John of Brandenburg-Küstrin (german: Johann von Brandenburg-Küstrin, or ; 3 August 1513 – 13 January 1571), was a member of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

and a Margrave of

Brandenburg-Küstrin The Neumark (), also known as the New March ( pl, Nowa Marchia) or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945. Calle ...

Life

John was the younger son of

Joachim I Nestor Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

of Brandenburg, and

Elizabeth of Denmark, Electress of Brandenburg Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (24 June 1485 – 10 June 1555) was a Scandinavian princess who became Electress of Brandenburg as the spouse of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg. She was the daughter of King Hans of Denmark, Nor ...

. Joachim I had decreed in his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

decreed that his country would be divided between his sons, John and Joachim II. When Joachim I died on 11 July 1535, the Margraviate of

was created for John; it consisted of the territories of the

New March The Neumark (), also known as the New March ( pl, Nowa Marchia) or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder, Oder River in territory which became part of History of Polan ...

with

Dramburg Drawsko Pomorskie (until 1948 pl, Drawsko; formerly german: Dramburg) is a town in Drawsko County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland, the administrative seat of Drawsko County and the urban-rural commune of Gmina Drawsko Po ...

and Schivelbein, the Sternberg Land,

Crossen an der Oder Crossen may refer to: * Crossen an der Elster, municipality in Thuringia, Germany * Zwickau-Crossen, part of Zwickau in Saxony, Germany *Crossen (Oder), German name of Krosno Odrzańskie, Poland *part of the municipality Erlau in Saxony, Germany * ...

with Züllichau and

Sommerfeld Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld, (; 5 December 1868 – 26 April 1951) was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and mentored many students for the new era of theoretica ...

and the Loardship of

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...

with

Peitz Peitz (; Lower Sorbian Picnjo) is a town in the district of Spree-Neiße, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. Overview It is situated 13 km northeast of Cottbus. Surrounded by freshwater lakes, it is well known for its fishing industry. ...

, altogether about 12,500 square kilometers. John chose Küstrin as his capital and started developing the city on the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

into a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. Joachim II, the elder son, inherited the title of Elector and the rest of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Unlike his extravagant brother, John was deeply religious. He had much energy and insight into economic and political issues. He managed to militarily secure his margraviate and to stabilize its market economy. With his accession, the area was changed to

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 ...

and in 1538 he joined the

Schmalkaldic League The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...

. However, in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...

, he fought on the Catholic side, the side of

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

, hoping to be rewarded with the

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country ha ...

. However, the Emperor only rewarded him with freedom of religion in the New March area. At the Imperial Diet in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

in 1548, where Charles V dictated the

Augsburg Interim The Augsburg Interim (full formal title: ''Declaration of His Roman Imperial Majesty on the Observance of Religion Within the Holy Empire Until the Decision of the General Council'') was an imperial decree ordered on 15 May 1548 at the 1548 Diet ...

, John came into conflict with the Emperor. John rejected the Interim and refused to participate in the Corpus Christi procession. John fell out of favour; he was not arrested, due to the intercession of King Ferdinand (the later Emperor Ferdinand I and also because his brother Joachim was an Elector. After he returned to his Margraviate of Brandenburg-Küstrin, John strengthened its defenses and started planning an anti-Habsburg alliance, which however did not come about. He did not officially publish the Interim of Augsburg in his country. A group of German princes led by Elector

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

of Saxony, and supported by

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 ...

, opposed the Interim of Augsburg. After a dispute with Maurice in the hunting castle Annaburg in

Lochau Lochau is a municipality in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is located on Lake Constance, in the Bregenz district, near the border to Germany. About 50.3% of the municipality's area is forest. The Pfänder, the landmark mountain ...

in 1551, John decided not to join this group. Duke

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

of Prussia tried to persuade to John to side with

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...

, but he refused. After consultation with his brother, John decided not to press his claims on the Margraviate of

Brandenburg-Kulmbach The Principality of Bayreuth (german: Fürstentum Bayreuth) or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (''Markgraftum Brandenburg-Bayreuth'') was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynas ...

. Joachim II died on 3 January 1571 and John died only 10 days later, on the 13th. He was buried in a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

under the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

of the St. Mary church in Küstrin. As John did not have a male heir, his margraviate was reunited with the March of Brandenburg, which was then ruled by Joachim's son John George. John I of Brandenburg-Küstrin left a fortune of more than half a million

guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...

, while his brother left behind debts of 2.5 million guilders.

Marriage and issue

John married on 11 November 1537 in Wolfenbüttel, Duchess Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1518–1574). From this marriage, he had two daughters: * Elisabeth (1540–1578) :married in 1558 Margrave George Frederick I of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1539–1603) *

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

(1549–1602) :married in 1570 Elector

Joachim Frederick 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 Brande ...

(1546–1608)

References

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known toda ...

: ''Walking through the Mark Brandenburg'', Part Two: The Oder country. Chapter: Margrave Hans. * {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kustrin Margraves of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern 1513 births 1571 deaths

Life

Marriage and issue

See also

References