John I of Zweibrücken (known as the Lame; german: Pfalzgraf Johann I von Zweibrücken; 8 May 1550 – 12 August 1604) was

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

and Duke of

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...

during 1569–1604. He was born in

Meisenheim Meisenheim () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. Meisenheim is a state-recognized recreational resort (''Erholungsort'') and it is s ...

as the second son of

Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken (german: Pfalzgraf Wolfgang von Zweibrücken; 26 September 1526 – 11 June 1569) was member of the Wittelsbach family of the Counts Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken from 1532. With the support of his re ...

and his wife

Anna of Hesse Anna of Hesse (26 October 1529, Kassel – 10 July 1591, Meisenheim) was a princess of Hesse by birth and marriage Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken. Early life Anna was a daughter of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse (1501–1567) from his mar ...

. In 1588 he changed the state religion 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 Cal ...

. He died in

Germersheim Germersheim () is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim (district), Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsru ...

in 1604 and was buried in the Alexanderkirche in

Family and children

He married in 1579 Duchess

Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg Duchess Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (2 November 1553 – 30 August 1633) was the fifth child of Duke William "the Rich" of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Maria of Austria, a daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I. She married in 1579 with Count Pala ...

, daughter of William "the Rich", Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and they had the following children: # Ludwig Wilhelm (28 November 1580 – 26 March 1581) # Maria Elisabeth (7 November 1581 – 18 August 1637), married in 1601 to

George Gustavus, Count Palatine of Veldenz George Gustavus (German: Georg Gustav) (6 February 1564 – 3 June 1634) was the Count of Veldenz from 1592 until 1634. Biography George Gustavus was born in 1564 as the eldest son of George John I, Count Palatine of Lützelstein. His father die ...

# Anna Magdalena, born and died in 1583 # John II of Zweibrücken-Veldenz (26 March 1584 – 9 August 1635) # Frederick Casimir of Zweibrücken-Landsberg (10 June 1585 – 30 September 1645) # John Casimir of Kleeburg (20 April 1589 – 18 June 1652), father of

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

. # Amalia Jakobäa Henriette (26 September 1592 – 18 May 1655), married 1638 to Count Jakob Franz of Pestacalda # Elisabeth Dorothea, died young in 1593 # Anna Katharina, born and died in 1597 He died in

Ancestry

External links

Die Genealogie der Wittelsbacher
1550 births 1604 deaths People from Bad Kreuznach (district) House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken House of Wittelsbach Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken Burials at the Alexanderkirche, Zweibrücken {{Germany-noble-stub