Christian II of Saxe-Merseburg (19 November 1653 – 20 October 1694), was a duke of

Saxe-Merseburg The Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, with Merseburg as its capital. It existed from 1656 or 1657 to 1738 and was owned by an Albertine secundogeniture of the Saxon House of Wettin. History The Wettin Elector J ...

and member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

. He was the second (but eldest surviving) son of

Christian I, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg Christian I of Saxe-Merseburg (27 October 1615 – 18 October 1691), was the first duke of Saxe-Merseburg and a member of the House of Wettin. He was the sixth (third surviving) son of John George I, Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg I, Electo ...

, and

Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Princess Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, often referred to as ''Christiane'' (22 September 1634 in Copenhagen – 20 May 1701 at Delitzsch Castle) was the consort of Christian I, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg, who was the ru ...

Life

The death of his older brother Johann Georg on 3 January 1654 made him the new heir of the duchy of Saxe-Merseburg. Christian succeeded his father when he died, on 18 October 1691. Christian II's short reign had little impact on the history of the duchy. In fact, he is only remembered today for one of the

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

s in the gardens of Castle Merseburg, where he appears together with his wife.

Marriage and issue

In Moritzburg an der Elster on 14 October 1679, Christian married his paternal cousin, Princess

Erdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-Zeitz Erdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-Zeitz (13 November 1661Johann Hübner's three hundred and thirty three genealogical tables, table 171 Archived 2012-04-20 at the Wayback Machine/ref> – 29 April 1720) was the wife of Duke Christian II, Duke of Saxe-Me ...

. They had seven children: # Christian III Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg (b. Merseburg, 7 November 1680 – d. Merseburg, 14 November 1694). #Johann Wilhelm (b. Merseburg, 11 October 1681 – d. Merseburg, 29 May 1685) died in early childhood. #August Frederick (b. Delitzsch, 10 March 1684 – d. Merseburg, 13 August 1685) died in infancy. #Philipp Ludwig (b. Merseburg, 3 November 1686 – d. Merseburg, 9 June 1688) died in early childhood. # Maurice Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg (b. Merseburg, 5 February 1688 – d. Merseburg, 21 April 1731). #Frederick Erdmann (b. Merseburg, 20 September 1691 – d.

Köthen Köthen () is a town in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about north of Halle. Köthen is the location of the main campus and the administrative centre of the regional university, Anhalt Univers ...

, 2 June 1714), married on 15 February 1714 to Eleonore Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Köthen. The union lasted only four months and was childless. #Christiane Eleonore Dorothea (b. Merseburg, 6 November 1692 – d. Merseburg, 30 March 1693) died in early childhood.

References

* Heinrich Theodor Flathe: '' Christian II. (Herzog von Sachsen-Merseburg).'' In:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

(ADB). Band 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, S. 175. {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian 02, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg 1653 births 1694 deaths Dukes of the Holy Roman Empire House of Saxe-Merseburg Dukes of Saxe-Merseburg Albertine branch