John Sigismund (german: Johann Sigismund; 8 November 1572 – 23 December 1619) was a

Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the princ ...

of the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out ...

from the House of Hohenzollern. He became the Duke of Prussia through his marriage to Duchess Anna, the eldest daughter of Duke Albert Frederick of Prussia who died without sons. Their marriage resulted in the potential creation of

Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohe ...

, which became a reality after Poland's leader appointed John Sigismund in charge of Prussia in regency and, shortly thereafter, Albert Frederick died without an able, direct male heir.

Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia

John Sigismund was born in Halle an der Saale to

Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim Frederick (27 January 1546 – 18 July 1608), of the House of Hohenzollern, was Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1598 until his death. Biography Joachim Frederick was born in Cölln to John George, Elector of Branden ...

, and his first wife

Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin () (10 August 1549 – 30 September 1602) was a Margravine of Brandenburg-Küstrin by birth and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage. Life Catherine was the younger of two daughters of John, Margrave of Branden ...

. He succeeded his father as Margrave of Brandenburg in 1608. In 1611, John Sigismund traveled from

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, where on 16 November 1611 he gave feudal homage to Sigismund III Vasa,

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...

(the Duchy of Prussia was a Polish fief at the time). He officially became Duke of Prussia in 1618, although he had served as regent on behalf of the mentally-disturbed Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia, for several years prior. He suffered a stroke in 1616 from which he didn't recover and died in 1619. John Sigismund gave the Reichshof Castrop to his teacher and educator Carl Friedrich von Bordelius, whereas he received the territories of

Cleves Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

, and Ravensberg in the

Treaty of Xanten The Treaty of Xanten (german: Vertrag von Xanten, links=no) was signed in the Lower Rhine town of Xanten on 12 November 1614 between Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, with representatives from ...

in 1614.

Religious policy

John Sigismund's most significant action was his conversion from

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Calvinism 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 C ...

, after he had earlier equalized the rights of Catholics and Protestants in the Duchy of Prussia under pressure from the King of Poland. He was probably won over to Calvinism during a visit to

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

in 1606, but it was not until 25 December 1613 that he publicly took communion according to the Calvinist rite. The vast majority of his subjects in Brandenburg, including his wife Anna of Prussia, remained deeply Lutheran, however. After the Elector and his Calvinist court officials drew up plans for mass conversion of the population to the new faith in February 1614, as provided for by the rule of ''

Cuius regio, eius religio () is a Latin phrase which literally means "whose realm, their religion" – meaning that the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled. This legal principle marked a major development in the collective (if not individual ...

'' within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

, there were serious protests, with his wife backing the Lutherans. Resistance was so strong that in 1615, John Sigismund backed down and relinquished all attempts at forcible conversion. Instead, he allowed his subjects to be either Lutheran or Calvinist according to the dictates of their own consciences. Henceforward, Brandenburg-Prussia would be a bi-confessional state.Christopher Clark ''The Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947'' (Penguin, 2007) pp. 115–121

Family and children

On 30 October 1594, John Sigismund married Anna of Prussia, daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (1553–1618). She was the elder sister of his stepmother. They were parents to eight children: * George William of Brandenburg (13 November 1595 – 1 December 1640). His successor. * Anne Sophia of Brandenburg (15 March 1598 – 19 December 1659). Married Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. * Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg (11 November 1599 – 28 March 1655). Married

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. They were parents of Christina of Sweden. * Catherine of Brandenburg (28 May 1602 – 27 August 1644). Married first Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania and secondly Franz Karl of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme sou ...

. * Joachim Sigismund of Brandenburg (25 July 1603 – 22 February 1625). * Agnes of Brandenburg (31 August 1606 – 12 March 1607). * John Frederick of Brandenburg (18 August 1607 – 1 March 1608). * Albrecht Christian of Brandenburg (7–14 March 1609).

Ancestry

References

External links

*
Settlement of Dortmund between Brandenburg and Palatinate-Neuburg and the conflict of succession in Jülich, in full text
* {{Authority control 1572 births 1619 deaths 17th-century Dukes of Prussia People from Halle (Saale) Prince-electors of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern German Calvinist and Reformed Christians Dukes of Prussia Electoral Princes of Brandenburg John Sigismund Burials at Berlin Cathedral