John Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg Güstrow(5 May 1590 in Waren – 23 April 1636 in Güstrow) was a Duke of Mecklenburg. From 1608 to 1611, he was the nominal ruler of

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hou ...

; the actual ruler being the regent, his great-uncle

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. From 1611 to 1621 John Albert and his brother Adolf Frederick I jointly ruled the whole Duchy of Mecklenburg. From 1621, John Albert ruled Mecklenburg-Güstrow alone.

Life

John Albert was the son of Duke John VII and

Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1 June 1569 at Gottorf Castle – 14 November 1634 in Schwerin) was regent of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1603 to 1608. Life Sophia was the eldest daughter of Duke Adolph of Holstein-Gottorp a ...

. He reigned from 16 April 1608, under the regency of his great-uncle Duke

, jointly with his brother Adolf Frederick I in the

part of the country. After Charles's death, the Emperor declared Adolf Frederick an adult and he ruled alone until John Albert came of age and they began to rule jointly. In 1617 he converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. In the division of Mecklenburg of 1621, John Albert received Mecklenburg-Güstrow. In 1623, both brothers joined a defensive alliance of the Lower Saxon Estates. They tried to seem neutral during 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 batt ...

, but they secretly supported the Danish troops of king

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

. After the Imperial side won the

Battle of Lutter The Battle of Lutter (German: '' Lutter am Barenberge'') took place on 27 August 1626 during the Thirty Years' War, south of Salzgitter, in Lower Saxony. A combined Danish-German force led by Christian IV of Denmark was defeated by Johan Tzercl ...

, Tilly treated them as enemies. On 19 January 1628, Emperor Ferdinand II issue a decree at Brandýs Castle declaring that the brothers had forfeited their

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

and that Mecklenburg would be invested to

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

. In May 1628, the brothers left the Duchy, at the request of Wallenstein. In May 1631, Wallenstein was overthrown by Swedish troops, and the brothers returned. John Albert II died in 1636 and was buried in the Minster in Güstrow.

Marriage and issue

John Albert II was married three times. (I) On 9 October 1608 he married Margaret Elizabeth (11 July, 1584 – 16 November, 1616), daughter of Duke

Christopher Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or " Anointed", and φέρε� ...

of Mecklenburg. The couple had the following children: * Hanss Georg (1610–1660) *John Christopher (1611–1612) * Elisabeth Sophie (20 August 1613 – 12 July 1676,) :married Duke

Augustus II Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel * Christine Margaret (31 March 1615 – 16 August 1666) :married firstly on 11 February 1640

Francis Albert of Saxe-Lauenburg Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

, son of Francis II :married secondly, on 6 July 1650 Duke Christian Louis I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (divorced 1663) *Charles Henry (1616–1618) (II) On 26 March 1618, he married Elizabeth of Hesse-Kassel (24 May 1596 – 16 December 1625), daughter of Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel. This marriage remained childless. (III) He married his third wife,

Eleonore Marie of Anhalt-Bernburg Eleanor Marie of Anhalt-Bernburg (7 August 1600 in Amberg – 17 July 1657 in Strelitz) was a princess of Anhalt-Bernburg by birth and by marriage Duchess of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Early life Eleanor Marie was a daughter of Prince Christian I ...

(7 August 1600 – 17 July 1657), daughter of Prince

Christian I Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...

of Anhalt-Bernburg, on 7 May 1626. The couple had the following children: *Anna Sophie (29 September, 1628 – 10 February 1666) :married Duke

Louis IV of Legnica Louis IV of Legnica ( pl, Ludwik; Brzeg, 19 April 1616 – Legnica, 24 November 1663) was a duke of Brzeg from 1633 (together with his brothers until 1654), of Wołów (during 1653–1654 with his brothers) and of Legnica from 1653 (until 1654 ...

*John Christian (1629–1631) *Eleanor (1630–1631) * Gustav Adolph (1633–1695) *Louise (20 May 1635 – 6 January 1648)

Ancestry

External links

* *
Genealogy of the House of Mecklenburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Albert 02 Mecklenburg House of Mecklenburg Dukes of Mecklenburg-Güstrow People from Güstrow 1590 births 1636 deaths 17th-century German people