John Adolphus of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (german: Johann Adolf or ''Hans Adolf''; 8 April 1634,

Ahrensbök Ahrensbök (Holsatian: ''Ahrensböök'') is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 17 km northwest of Lübeck, and 45 km southeast of Kiel. History Ahrensbök came in ...

– 2 July 1704 Ruhleben) was the second Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön, which had been created by a division of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg.

Life

He was born on 8 April 1634 in

, the eldest son of the first Duke of Plön, Joachim Ernest and

Dorothea Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp Dorothea Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (12 May 1602 – 13 March 1682) was a German noblewoman from the House of (Schleswig-)Holstein-Gottorp, a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg. She became the first Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein- ...

. From 1645 to 1650 he went on a

grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

around the countries of Europe, including

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He was accompanied by his brother, Augustus, who was one year younger. In 1671 he inherited the dukedom from his father. On 25 October 1671 he was bestowed with the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

, the highest Danish order of knighthood, becoming the 124th member of the order. In 1684 he had the first hunting lodge built in

Traventhal Traventhal is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It gave name to the Peace of Travendal The Peace of Travendal was a peace treaty concluded at the outset of the Great Northern War on 18 August 1700 betwe ...

; this was followed in 1685 by St. John's Church, Plön and in 1690 the parish church of Plön. In 1694 he led the Dutch army at the

Siege of Huy A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterized ...

. John Adolphus took part in several of the major wars of his time, including the

Ottoman wars A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

and handed over the running of his duchy during those times largely to his mother and his wife. During his reign the

Treaty of Traventhal The Peace of Travendal was a peace treaty concluded at the outset of the Great Northern War on 18 August 1700 between the Swedish Empire, Denmark–Norway and Holstein-Gottorp in Traventhal.Weigley (2004), p.108 Denmark had to return Holstein-Go ...

was signed at the ducal hunting lodge in

, a milestone during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

. In 1704 went to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and fought against the

Kuruc Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti-Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711. Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national ind ...

s with the forces of Holstein-Plön and Denmark. He participated in the

battle of Smolenice The Battle of Smolenice ( hu, Szomolányi csata, german: Schlacht bei Smolenitz, sk, Bitka pri Smoleniciach) was a battle between the Kuruc (a group of Hungarian peasants and irregular warriors), and the forces of the Habsburg Empire, soldi ...

Family

John Adolphus married Dorothea of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, a daughter of Rudolf Augustus of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. They had two children: * Adolphus Augustus (born 29 March 1680; died 29 June 1704), married Elisabeth Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Nordborg (1683-1767). She was the daughter of Rudolf of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg, and granddaughter of Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg. :* their son, Leopold Augustus (1702-1706), died as a child * Dorothea Sophia (1692–1765), married

Adolphus Frederick III, Duke of Mecklenburg Adolphus Frederick III (7 June 1686 – 11 December 1752) was a Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Biography He was born in Strelitz the son of Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg, and his wife Princess Maria of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (1659–170 ...

Duke John Adolphus died on 2 July 1704 in Ruhleben, a few days after his son, Adolphus Augustus, had been killed in a riding accident. Because Leopold Augustus, son of Adolphus Augustus and grandson of John Adolphus died in childhood in 1706, the estate went to the John Adolphus' nephew, Joachim Frederick, from the line of Schleswig-Holstein-Nordborg.

Ancestors

Sources

External links

Family line of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön

of Plön with a portrait of John Adolphus on emergency money
{{Authority control Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön 1634 births 1704 deaths Generals of the Holy Roman Empire