Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
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Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (2 November 1649, in Halle – 24 May 1697, in Weissenfels), was a duke of
Saxe-Weissenfels Saxe-Weissenfels (german: Sachsen-Weißenfels) was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656/7 until 1746 with its residence at Weißenfels. Ruled by a cadet branch of the Albertine House of Wettin, the duchy passed to the Electorate of Saxony u ...
-Querfurt and member of the
House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...
. He was the first son of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, and his first wife, Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.


Accession to the Duchy and continuation of the patronage

After the death of his father on 4 June 1680 and the loss of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg (which was secularised by Brandenburg and made over into the
Duchy of Magdeburg The Duchy of Magdeburg (german: Herzogtum Magdeburg) was a province of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1680 to 1701 and a province of the German Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1807. It replaced the Archbishopric of Magdeburg after its secula ...
), Johann Adolf dedicated his first efforts to finishing the still incomplete Schloss Neu-Augustusburg that was begun by his father in 1660; construction at the castle resumed on 18 August 1680. The consecration of the castle chapel took place on 1 November 1682 and the castle was finally paved in the year 1694. A large theatre had been built earlier that sponsored performances of opera in German beginning in 1685. At his estate, near the Guardhouses (''Kavaliershaeuser''), Johann Adolf created the most important
formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a forma ...
in central Germany of his time. In 1690 pipes were built to supply the castle complex with water from the Selauer Area. The city of Weissenfels prospered to the point where it became not only an administrative center, but also an economic center. Johann Adolf was a patron of the arts following the model of his father and other members of his family; as court Kapellmeister he appointed
Johann Philipp Krieger Johann Philipp Krieger (also ''Kriger'', ''Krüger'', ''Krugl'', and ''Giovanni Filippo Kriegher''; baptised 27 February 1649; died 7 February 1725) was a German Baroque composer and organist. He was the elder brother of Johann Krieger. Life Ea ...
, who had already served under the late duke. Johann Adolf also discovered the musical talent of the son of his court surgeon Georg Händel and encouraged him to let the young Georg Friedrich seek training in music. Like his father (who had served as its head), Johann Adolf was accepted into the
Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it a ...
.


Controversy over the Barby inheritance

When the county of
Rosenburg Rosenburg is a castle in the municipality Rosenburg-Mold, Lower Austria, Austria. Rosenburg is on a cliff above the valley of the River Kamp at an elevation of above sea level. It is one of Austria's most visited Renaissance castles. It is si ...
fell to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg in 1659 after the extinction of the male line of the counts of Barby, Johann Adolf's father, duke August, continued to administer these areas (which were not a part of this patrimony) in spite of the protests of the Electors of
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
and
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, who desired those lands in accordance with the terms of the Peace of Westphalia. In 1666, the Elector of Saxony finally consented to give Barby and Rosenberg to duke August until the extinction of the Weissenfels line. After the death of the duke, Barby was inherited by one of his younger sons,
Heinrich Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
. Johann Adolf, who saw his inheritance reduced by his father, protested. After his father's death, Johann Adolf turned to the elector of Brandenburg to obtain a declaration of nullity for the sales contract that relinquished Rosenberg. In April 1681 it was sold for 60.000 Taler to the Elector Frederick of Brandenburg. Due to the debts accumulated by his father, Johann Adolf was forced in 1687 to sell
Burg bei Magdeburg Burg (also known as Burg bei Magdeburg to distinguish from other places with the same name) is a town of about 22,400 inhabitants on the Elbe–Havel Canal in northeastern Germany, northeast of Magdeburg. It is the capital of the Jerichower Land ...
.


Dispute with the electorate of Saxony

After the death of Elector Johann Georg II of Saxony in 1680, the will of his father Johann Georg I was disputed by the new Elector Johann Georg III with regard to the appanages of his younger sons; he refused to recognise the principalities and collateral lines of his cousins. This brought some difficulties to Johann Adolf after he recognised a threat from the Saxonian Electorate to his own territories. The conflict could only be settled with the Contract of Torgau (12 May 1681) and two other contracts signed in Dresden in 1682 and 1688; with these pacts, Johann Adolf secured his rule over
Querfurt Querfurt () is a town in the Saalekreis district, or ''Kreis'', in southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located in a fertile area on the Querne, west from Merseburg. In 2020, the town had a population of 10,454. The town Querfurt consists of ...
and his seat in the Upper-Saxonian Council (''Kreistag''). On his death, his three surviving sons, Johann Georg, Christian, and Johann Adolf II, successively assumed rulership over the duchy of Saxe-Weissenfels.


Marriages and issue

In Altenburg on 25 October 1671, Johann Adolf married
Johanna Magdalena of Saxe-Altenburg Johanna Magdalena of Saxe-Altenburg (14 January 1656 in Altenburg – 22 January 1686 in Weißenfels) was a member of the House of Wettin. She was a Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg by birth and by marriage a Duchess of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt. Life ...
. They had eleven children: # Magdalene Sibylle (b. Halle, 3 September 1673 – d.
Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
, 28 November 1726), married on 28 July 1708 to
Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (17 October 1666 – 14 January 1729), was a duke of Saxe-Eisenach, and came from the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin. Life John William III was born in Friedewald, the third son of John George ...
. #August Frederick (b. Halle, 15 September 1674 – d. Halle, 16 August 1675). #Johann Adolf (b. Halle, 7 June 1676 – d. Halle 18 June 1676). #
Johann Georg, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Johann Georg, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (13 July 1677, in Halle – 16 March 1712, in Weissenfels), was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and a member of the House of Wettin. He was the third child and first surviving son of Johann Adolf ...
(b. Halle, 13 July 1677 – d. Weissenfels, 16 March 1712). #Stillborn son (Halle, 24 July 1678). #Johanna Wilhelmine (b. Halle, 20 January 1680 – d. Halle, 4 July 1730). #Frederick Wilhelm (b. Weissenfels, 18 January 1681 – d. Weissenfels, 20 November 1681). #
Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (23 February 1682 in Weissenfels – 28 June 1736 in Sangerhausen), was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and member of the House of Wettin. He was the sixth (but second surviving) son of Johann Adolf I, Du ...
(b. Weissenfels, 23 February 1682 – d.
Sangerhausen Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen ( ...
, 28 June 1736). #Anna Marie (b. Weissenfels, 17 June 1683 – d. Sorau, 16 March 1731), married on 16 June 1705 to Count
Erdmann II of Promnitz Erdmann II, Count von Promnitz (born 22 August 1683 in Sorau, Electorate of Saxony (now Żary, Poland); died: 7 September 1745 at the forest castle near Żary) was Lord of Żary (german: Sorau) and Trzebiel (german: Triebel) in Lower Lusatia, an ...
. # Sophie (b. Weissenfels, 2 August 1684 – d. Rosswald, Silesia, 6 May 1752), married first on 16 October 1699 to Georg Wilhelm, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, and secondly on 14 July 1734 to Joseph Albert, Count of Hoditz und Wolframitz. #
Johann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Johann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels ( Weissenfels, 4 September 1685 – Leipzig, 16 May 1746), was the last duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and a member of the House of Wettin. He was also a commander in the Saxon army. Johann Adol ...
(b. Weissenfels, 4 September 1685 – d. Leipzig, 16 May 1746). After the death of his wife in 1686, Johann Adolf married a second time in Querfurt on 3 February 1692 to Christiane Wilhelmine of Bünau. This marriage was
morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...
and only made by contract; the completion of the marriage in the presence of a clergyman was left to his discretion. Johann Adolf give her 6,000 Taler as ''Morgengabe'' and an annual income of 3,000 Taler and the use of Schloss Dahme for her residence as
dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...
. He admonished his sons to show her due respect, and should any children come from this marriage he would make further divisions over the family lands. After five years of marriage, Christiane Wilhelmine was created Imperial Countess (''Reichgräfin'') in 1697 at the request of her husband. They had no children.Morganatic and Unequal Marriages in German Law
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References

{{Authority control 1649 births 1697 deaths House of Saxe-Weissenfels People from Halle (Saale) Dukes of Saxe-Weissenfels Albertine branch