Friedrich Wilhelm II (12 February 1603, in
Weimar – 22 April 1669, in
Altenburg
Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region bet ...
), was a duke of Saxe-Altenburg.
He was the youngest son of
Friedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
Friedrich Wilhelm I (25 April 1562 in Weimar – 7 July 1602 in Weimar) was a duke of Saxe-Weimar. He was the eldest son of Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Dorothea Susanne of Simmern.
Life
At the time of the death of his father ...
, and
Anna Maria of the Palatinate-Neuburg, his second wife. He was born eight months after the death of his father, on 7 July 1602.
Shortly after his birth, Friedrich Wilhelm II and his older brothers inherited Saxe-Altenburg as co-rulers under the guardianship of the Electors of Saxony
Christian II
Christian II (1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union who reigned as King of Denmark and Norway, from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke ...
and
John George I until 1618, when his older brother John Philip assumed the government of the duchy and the guardianship of his younger siblings.
By 1632, two of his three brothers were deceased. Friedrich Wilhelm II and his older brother
John Philip began a joint government; but, in fact, John Philip was the real and only ruler of the duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. Friedrich Wilhelm II was only a nominal ruler until the death of John Philip (1639), when he began his personal reign over Altenburg.
At
Altenburg Castle on 18 September 1638 Friedrich Wilhelm II married his first wife,
Sophie Elisabeth, the only daughter of
Christian William of Brandenburg
Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg (28 August 1587 in Wolmirstedt – 1 January 1665 in Zinna Abbey) was a titular Margrave of Brandenburg, and from 1598 to 1631 Archbishop of Magdeburg.
Life
Christian Wilhelm was a son of Elector Joachim F ...
. She died in 1650 after twelve years of childless marriage.
In
Dresden on 11 October 1652 Friedrich Wilhelm II married secondly
Magdalene Sibylle of Saxony, Dowager Crown Princess of Denmark and daughter of his former regent, the Elector
John George I. They had three children:
# Christian (b. Altenburg, 27 February 1654 – d. Altenburg, 5 June 1663)
Painting of Christian#
Johanna Magdalena (b. Altenburg, 14 January 1656 – d. Weissenfels, 22 January 1686), married on 25 October 1671 to
Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels.
#
Friedrich Wilhelm III, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (b. Altenburg, 12 July 1657 – d. Altenburg, 14 April 1672).
In 1660 he acquired the towns of
Themar and
Meiningen. In 1664 he built a hunting seat () in
Hummelshain
Hummelshain is a municipality in the district Saale-Holzland, in Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German sta ...
, and, in 1665, he built a particularly beautiful widow seat () called "Magdalenenstift" in Altenburg for his wife Magdalene Sybille.
After his death he was succeeded by his second and only surviving son, Frederick William III.
Ancestry
References
* August Beck: ''
Friedrich Wilhelm II. (Herzog von Sachsen-Altenburg)''. In:
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language.
It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Ac ...
(ADB). Band 7, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, S. 792–794.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich Wilhelm 02, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
1603 births
1669 deaths
Nobility from Weimar
Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg