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John Frederick II of Saxony (8 January 1529 – 19 May 1595), was Duke of Saxony (1554–1566).


Early life

John Frederick II was the eldest son of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and Sibylle of Cleves. He was given a comprehensive education along with his younger brother Johann Wilhelm under the guidance of the legal scholar Basilius Monner. The two brothers were invited to take part in the Aulic Council, where they were able to develop their knowledge of diplomacy at a young age.


Reign and military ambitions

After the
Battle of Mühlberg The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmal ...
(24 April 1547) and the capture of his father, John Frederick II, along with his brother John William, succeeded their father as the regents of the lands still retained by their family. After the death of their father (1554), the brothers amicably divided the lands that were inherited from their father; even so, John Frederick II, remained as the exclusive regent for the family possessions. And even though he received
Eisenach Eisenach () is a Town#Germany, town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia, and bordering northeastern Hesse, Hessian re ...
and
Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...
in the divisionary treaty, John Frederick II chose
Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
as his place of residence while serving as head of the family. John Frederick's political aspirations were still directed towards the reinstatement of his family's right to the title of "Elector of Saxony," as well as the re-establishment of the lands that were lost due to his father's imprisonment. In 1563 his prized general, Wilhelm von Grumbach attacked
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
, seized and plundered the city and compelled the chapter and the
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
to restore his lands. He was consequently placed under the
imperial ban The imperial ban () was a form of outlawry in the Holy Roman Empire. At different times, it could be declared by the Holy Roman Emperor, by the Imperial Diet, or by courts like the League of the Holy Court (''Vehmgericht'') or the '' Reichskammerg ...
, but John Frederick II refused to obey the order of the Emperor Maximilian II to withdraw his forces. Meanwhile, Grumbach plotted the assassination of Saxon elector, Augustus; and proclamations were issued asking for assistance. Because of this, an end to alliances both inside and outside of Germany came about. In November 1566 John Frederick was placed under the imperial ban, which had been placed against Grumbach earlier in the year, and Augustus marched against Gotha. Resistance from the people of Gotha was not forthcoming, and a mutiny led to the defeat of the town. Grumbach was delivered to his foes, and after being tortured, was executed at Gotha on 18 April 1567. The Emperor imposed the Reichsacht (Imperial Ban) over John Frederick II, the current Elector of Saxony. The ''
Reichsexekution In German history, a ''Reichsexekution'' (sometimes "Reich execution" in English) was an imperial or federal intervention against a member state, using military force if necessary. The instrument of the ''Reichsexekution'' was constitutionally a ...
'' (more or less an intervention against a single ruler in order to maintain the good of the entire empire) was also put into effect, in which John William, John Frederick's own brother, took part. After a siege of his castle in Gotha in 1566, John Frederick was eventually defeated and spent the rest of his life as an imperial prisoner. His possessions were confiscated by the emperor and handed over to John William, who became the sole ruler of the whole duchy of Saxony.


Marriages and children

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 ...
on 26 May 1555 John Frederick II married his first wife, Agnes of Hesse, Dowager Electress of Saxony. Six months later she suffered a miscarriage and died, on 4 November 1555. In Weimar on 12 June 1558 John Frederick II married his second wife, Countess Palatine Elisabeth of Simmern-Sponheim, daughter of the later (1559) Frederick III, Elector Palatine. They had four sons: * John Frederick (30 November 1559, Weimar – 8 August 1560, Weimar) died in infancy. * Frederick Henry (3 February 1563, Heldburg – 4 August 1572, Eisenberg) died in childhood. * John Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (12 June 1564, Gotha – 16 July 1633, Coburg) * John Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (9 July 1566, Gotha – 23 October 1638, Eisenach)


Succession

Later, the Emperor used the two surviving sons of John Frederick II against their uncle John William; in 1572 the Division of Erfurt was made. The duchy of Saxony was divided into three parts. The older son, John Casimir, received Coburg, and the younger, John Ernest, received Eisenach. John William retained only the smaller part, the limited region of Weimar, but he added to his duchy the districts of
Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...
,
Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
and
Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).
. Since it has several Ernestine dynasties,
Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...
was also given in this division, the total possession of the Wettins (the duchy of Saxony) that had always bordered each other were no longer combined. From John William descends the house 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 ...
and the first house of
Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers and a population of 207,000 (190 ...
, which separated later from Saxe-Weimar. John Frederick II died in 1595 and was buried in a large tomb by sculptor Nikolaus Bergner at Morizkirche at Coburg, which his son John Casimir built for him and his wife, Elisabeth. The coffins are today in the crypt beneath the church.


Ancestors


References

* Karl August Engelhardt: ''Johann Friedrich der Mittlere, von Bösewichtern verblendet, in Gotha belagert, und bis an sein Ende gefangen'' (in der Reihe „Denkwürdigkeiten aus der sächsischen Geschichte, der vaterländischen Jugend gewidmet“). Gerlach, Dresden 1797
Digitalisat
. * Ernst Wülcker
''Johann Friedrich, Herzog zu Sachsen''.
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 ...
. Band 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, pp. 330–343. * * Joachim Kruse: Herzog Johann Friedrich II. der Mittlere von Sachsen (1529–1595) und das ernestinische Familienepitaph in St. Moriz, Coburg, vollendet 1598. vol. I. in: Jahrbuch der Coburger Landesstiftung 52 (2007) pp. 1–334. {{DEFAULTSORT:John Frederick 02 Saxony 1529 births 1595 deaths Dukes of Saxony Sons of prince-electors