (31 March 1576 in Delft – 15 March 1644 in Königsberg) was a countess consort of the Palatinate by marriage to Frederick IV, Elector Palatine, and took part in the regency government of her son between 1610 and 1 ...

, the daughter of

William I of Orange William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Rev ...

and Charlotte de Bourbon-Monpensier. They had eight children: * Luise Juliane of the Palatinate (

, 16 July 1594 - Meisenheim, 28 April 1640); married in 1612 to Pfalzgraf

John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken John II the Younger (german: Johann II. der Jüngere) (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 ...

. * Katharina Sofie of the Palatinate (Heidelberg, 10 June 1595 - Köln an der Spree, 28 June 1626). *

Frederick V, Elector Palatine Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both r ...

(Jagdschloß Deinschwang, 16 August 1596 - Mainz, 29 November 1632). *

Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate Princess Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (german: Prinzessin Elisabeth Charlotte von der Pfalz), (french: Princesse Élisabeth-Charlotte du Palatinat); known as Liselotte von der Pfalz, 27 May 1652 – 8 December 1722) was a German m ...

(Neumarkt, 19 November 1597 -

Crossen an der Oder Crossen may refer to: *Crossen an der Elster, municipality in Thuringia, Germany * Zwickau-Crossen, part of Zwickau in Saxony, Germany *Crossen (Oder), German name of Krosno Odrzańskie, Poland *part of the municipality Erlau in Saxony, Germany *Ke ...

, 26 April 1660); married in 1616 to Elector

George William of Brandenburg George William (german: Georg Wilhelm; 13 November 1595 – 1 December 1640), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia from 1619 until his death. His reign was marked by ineffective governance during ...

. * Anna Eleonore of the Palatinate (Heidelberg, 4 January 1599 - Heidelberg, 10 October 1600). * Louis William of the Palatinate (Heidelberg, 5 August 1600 - Heidelberg, 10 October 1600). * Maurice Christian of the Palatinate (Heidelberg, 18 September 1601 - Heidelberg, 28 March 1605). *

Louis Philip, Count Palatine of Simmern-Kaiserslautern Louis Philip (German: Ludwig Philipp) (23 November 1602 – 6 January 1655) was the Count Palatine of Simmern-Kaiserslautern from 1610 until 1655. Philip acted as Administrator of the Palatinate between 1632 and 1648. Philip was born in Heid ...

(Heidelberg, 23 November 1602 - Krossen, 6 January 1655).

Ancestors

Notes

References

* Parker, Geoffrey (ed.) (1997): ''The Thirty Years' War: Second Edition''. Routledge. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 04, Elector Palatine 1574 births 1610 deaths People from Amberg House of Wittelsbach Modern child rulers Prince-electors of the Palatinate German Calvinist and Reformed Christians Burials at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg