Johann (Schleswig-Holstein-Hadersleben)

Hans the Elder, Duke of Schleswig and Holstein in Hadersleben

Johann (Hans) the Elder (born June 29, 1521 in Hadersleben , † October 1, 1580 in Hadersleben) was the only Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Hadersleben . The designation of the elder leads him to distinguish it from his nephew Johann the Younger , who ruled as a separate duke in Sønderborg from 1564 .

Family and youth

Johann was the eldest son of King Friedrich I of Denmark and his second wife Sophia of Pomerania . As a possible heir to the throne, he enjoyed an attentive upbringing. In 1528 Hermann Bonnus became his tutor, who wrote a Latin-Low German grammar for him.

After the death of his father in 1533, the Danish nobility preferred the underage Johann over his older half-brother Christian , who had been promoting the Reformation as Duke in Hadersleben since 1523 , and postponed the choice of his successor. Meanwhile, Johann was to be brought up in the spirit of the Catholic nobility. However, Johann went to his brother. The feud of the counts forced the Imperial Council to recognize Duke Christian as king in 1534.

After 1536 Johann spent a few years at the court of his brother-in-law Albrecht von Brandenburg in Königsberg . This had modernized the state of the Teutonic Order , which was under the suzerainty of the Polish crown, into a secular duchy. This successful policy was to shape Johann's understanding of politics and the state as a prince who was never completely sovereign. In 1542 Christian made him governor of the duchies.

Reign as Duke (1544–1580)

In 1544 Christian III. the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein with his brothers Johann and Adolf . The rulership of Johann the Elder included the Hadersleben offices including Törninglehn , Tondern and Lügumkloster as well as the island landscapes of Nordstrand and Fehmarn in Schleswig, as well as the Rendsburg office in Holstein and some small local authorities. He ruled from Haderslevhus Castle and later built the Hansburg , a splendid Renaissance castle east of the city , in his native town.

During his reign, Johann was committed to the Reformation and founded various social and educational institutions, including the Hadersleben Hospital . He also campaigned for numerous reforms in the legal system and was considered a committed judge. As one of the first sovereigns between the seas, he actively campaigned for dike and coastal protection, as he was sovereign over the coastal stretch in Schleswig that was most endangered by the sea.

With Christian's successor on the Danish throne, Friedrich II , he and Adolf occupied the self-governing peasant republic of Dithmarschen, which belonged to the Archdiocese of Bremen-Hamburg, in the last feud in 1559 and divided it up among themselves.

Johann remained unmarried. After his death, his nephew King Friedrich II and his brother Duke Adolf shared his territories.

aftermath

In contrast to most of the dukes of Schleswig and Holstein, Johann the Elder left a very positive image of history for posterity. This is especially true for his royal seat Hadersleben , which was only a royal seat at the time and benefited from this status. He is still popular today as a kind of city patron. The biggest annual summer festival in Hadersleben is called Hertug-Hans-Fest after him , and the local brewery Fuglsang has named a type of beer after him ( Hertug Hans Pils ). The Reformation-era hospital also bears his name to this day. His court judgments were published in full in book form ( De Hansborgske Dømme ). North Frisian chroniclers also praised Duke Hans for his efforts both for the church and for the security of the country as " vader des vaderlandes ".

ancestry

Dietrich von Oldenburg (1390–1440) Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst

Christian I (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) (1426–1481) King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden

Heilwig von Holstein (1400–1436) Countess of Oldenburg

Frederick I (Denmark and Norway) (1471–1533) King of Denmark and Norway

Johann (Brandenburg-Kulmbach) (1406–1464) Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Dorothea of ​​Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1430–1495)

Barbara of Saxony-Wittenberg (1405–1465)

Johann II. (1521–1580) Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Hadersleben

Eric II of Pomerania (1425–1474)

Bogislaw X. (Pomerania) (1454–1523)

Sophia of Pomerania (~ 1435–1497)

Sophia of Pomerania (1498–1568)

Casimir IV Jagiełło (1427–1492)

Anna Jagiellonica (1476–1503)

Elisabeth von Habsburg (1437–1505)

literature

• Thomas Otto Achelis : Haderslev i gamle Dage 1292-1626 . Hadersleben 1929.
• Troels Fink: Hertug Hans den Ældre . In: Sønderjyske Årbøger 1997, pp. 37-58
• Lennart S. Madsen: Junker Christian og hertug Hans the Ældre . In: Inge Adriansen, Lennart S. Madsen and Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen: De slesvigske hertuger . Aabenraa 2005, pp. 87-118.
• Emilie Andersen (Ed.): De Hansborgske Registranter . 2 bd. Copenhagen 1943/49.
• Emilie Andersen (Ed.): De Hansborgske Domme 1545–1578 . 3rd bd. Copenhagen 1994.
• Christof Römer :  Johann the Elder. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , p. 533 f. ( Digitized version ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Manfred Karl Adam: The Buphever bell in the sound of local history. A small contribution to the great history of Old North Beach ( Memento from November 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive )