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John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg
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{{Short description|Elector of Brandenburg from 1608 to 1619}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{More citations needed|date=April 2017}} {{infobox royalty | name = John Sigismund | image = Johann Sigismund Grunewald.jpg | caption = Portrait (unknown artist, c. 1610) | succession = [[Elector of Brandenburg]] | reign = 18 July 1608 – 23 December 1619 | predecessor = [[Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim Frederick]] | successor = [[George William, Elector of Brandenburg|George William]] | succession1 = [[Duke of Prussia]] | reign1 = 28 August 1618 – 23 December 1619 | predecessor1 = [[Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia|Albert Frederick]] | successor1 = [[George William, Elector of Brandenburg|George William]] | succession3 = [[Duke of Cleves]]<br/>[[Count of Mark]]<br/>[[Count of Ravensburg]] | reign3 = 11 November 1614 – 23 December 1619 | predecessor3 = [[John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg|John William]] | successor3 = Incorporated into Brandenburg | father = [[Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg]] | house = [[Hohenzollern]] | mother = [[Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin]] | spouse = {{marriage|[[Duchess Anna of Prussia|Anna of Prussia]]|30 October 1594}} | issue = {{plainlist| *[[George William, Elector of Brandenburg]] *Anne Sophia, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg *[[Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg|Maria Eleonora, Queen of Sweden]] *[[Catherine of Brandenburg|Catherine, Princess of Transylvania]] *Joachim Sigismund of Brandenburg }} | issue-link = #Issue | issue-pipe = more... | religion = [[Lutheran]] (until 1613)<br/>[[Calvinist]] (since 1613) | birth_date = {{birth_date|1572|11|8|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Halle, Saxony-Anhalt|Halle]], [[Archbishopric of Magdeburg]], [[Holy Roman Empire]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1619|12|23|1572|11|8|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Berlin]], [[Electorate of Brandenburg]], Holy Roman Empire | burial_place = [[Berlin Cathedral]] | signature = John Sigismund signature.svg }} '''John Sigismund''' ({{langx|de|Johann Sigismund}}; 8 November 1572 – 23 December 1619) was a [[Prince-elector]] of the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]] from the [[House of Hohenzollern]]. He became the [[Duchy of Prussia|Duke of Prussia]] through his marriage to [[Anna, Duchess of Prussia|Duchess Anna]], the eldest daughter of [[Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia|Duke Albert Frederick of Prussia]] who died without sons. Their marriage resulted in the potential creation of [[Brandenburg-Prussia]], which became a reality after Poland's leader appointed John Sigismund in charge of Prussia in regency and, shortly thereafter, Albert Frederick died without an able, direct male heir. ==Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia== John Sigismund was born in [[Halle, Saxony-Anhalt|Halle an der Saale]] to [[Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg]], and his first wife [[Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin]]. He succeeded his father as [[Margrave of Brandenburg]] in 1608. In 1611, John Sigismund traveled from [[Königsberg]] to [[Warsaw]], where on 16 November 1611 he gave [[Homage (feudal)|feudal homage]] to [[Sigismund III Vasa]], [[King of Poland]] (the Duchy of Prussia was a Polish fief at the time). He officially became Duke of Prussia in 1618, although he had served as regent on behalf of the mentally-disturbed [[Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia]], for several years prior. He suffered a stroke in 1616 from which he didn't recover and died in 1619. John Sigismund gave the Reichshof [[Castrop]] to his teacher and educator Carl Friedrich von Bordelius. Through his wife, he became a major claimant in the [[War of the Jülich Succession|War of the Julich Succession]]. He received the territories of [[Duchy of Cleves|Cleves]], [[County of Mark|Mark]], and [[County of Ravensberg|Ravensberg]] in the [[Treaty of Xanten]] in 1614. ==Religious policy== John Sigismund's most significant action was his conversion from [[Lutheranism]] to [[Calvinism]], after he had earlier equalized the rights of Catholics and Protestants in the Duchy of Prussia under pressure from the King of Poland. He probably became Calvinist during a visit to [[Heidelberg]] in 1606, but it was not until 25 December 1613 that he publicly took [[Eucharist|communion]] according to the Calvinist rite. The vast majority of his subjects in Brandenburg, including his wife [[Anna, Duchess of Prussia|Anna of Prussia]], remained deeply Lutheran, however. After the Elector and his Calvinist court officials drew up plans for mass conversion of the population to the new faith in February 1614, as provided for by the rule of ''[[Cuius regio, eius religio]]'' within the [[Holy Roman Empire]], there were serious protests, with his wife backing the Lutherans. Resistance was so strong that in 1615, John Sigismund backed down and relinquished all attempts at forcible conversion. Instead, he allowed his subjects to be either Lutheran or Calvinist according to the dictates of their own consciences. Henceforward, Brandenburg-Prussia would be a bi-confessional state.<ref>Christopher Clark ''The Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947'' (Penguin, 2007) pp. 115–121</ref> ==Family and children== On 30 October 1594, John Sigismund married [[Anna, Duchess of Prussia|Anna of Prussia]], daughter of [[Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia]] (1553–1618). She was the elder sister of his stepmother. They were parents to eight children: * [[George William, Elector of Brandenburg|George William of Brandenburg]] (13 November 1595 – 1 December 1640). His successor. * [[Anna Sophia of Brandenburg]] (18 March 1598 – 19 December 1659). Married [[Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]. * [[Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg]] (11 November 1599 – 28 March 1655). Married [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden]]. They were parents of [[Christina of Sweden]]. * [[Catherine of Brandenburg]] (28 May 1602 – 27 August 1649). Married first [[Gabriel Bethlen]], [[List of Transylvanian rulers|Prince of Transylvania]] and secondly Franz Karl of [[Saxe-Lauenburg]]. * Joachim Sigismund of Brandenburg (25 July 1603 – 22 February 1625) died aged 25 unmarried and without issue. * Agnes of Brandenburg (31 August 1606 – 12 March 1607) died in infancy. * John Frederick of Brandenburg (18 August 1607 – 1 March 1608) died in infancy. * Albrecht Christian of Brandenburg (7–14 March 1609) died in infancy. ==Ancestry== {{ahnentafel |collapsed=yes |align=center | boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc; | boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9; | boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc; | boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc; | 1 = 1. '''John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg''' | 2 = 2. [[Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg]] | 3 = 3. [[Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin]] | 4 = 4. [[John George, Elector of Brandenburg]] | 5 = 5. [[Sophie of Legnica]] | 6 = 6. [[John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin]] | 7 = 7. [[Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Margravine of Brandenburg-Küstrin|Catherine of Brunswick-]]Wolfenbüttel | 8 = 8. [[Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg]] | 9 = 9. [[Magdalena of Saxony]] | 10 = 10. [[Frederick II of Legnica|Frederick II, Duke of Legnica]] | 11 = 11. [[Sophie of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach]] | 12 = 12. [[Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg]] | 13 = 13. [[Elizabeth of Denmark, Electress of Brandenburg|Elizabeth of Denmark]] | 14 = 14. [[Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] | 15 = 15. Maria of Württemberg }} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons category|John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg}} * {{de-ADB|14|169|175|Johann Sigismund|Theodor Hirsch|ADB:Johann Sigismund}} * [http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/ku.php?tab=que&ID=1215 Settlement of Dortmund between Brandenburg and Palatinate-Neuburg and the conflict of succession in Jülich, in full text] *{{Cite Americana|short=1|wstitle=Brandenburg, Confession of|year=1920}} {{s-start}} {{s-hou|[[House of Hohenzollern]]|8 November|1572|23 December|1619}} {{s-reg}} {{s-bef | |before=[[Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg|Joachim Frederick]]}} {{s-ttl | title=[[Elector of Brandenburg]]| years=1608–1619}} {{s-aft | rows=2 | after=[[George William, Elector of Brandenburg|George William]]}} {{s-bef | before=[[Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia|Albert Frederick]]}} {{s-ttl | title=[[Duke of Prussia]]| years=1618–1619}} {{s-break}} {{s-vac | last=[[John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg|John William]] |reason=[[Treaty of Xanten]]}} {{s-ttl | title=[[Duke of Cleves]],<br/>[[Count of Mark]],<br/>[[Count of Ravensburg]] | years=1614–1619}} {{s-non | reason=Incorporated into Brandenburg}} {{s-end}} {{Rulers of Prussia}} {{Electors of Brandenburg}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:1572 births]] [[Category:1619 deaths]] [[Category:17th-century dukes of Prussia]] [[Category:People from Halle (Saale)]] [[Category:Prince-electors of Brandenburg]] [[Category:House of Hohenzollern]] [[Category:German Calvinist and Reformed Christians]] [[Category:Dukes of Prussia]] [[Category:Electoral Princes of Brandenburg]] [[Category:Converts to Calvinism from Lutheranism|John Sigismund]] [[Category:Burials at Berlin Cathedral]] [[Category:Regents of Prussia]] [[Category:17th-century regents]]
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