George John I (German: Georg Johann I.; sometimes called George Hans) (11 April 1543 – 18 April 1592) was the Count of Veldenz from 1544 until 1592.

Life

George John was born in 1543 as the only son of Rupert, Count Palatine of Veldenz. George John's cousin, Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, was a child when he inherited his title, so George John's father served as Wolgang's

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. In 1543, when Wolfgang reached majority and took on the responsibility of office, he enacted the Marburg Contract, giving Rupert the

County of Veldenz The County Palatine of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary States of Germany, Land Rhineland-Palatinate with full voting rights to the Reichstag. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, part ...

. Rupert died the following year, and the one-year-old George John succeeded him. In 1563 he married Anna of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, the daughter of King

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...

, beginning a long-running connection between the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

and Sweden. In 1553 after the Heidelberg War of Succession which regulated the mutual inheritance of all the lines of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

, George John obtained Palatinate-Lützelstein. He attempted to develop his Alsatian territories to be the focus of his state, which led to him building the city of Phalsbourg (Pfalzburg) in 1570 and populating it with

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

refugees from the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

. The project was so grand and unaffordable that in 1583 he was forced to sell the city and half of Palatinate-Lützelstein to Lorraine. George John died in Lützelstein in 1592 and was buried in the city's church. Pierre tombale Georges-Jean de Veldenz

Marriage

George John married Anna of

(1545–1610), daughter of King Gustavus I, in 1563 and had the following children: # George Gustavus (1564 – 3 June 1634) #Anne Margaret (28 April 1565 – 2 October 1566) #John Rupert (9 September 1566 – 1 October 1567) # Anne Margaret (17 January 1571 – 1 November 1621) third wife of Reichard, Count Palatine of Simmern-Sponheim # Ursula (24 February 1572 – 5 March 1635), second wife of Louis III, Duke of Württemberg # Joanna Elizabeth (2 October 1573 – 28 July 1601) #

John Augustus John Augustus (c. 1785 – June 21, 1859) was an American boot maker and penal reformer. He is credited with coining the English term "probation" and is called the "Father of Probation" in the United States because of his pioneering efforts to c ...

(26 November 1575 – 18 September 1611) # Louis Philip (24 November 1577 – 24 October 1601) #Maria Anne (9 June 1579 – 10 October 1579) #Catherine Ursula (3 August 1582 – 22 January 1595) # George John (24 June 1586 – 29 September 1654)

Life

Marriage

Ancestors

See also