John of Brandenburg-Küstrin (, or ; 3 August 1513 – 13 January 1571), was a member of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

and a Margrave of

Brandenburg-Küstrin The Neumark (), also known as the New March () or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder, Oder River in territory which became part of History of Poland (1945–1989), ...

Life

John was the younger son of

Joachim I Nestor Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

of Brandenburg, and Elizabeth of Denmark, Electress of Brandenburg. Joachim I had decreed in his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

decreed that his country would be divided between his sons, John and Joachim II. When Joachim I died on 11 July 1535, the Margraviate of

was created for John; it consisted of the territories of the

New March The Neumark (), also known as the New March () or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945 except some villages of ...

with

Dramburg Drawsko Pomorskie (until 1948 ; ) is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northwestern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Drawsko County and the urban-rural commune of Gmina Drawsko Pomorskie. As of December 2021, the town has a po ...

and Schivelbein, the Sternberg Land,

Crossen an der Oder Crossen *Kendell Foster Crossen, detective story author *Crossens, a district of Southport See also

*Krossen *Krosno {{DEFAULTSORT:Crossen ...

with Züllichau and

Sommerfeld Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld (; 5 December 1868 – 26 April 1951) was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and mentored many students for the new era of theoretical p ...

and the Loardship of

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

with Peitz, altogether about 12,500 square kilometers. John chose Küstrin as his capital and started developing the city on the

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

into a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

. Joachim II, the elder son, inherited the title of Elector and the rest of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Unlike his extravagant brother, John was deeply religious. He had much energy and insight into economic and political issues. He managed to militarily secure his margraviate and to stabilize its market economy. With his accession, the area was changed to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and in 1538 he joined the

Schmalkaldic League The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheranism, Lutheran Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, principalities and cities within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. It received its name from the town of Schm ...

. However, in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

, he fought on the Catholic side, the side of

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

, hoping to be rewarded with the

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (; ; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country existed in the Middle Ages between years 1121–11 ...

. However, the Emperor only rewarded him with freedom of religion in the New March area. At the Imperial Diet in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

in 1548, where Charles V dictated the

Augsburg Interim The Augsburg Interim (full formal title: ''Declaration of His Roman Imperial Majesty on the Observance of Religion Within the Holy Empire Until the Decision of the General Council'') was an imperial decree ordered on 15 May 1548 at the 1548 Die ...

, John came into conflict with the Emperor. John rejected the Interim and refused to participate in the Corpus Christi procession. John fell out of favour; he was not arrested, due to the intercession of King Ferdinand (the later Emperor Ferdinand I) and also because his brother Joachim was an Elector. After he returned to his Margraviate of Brandenburg-Küstrin, John strengthened its defenses and started planning an anti-Habsburg alliance, which however did not come about. He did not officially publish the Interim of Augsburg in his country. A group of German princes led by Elector Maurice of Saxony, and supported by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, opposed the Interim of Augsburg. After a dispute with Maurice in the hunting castle Annaburg in

Lochau Lochau is a municipality in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is located on Lake Constance, in the Bregenz district, near the border to Germany. About 50.3% of the municipality's area is forest. The Pfänder, the landmark mountai ...

in 1551, John decided not to join this group. Duke

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

of Prussia tried to persuade to John to side with

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

, but he refused. After consultation with his brother, John decided not to press his claims on the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Joachim II died on 3 January 1571 and John died only 10 days later, on the 13th. He was buried in a

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

under the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

of the St. Mary church in Küstrin. As John did not have a male heir, his margraviate was reunited with the March of Brandenburg, which was then ruled by Joachim's son John George. John I of Brandenburg-Küstrin left a fortune of more than half a million

guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...

, while his brother left behind debts of 2.5 million guilders.

Marriage and issue

John married on 11 November 1537 in Wolfenbüttel, Duchess Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1518–1574). From this marriage, he had two daughters: * Elisabeth (1540–1578) :married in 1558 Margrave George Frederick I of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1539–1603) *

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

(1549–1602) :married in 1570 Elector Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg (1546–1608)

References

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language Literary realism, realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he i ...

: ''Walking through the Mark Brandenburg'', Part Two: The Oder country. Chapter: Margrave Hans. * {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kustrin Margraves of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern 1513 births 1571 deaths Sons of prince-electors