Johann Georg ohn Georgevon Brandenburg (16 December 1577 – 2 March 1624) was a German nobleman and Protestant ecclesiastic in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. He was the administrator (bishop) of Strasbourg from 1592 until 1604 and the Duke of Jägerndorf (Krnov), one of the

Silesian duchies The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the King ...

, from 1607 until 1624. Born at

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, Fa ...

, Johann Georg was the second son of Elector Joachim Friedrich of Brandenburg and Katharina von Brandenburg-Küstrin. Like all male members of his family, he held the title

Margrave of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Margraviate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the primary c ...

as a courtesy title. With his brother Johann Sigismund, he was sent to study at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

in 1588. There the brothers, both

Lutherans 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 ...

, came under the influence of

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 ...

teaching. Following the death of Bishop , the Protestant majority in the chapter of the

diocese of Strasbourg The Archdiocese of Strasbourg ( la, Archidioecesis Argentoratensis o Argentinensis; french: Archidiocèse de Strasbourg; german: Erzbistum Straßburg; gsw-FR, Ärzbischofsìtz Strossburi(g)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdi ...

elected the 15-year-old Johann Georg to administer the diocese on 20 May 1592. This decision was designed to unite Protestants across Germany behind them. The Catholic minority elected Cardinal Charles of Lorraine in opposition to Johann. There followed twelve years' of war in Strasbourg. It was finally ended by the

Treaty of Haguenau A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

of 22 November 1604. Johann ceded the diocese to Charles and received compensation in return. In 1607, Johann Georg's father granted him the

Duchy of Jägerndorf The Duchy of Krnov ( la, Ducatus Carnoviensis, cs, Krnovské knížectví, pl, Księstwo Karniowskie) or Duchy of Jägerndorf (german: Herzogtum Jägerndorf) was one of the Duchies of Silesia, which in 1377 emerged from the Duchy of Troppau (O ...

, which had belonged to the late Georg Friedrich of Ansbach. The

Emperor Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...

, in whose

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

the Duchy of Jägerndorf lay, refused to admit Johann as duke and asked for

Beuthen Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capita ...

and

Oderberg Oderberg () is a town in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg in northeastern Germany. It is situated 16 km east of Eberswalde, and 27 km southwest of Schwedt, close to the border with Poland, and in close vicinity of Berlin. Overvie ...

as pledges. His successors,

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. People Notable people named Matthias include the following: In religion: * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot * ...

and Ferdinand II, however, took the oath of fealty from Johann in 1611 and 1617. A dispute over the pledges was not settled until 17 May 1618, and on that date Johann's possession of Jägerndorf became final. Johann Georg was one of the five Protestant members of the Silesian estates who joined with the Bohemian estates in demanding religious tolerance from Rudolf II on 25 June 1609. The Silesians received the

Letter of Majesty The Letter of Majesty (1609) was a 17th-century European document, reluctantly signed by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, granting religious tolerance to both Protestant and Catholic citizens living in the estates of Bohemia. The letter also ...

, granting the request, on 20 August. When the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

broke out in 1618, the Silesian estates joined the Bohemian in opposing the Emperor Ferdinand II. Although Johann played a relatively minor role in the military actions of the first few years, he was the only Silesian or Bohemian nobleman deposed by the victorious Ferdinand after the

Battle of the White Mountain ), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic) , coordinates = , territory = , result = Imperial-Spanish victory , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 = Catholic L ...

(29 January 1621). He refused to accept his deposition and continued to fight with an army of mercenaries in the

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Glatzer regions. He joined with the Transylvanian prince

Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of th ...

, elected

King of Hungary The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...

in opposition to Ferdinand, and was instrumental in his military success in 1621. In January 1622, however, he made peace with the emperor at

Nikolsburg Mikulov (; german: Nikolsburg; yi, ניקאלשבורג, ''Nikolshburg'') is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic centre of Mikulov is well preserved and i ...

. He remained with Gabriel Bethlen, expecting war to break out again, but died at Lőcse in Hungary before it did.

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg, Johann Georg von 1577 births 1624 deaths Bishops of Strasbourg People from Wolmirstedt Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach