John George II, Elector of Saxony
Johann George II | |
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![]() Portrait by Johann Finck, 1675. | |
Elector of Saxony | |
Reign | 8 October 1656 – 22 August 1680 |
Predecessor | John George I |
Successor | John George III |
Born | Dresden | 31 May 1613
Died | 22 August 1680 Tübingen | (aged 67)
Burial | Cathedral of Freiberg |
Spouse | Magdalene Sybille of Brandenburg-Bayreuth |
Issue | John George III, Elector of Saxony |
House | House of Wettin |
Father | John George I, Elector of Saxony |
Mother | Magdalene Sybille of Prussia |
Religion | Lutheran |
Signature |
Johann George II (31 May 1613 – 22 August 1680) was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin.
Biography[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/John_George_II%2C_Elector_of_Saxony_%281613%E2%80%931680%29_-_Order_of_the_Garter_stall_plate_-_St_George%27s_Chapel.png/220px-John_George_II%2C_Elector_of_Saxony_%281613%E2%80%931680%29_-_Order_of_the_Garter_stall_plate_-_St_George%27s_Chapel.png)
He was the third (fourth in order of birth)[citation needed] but eldest surviving son of the Elector Johann George I, Elector of Saxony[1] and Magdalene Sybille of Prussia, his second spouse.[citation needed] He succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony when John George I died on 8 October 1656.[1]
In 1657 John George made an arrangement with his three brothers with the object of preventing disputes over their separate territories, and in 1664 he entered into friendly relations with Louis XIV. He received money from the French king, but the existence of a strong anti-French party in Saxony induced him occasionally to respond to the overtures of the emperor Leopold I.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Johann_Georg_II.jpg/240px-Johann_Georg_II.jpg)
The elector's primary interests were not in politics, but in music and art. He adorned Dresden, which under him became the musical centre of Germany; welcoming foreign musicians and others he gathered around him a large and splendid court, and his capital was the constant scene of musical and other festivals.[1] He commissioned the building of the first opera house, the Opernhaus am Taschenberg.
In 1658 John George was accepted into the Fruitbearing Society, through the patronage of Duke William of Saxe-Weimar.[citation needed]
His enormous expenditure on the arts compelled John George in 1661 to grant greater control over monetary matters to the estates, a step which laid the foundation of the later system of finance in Saxony. Also, his government was less effective in establishing absolutist rule and a standing army than were Bohemia or Prussia.[1]
John George's reign saw the slow economic reconstruction of Saxony after the Thirty Years' War. New trades and manufactures developed, such as textiles, hard coal and glass. Locally mined silver filled the Electorate's empty treasury, and the Leipzig Trade Fair and the Bohemian Exulanten of 1654 also stimulated economic activity.[citation needed]
John George died in Freiberg on 22 August 1680.[1]
Family[]
In Dresden on 13 November 1638 John George married Magdalene Sibylle of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. They had three children:[citation needed]
- Sibylle Marie (16 September 1642 – 27 February 1643)
- Erdmuthe Sophie (25 February 1644 – 22 June 1670), married on 29 October 1662 to Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
- John George III (20 June 1647 – 12 September 1691), his successor as Elector.
Ancestors[]
![]() | This section does not cite any sources. (November 2012) |
showAncestors of John George II, Elector of Saxony |
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See also[]
- List of famous big game hunters
Notes[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Chisholm 1911, p. 459.
References[]
- Mary E. Frandsen: Crossing Confessional Boundaries. The Patronage of Italian Sacred Music in 17th Century Dresden. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-517831-9
- Attribution
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "John George I. § John George II". Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 459. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Electors of Saxony
- House of Wettin
- Knights of the Garter
- 1613 births
- 1680 deaths
- Nobility from Dresden
- Imperial vicars
- Electoral Princes of Saxony
- Albertine branch