John Ernest II (11 September 1627, in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

– 15 May 1683, in Weimar), was a duke of

Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Weimar () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant branch of the House of W ...

. He was the second but eldest surviving son of William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Eleonore Dorothea of Anhalt-Dessau.

Life

After the death of his father on 1662, he became reigning duke. In 1672 John Ernest divided his possessions with his younger brothers. He retained

, his brother John George I received Eisenach, and his other brother, Bernhard, received

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

. Eventually, the partitioned lands, Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach (1741) and Saxe-Jena (1690) were re-combined. Like his father, John Ernest was particularly interested in the arts (see Fruitbearing Society). He was also an avid hunter. Given his overriding interest in these pursuits, John Ernest entrusted the reigns of government to his chancellor. In

on 14 August 1656, John Ernest married Christine Elisabeth, (23 June 1638 – 7 June 1679), a daughter of John Christian, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (26 April 1607 – 28 June 1653). They had five children:Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
/ref> # Anna Dorothea (b. Weimar, 12 November 1657 - d. Quedlinburg, 23 June 1704), Abbess of

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the Harz (district), district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg becam ...

(1685–1704). #Wilhelmine Christine (b. Weimar, 26 January 1658 - d. Sondershausen, 30 June 1712), married on 25 September 1684 to Christian William of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. # Eleonore Sophie (b. Weimar, 22 March 1660 - d. Lauchstädt, 4 February 1687), married on 9 July 1684 to Philipp of Saxe-Merseburg-Lauchstädt. # William Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (b. Weimar, 19 October 1662 - d. Weimar, 26 August 1728). # John Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (b. Weimar, 22 June 1664 - d. Weimar, 10 May 1707).

Ancestors

References

Bibliography

* Ernst Wülcker: '' Johann Ernst, Herzog von Sachsen-Weimar''. 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 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, S. 360–362. * Karl Helmrich: ''Geschichte des Grossherzogthums Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach'', Weimar 1852, S. 102
Digitalisat
, - 1627 births 1683 deaths House of Wettin Nobility from Weimar Dukes of Saxe-Weimar {{Germany-duke-stub