Johann (Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg)

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Duke Johann of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
Glücksburg Castle

Johann the Younger (born March 25, 1545 in Hadersleben , † October 9, 1622 in Glücksburg ), Danish. Hans den Yngre , was Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg . He was the founder of Glücksburg Castle in Glücksburg on the Flensburg Fjord .

Life

Johann was the third son of King Christian III. of Denmark (1503–1559, ruled from 1534) and Dorothea von Sachsen-Lauenburg (1511–1571). His older brother ruled Denmark as Frederick II from 1559 to 1588. He called himself Hans the Younger to avoid confusion with Johann (Hans) the Elder (1521–1580), his uncle. With him began the Oldenburg branch line Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg.

Separated Lord from Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg

Since the beginning of the 1560s, King Friedrich II had been looking for a suitable economic supply for his younger brother Johann (Hans). The plan to secure his archbishop's successor in the now Lutheran Archdiocese of Bremen failed due to strong competition from north German princes. Other supply options abroad failed because Denmark needed the support of North German princes against Sweden in the Three Crown War, also known as the Nordic Seven Years War, and the king could not compete with the acquisition of lucrative offices and benefices for his brother.

Frederick II, in personal union Duke of Schleswig (royal Danish fief) and Holstein ( imperial fief of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation ), decided in 1564 to separate territories in the duchies from royal property and to create a new duchy for his younger brother from these parts of the country to form: Sonderburg , Norburg , Arrö , Plön and Ahrensbök . The lords of Sønderborg, Norburg and Plön served the two king widows Sophie (1498–1568) and Dorothea as personal belongings and did not come to Johann until 1571. In fact, in 1564 the new duke only had the secularized Ahrensbök monastery.

Both Hans the Elder and Adolf von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf , both brothers of Christian III. and just like Frederick II, dukes of the two countries, had agreed to the creation of the new duchy. Confirmation by the knighthoods of the duchies was still missing . In 1564, however, the estates refused to pay homage to Johann, so that rule over Schleswig and Holstein remained with Friedrich II and Johann's uncle Adolf von Gottorf. The meeting of the estates justified its refusal by saying that the homage would confirm another ruler with equal rights, that this endangered the unity of the duchies and that it was a violation of the Ripen Treaty of 1460, which was intended to prevent Schleswig-Holstein from splitting up. Johann lacked the constitutional legitimation of his rulership rights, he was a separate gentleman , in contrast to the ruling lords, but ruled largely sovereign within his territory. Since there were now four dukes in the two countries, whose relationship required a constitutional regulation, the Danish king and his two uncles, Johann d. Ä. and Adolf von Gottorf, an agreement; Johann d. J. was not involved in these negotiations. In May 1580 the city ​​of Odense saw a great gathering of the four dukes, the knighthoods and a large crowd. The lending act by King Friedrich II took place on the market square. Schleswig was given to all dukes from the House of Oldenburg as a joint fief . The right of the knighthood to elect a duke was thus negated on the part of the king and dukes, and the estates swore the feudal oath. In 1590, Emperor Rudolf II enfeoffed his Holstein areas .

Johann was only 19 years old in 1564 and before he took possession of his territory, he went on an educational trip. The first stop was the Saxon court in Dresden , where his sister Anna (1532–1585 ) resided as the wife of Elector August I of Saxony (1526–1586). During the subsequent stay in Augsburg , the Duke took part in the Diet of 1566 . Here he met Emperor Maximilian II and made such a good impression that he was asked to stay at the imperial court. However, Johann returned to Denmark and took over the rule of his duchy.

When the new duchy was established, the king had promised his brother an annual sum of 9,400 marks. Because of the three-crown war, it was not until 1571 that the outstanding money was paid out from the rich maternal inheritance. After the death of the childless Johann d. Ä. in 1580 Johann d. In 1582 the two monasteries Reinfeld and Rudekloster were added from the inheritance . On the site of the former Rudekloster, Johann built the Glücksburg moated castle by 1587 .

During his entire reign, Johann strived to improve the financial and economic situation of his duchy. He needed large sums of money for his costly and labor-intensive court management and had to raise the trousseau of 12,000 Reichstalers each for seven of his 12 daughters. Since the agricultural property represented the economic basis of his rule, Johann acquired agricultural land from the church, from aristocrats and farmers, thereby increasing his estate and increasing his income considerably. In 1600 there were no more independent aristocratic estates on the island of Alsen . The ducal peasants were required to serve . The sovereignty of the church in his Holstein areas was exercised by Johann unhindered. For years, however, Johann fought in vain for the influence of canonical law in his Schleswig-Holstein regions of Alsen and Arrö as an expression of sovereign authority. Frederick II had taken over the right exercised by his mother to appoint the clergy after her death in 1571 and had also confiscated church property and, despite his brother's intensive efforts, was not ready to transfer church sovereignty to him. It was similar with the sovereign coin privilege . The deed of lending to Holstein by the emperor in 1590 also included the right to issue one's own coins. In the Schleswig part of the country, however, the Danish king also reserved this right. Since Johann had his silver double shillings minted in Sonderburg, i.e. in the Schleswig part of the country, there was a conflict with his nephew, King Christian IV , and the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck in 1604 . The result was a ban on Duke Hans Schilling in their areas. 14 years later, the Duke set up a new mint in Reinfeld Castle , in the Holstein region. The Danish king had no right of access here and the minting of coins continued until John's death in 1622. Johann improved the infrastructure of his duchy a. a. through the creation of new villages with manors and farms , churches and, for representation and personal use, the construction of 4 castles: the already mentioned moated castle Glücksburg in fishing, the castles Ahrensbök and Reinfeld in Holstein and castle Norburg on Alsen. Particularly noteworthy are the construction of two dams and a canal, which go back to Johann's initiative. The dam between the islands of Alsen and Kekenis as well as the smaller dam on the Nydam Moor near Öster Sottrup and a 400 meter long canal to supply the mill pond and the water mill at Sandbjerg . The Duke put the mill ban on the water mill for the farmers in the area. These measures did not take place without coercion and the use of force and Johann probably did not shy away from arbitrary executions in order to enforce his intentions.

Death and inheritance

When Johann died in 1622 at the age of 77 at Glücksburg Castle, his duchy was divided among five of the six living sons. In this, Johann followed the prince's customary view at the time, according to which a rulership was private property and the prince could deal with it at will. He thereby disregarded the constitutional status of the Treaty of Ripen of 1460, which was supposed to prevent Schleswig and Holstein from splitting up. The duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, which was not territorially contiguous, was divided into five even smaller duchies with independent branch lines, some of which only had a short life span. Recognition of the sovereign independence by the estates was therefore even less likely than when Johann took office.

The life of Johann d. J. was shaped by his constitutionally problematic position as a separated duke due to the non-recognition by the estates of Schleswig and Holstein. The refusal of the Danish king to grant Johann the original rulership rights such as church patronage and the minting privilege, and the disregard in the negotiations for the enfeoffment in 1579 show that Johann was not recognized as a sovereign ruler and did not participate in the joint government of Schleswig and Holstein . In his government , he was dependent on the benevolence of his brother Friedrich II and later his nephew Christian IV and his two uncles, and within the scope of his possibilities as sovereign he strived for the acquisition of goods, the construction or expansion of representative castles and an elaborate and costly court at least external equality with his fellow dukes. He spent large sums of money to properly marry his daughters. King Christian IV with a large retinue, the ducal family von Gottorf and numerous religious and secular dignitaries took part in the funeral ceremonies on November 27, 1622 .

family

Elisabeth of Braunschweig-Grubenhagen

At the age of 23, Johann d. J. Elisabeth von Braunschweig-Grubenhagen (* 1550; † 1586), daughter of Ernst III. of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, Prince of Grubenhagen-Herzberg . The wedding took place on August 19, 1568 in Kolding. This first marriage had 14 children:

After the death of his first wife, Johann married Agnes Hedwig von Anhalt (1573–1616), widowed Electress of Saxony, who was only 14 years old, on February 14, 1588, at Sonderburg Castle . The bride brought a dowry of 30,000 Reichstalers into the marriage. The wedding guests included the Danish King Friedrich II with Queen Sophie and the Crown Prince Christian (IV). The duke had nine more children from the marriage:

ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 King Christian I (1426–1481)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 King Friedrich I (1471–1533)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dorothea of ​​Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1430–1495)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 King Christian III (1503–1559)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Johann Cicero Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Anna of Brandenburg (1487–1514)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Margaret of Saxony (1449–1501)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 John of Denmark
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Johann IV of Saxony-Lauenburg (1439–1507)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Magnus I of Saxony-Lauenburg (1470–1543)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dorothea of ​​Brandenburg (1446–1519)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dorothea of ​​Saxony-Lauenburg (1511–1571)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Heinrich I of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1463–1514)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Katharina of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1488–1563)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Catherine of Pomerania (d. 1526)
 
 
 
 
 
 

See also

literature

  • Robert Bohn : History of Schleswig-Holstein. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 52ff.
  • Paul Hasse:  Johann the Younger, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, pp. 409-412.
  • The princes of the country. Dukes and Counts of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen u. a. (Ed.) on behalf of the Society for Schleswig-Holstein History, Wachholtz, Neumünster 2008, ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5 .
  • Thomas Sterba: Herder's New Monastery Lexicon. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2010.
  • Kai Fuhrmann: The knighthood as a political corporation in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein from 1460 to 1721. Edited by the ongoing deputation of the Schleswig-Holstein prelates and knighthood. Ludwig, Kiel 2002, ISBN 3-933598-39-7 .
  • J. Greve: Geography and history of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Schwers'sche Buchhandlung, Kiel 1844.
  • Hans Wilhelm Schwarz:  Johann the Younger. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , p. 534 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The princes of the country. Dukes and Counts of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg , Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen a. a. (Ed.). 2008, p. 210.
  2. ↑ Hans Wilhelm Schwarz:  Johann the Younger. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , p. 534 f. ( Digitized version ).
  3. ↑ Friedrich II. Was Duke of the royal share, Adolf Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf and Hans the Elder Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Hadersleben.
  4. ^ Kai Fuhrmann: The knighthood as a political corporation in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein from 1460 to 1721 . Edited by the ongoing deputation of the Schleswig-Holstein prelates and knighthood. Ludwig, Kiel 2002, ISBN 3-933598-39-7 .
  5. ^ J. Greve: Geography and history of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein . Schwers'sche Buchhandlung, Kiel 1844, p. 256.
  6. ↑ The princes of the country. Dukes and Counts of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg , Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen a. a. (Ed.). 2008, p. 216ff.
  7. ↑ Thomas Sterba: Herders New Monastery Lexicon . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2010, keywords Reinfeld and Rudekloster.
  8. ↑ The princes of the country. Dukes and Counts of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg , Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen a. a. (Ed.). 2008, p. 214ff.
  9. ↑ The princes of the country. Dukes and Counts of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg , Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen a. a. (Ed.). 2008, pp. 225f.
  10. ↑ The princes of the country. Dukes and Counts of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg , Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen a. a. (Ed.). 2008, p. 223ff.
  11. ↑ NN, “VII. Sophie von Schleswig-Holstein, widow of Duke Philip II of Pomerania, at the castle in Treptow an der Rega ” , in: Baltic Studies (1832 to date), Vol. 1, Society for Pomeranian History and Archeology and Historical Commission for Pomerania ( Ed.), Vol. 1: Stettin: Friedrich Heinrich Morin, 1832, pp. 247-258, here pp. 249 and 258.
  12. ↑ The princes of the country. Dukes and Counts of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg , Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen a. a. (Ed.). 2008, p. 214
personal data
SURNAME Johann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johann III. from Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg; Johann the Younger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1545
PLACE OF BIRTH Hadersleben
DATE OF DEATH October 9, 1622
Place of death Glücksburg