John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg (20 April 1589,

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

– 18 June 1652,

Stegeborg Castle Stegeborg Castle is a ruined castle in St Anna parish, Söderköping, Östergötland, located on an island in a narrow Sound (geography), sound at the bay of Slätbaken, Sweden. Brief history The oldest part of the castle is a square brick tow ...

) was the son of

John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken John I of Zweibrücken (known as the Lame; ; 8 May 1550 – 12 August 1604) was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken during 1569–1604. He was born in Meisenheim as the second son of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wif ...

and his wife, Duchess

Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg Duchess Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (2 November 1553 – 30 August 1633) was the fifth child of Duke William "the Rich" of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and Maria of Austria, a daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I. Life Magdalenes paternal aunt A ...

. He was married to Catherine of Sweden and was the founder of a branch 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, ...

Counts Palatine often called the ''Swedish line'', because it gave rise to three subsequent

kings of Sweden This list records the Monarchy of Sweden, monarchs of Sweden, from the late Viking Age to the present day. Sweden has continuously been a monarchy since the country's consolidation in the Viking Age and early Middle Ages, for over a thousand year ...

,Michel Huberty, Alain Giraud, F. and B. Magdelaine. L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome IV, ''Wittelsbach''. (1985). pp.83-84,108-109, 144-145 but more commonly known as the Kleeburg (or Cleebourg) line. In 1591 his father stipulated that, as the youngest son, John Casimir would receive as

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

the countship of Neukastell in the Palatinate. Upon their father's death in 1611, however, the eldest son, John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrucken, instead signed a compromise with John Casimir whereby the latter received only the castle at Neukastell coupled with an

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals based on a contract with a lump sum of money. Insurance companies are common annuity providers and are used by clients for things like retirement or death benefits. Examples ...

of 3000

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...

from the countship's revenues (similarly, John Casimir's elder brother, Frederick Casimir, received the castle at Landsberg with a small surrounding

domain A domain is a geographic area controlled by a single person or organization. Domain may also refer to: Law and human geography * Demesne, in English common law and other Medieval European contexts, lands directly managed by their holder rather ...

, instead of the entire Landsberg appanage bequeathed to him paternally). On 11 June 1615, Casimir married his second cousin Catherine of Sweden, and their son eventually became King

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's ...

Family

Five of his children with Catherine survived infancy: * Christina Magdalena (1616–1662); married Frederick VI, Margrave of Baden-Durlach. King Adolf Frederick of Sweden was her great-grandson. * King Charles X Gustav of Sweden (1622–1660). * Maria Eufrosyne (1625–1687); married Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie. * Eleonora Catherine (1626–1692); married Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege. * Adolf John (1629–1689).

Ancestors

References

1589 births John Casimir 1652 deaths John 1615 People from Zweibrücken John Casimir Lord high treasurers of Sweden Dukes of Stegeborg Court of Christina, Queen of Sweden {{Germany-noble-stub