John Albert II (5 May 1590 in Waren – 23 April 1636 in

Güstrow Güstrow (; ) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is capital of the Rostock (district), Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the sevent ...

) was a duke of Mecklenburg. From 1608 to 1611, he was the nominal ruler of

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus Frederick II divided ...

; the actual ruler being the regent, his great-uncle Charles I. From 1611 to 1621 John Albert and his brother Adolf Frederick I jointly ruled the whole Duchy of Mecklenburg. From 1621, John Albert ruled Mecklenburg-Güstrow alone.

Life

John Albert was the son of Duke John VII and Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. He reigned from 16 April 1608, under the regency of his great-uncle Duke Charles I, jointly with his brother Adolf Frederick I in the

part of the country. After Charles's death, the Emperor declared Adolf Frederick an adult and he ruled alone until John Albert came of age and they began to rule jointly. In 1617 he converted to

Protestantism 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 ...

. In the division of Mecklenburg of 1621, John Albert received Mecklenburg-Güstrow. In 1623, both brothers joined a defensive alliance of the Lower Saxon Estates. They tried to seem neutral during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, but they secretly supported the Danish troops of king Christian IV. After the Imperial side won the

Battle of Lutter The Battle of Lutter (German language, German: ''Lutter am Barenberge'') took place on 27 August 1626 during the Thirty Years' War, south of Salzgitter, in Lower Saxony. A combined Danish-German force led by Christian IV of Denmark was defeated ...

, Tilly treated them as enemies. On 19 January 1628, Emperor Ferdinand II issue a decree at Brandýs Castle declaring that the brothers had forfeited their

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

and that Mecklenburg would be invested to Wallenstein. In May 1628, the brothers left the Duchy, at the request of Wallenstein. In May 1631, Wallenstein was overthrown by Swedish troops, and the brothers returned. John Albert II died in 1636 and was buried in the Minster in Güstrow.

Marriage and issue

John Albert II was married three times. (I) On 9 October 1608 he married Margaret Elizabeth (11 July, 1584 – 16 November, 1616), daughter of Duke

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

of Mecklenburg. The couple had the following children: *John Christopher (1611–1612) * Elisabeth Sophie (20 August 1613 – 12 July 1676,) :married Duke Augustus II of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel * Christine Margaret (31 March 1615 – 16 August 1666) :married firstly on 11 February 1640 Francis Albert of Saxe-Lauenburg, son of Francis II :married secondly, on 6 July 1650 Duke Christian Louis I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (divorced 1663) *Charles Henry (1616–1618) (II) On 26 March 1618, he married Elizabeth of Hesse-Kassel (24 May 1596 – 16 December 1625), daughter of Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel. This marriage remained childless. (III) He married his third wife, Eleonore Marie of Anhalt-Bernburg (7 August 1600 – 17 July 1657), daughter of Prince Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg, on 7 May 1626. The couple had the following children: *Anna Sophie (29 September, 1628 – 10 February 1666) :married Duke Louis IV of Legnica *John Christian (1629–1631) *Eleanor (1630–1631) * Gustav Adolph (1633–1695) *Louise (20 May 1635 – 6 January 1648)

Ancestry

References

External links

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Genealogy of the House of Mecklenburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Albert 02 Mecklenburg House of Mecklenburg Dukes of Mecklenburg-Güstrow 1590 births 1636 deaths 17th-century German people