Albert II or V of Brandenburg-Ansbach (18 September 1620 – 22 October 1667) was a German prince, who was

Margrave of Ansbach The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg-)Ansbach (german: Fürstentum Ansbach or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margrave ...

from 1634 until his death.

Life

Born in

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

, Albert was the second son of

Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (22 June 1583, in Cölln an der Spree – 7 March 1625, in Ansbach) was a German nobleman. He ruled as margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1603 to 1625, succeeding his cousin George Frederick an ...

(1582–1625) and his wife Sophie (1594–1651), daughter of John George, Count of Solms-Laubach. On Joachim Ernst's death Albert's elder brother Frederick III succeeded him in Ansbach from 1625 onwards, initially under their mother's guardianship, but he was killed without issue in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

in 1634. Albert thus succeeded him, though again the early years of his rule were under his mother's guardianship, only taking up full government responsibilities when his minority ended in 1639. With much diplomatic skill, he manoeuvred Brandenburg-Ansbach through the last ten years of the war and through administrative reforms, support for the guilds and cultural life and a good credit policy he promoted the beginnings of post-war reconstruction. He offered refuge to religious refugees from Austria and in 1647 or 1662 granted them lands in

Treuchtlingen Treuchtlingen is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 12,000. History The spot where the town is situated was first settled by Celts, Romans and Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ...

and Berolzheim. Albert's main advisor on this was his former teacher

Johannes Limnäus Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

. Active in the politics of 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 ...

, he sent troops to back the war against the Ottoman Empire. A typical Baroque absolute ruler, he died at Ansbach in 1667. He was buried in the ''Johanniskirche'' in that city.

Marriage and issue

In Stuttgart on 31 August 1642 he married Henriette Louise (1623–1650), daughter of

Louis Frederick, Duke of Württemberg-Montbéliard Louis Frederick of Württemberg-Montbéliard (29 January 1586 in Montbéliard – 26 January 1631 in Montbéliard) was the founder of a cadet line of the House of Württemberg known as the Dukes of Württemberg-Montbéliard. Louis Frederick o ...

, with the following children: * Sophie Elisabeth (*/†1643) * Albertine Luise (1646–1670) * Sophie Amalie (*/† 1649) He married for a second time on 15 October 1651 at

Oettingen Oettingen in Bayern (Swabian: ''Eadi'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is situated northwest of Donauwörth, and northeast of Nördlingen. Geography The town is located on the river Wörnitz, a tributary ...

, to Sophie Margarete (1634–1664), daughter of Joachim Ernst, Count of Oettingen-Oettingen, with the following children: * Luise Sophie (1652–1668) *

John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (18 October 1654 – 22 March 1686) succeeded his father Albert II as margrave of Ansbach in 1667. He married his second wife Princess Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach on 4 November 1681. Their da ...

(1654–1686) ∞ 1. 1673 Princess

Johanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach Johanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach (3 October 1680 – 2 July 1757), was a Duchess of Württemberg by marriage. Marriage Johanna of Baden-Durlach was born in the Karlsberg, Durlach, the third child of Friedrich VII Magnus, Margrave of Baden-D ...

(1651–1680)
∞ 2. 1681 Princess Eleonore of Sachsen-Eisenach (1662–1696) * Albrecht Ernst (1659–1674) * Dorothea Charlotte (1661–1705) ∞ 1687

Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt Ernest Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Ernst Ludwig) (15 December 1667 – 12 September 1739) was Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1678 to 1739. His parents were Landgrave Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt and Elisabeth Dorothea of Saxe-Gotha-Alte ...

(1667–1739) * Eleonore Juliane (1663–1724) ∞ 1682

Frederick Charles, Duke of Württemberg-Winnental Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

(1652–1698) He married for a third time on 6 August 1665 in

Durlach Durlach is a borough of the German city of Karlsruhe with a population of roughly 30,000. History Durlach was bestowed by emperor Frederick II on the margrave Hermann V of Zähringen as an allodial possession. It was chosen by the margrave Ch ...

, to

Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...

(1645–1705), daughter of

Frederick VI, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Frederick VI, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (16 November 1617 – 10 or 31 January 1677Meyers Konversationslexikon 1888 says he died on 31 January) was the Margrave of Baden-Durlach from 1659 until his death. Life He was born at Karlsburg Castle ...

. This marriage was childless.

Ancestors

Sources

* Hanns Hubert Hofmann: Albrecht V.. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, S. 163 f. (Onlinefassung) * M. Spindler, A. Kraus: Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts, München 1997. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg-Ansbach, Albert 02, Margrave of 1620 births 1667 deaths Albert 02 People from Ansbach