John Ernest II (11 September 1627, in
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg an ...
– 15 May 1683, in Weimar), was a duke of
Saxe-Weimar. 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
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg an ...
, his brother
John George I received
Eisenach
Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, sit ...
, and his other brother,
Bernhard, received
Jena
Jena () is a German city 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 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...
. 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
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg an ...
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 district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...
(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). 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