Johann Adolf of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Prince Johann Adolf of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Signature of Johann Adolf von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg ("Johann Adolph zu Sachsen")

Friedrichstanneck Castle

Market 25, Eisenberg

Johann Adolf von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg (born May 18, 1721 in Gotha ; † April 29, 1799 in Friedrichstanneck ) was a prince from the Saxon-Gotha-Altenburg branch of the Ernestine Wettins and lieutenant general from Electoral Saxony .

Life

Johann Adolf was the youngest son of Duke Friedrich II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676–1732) from his marriage to Magdalena Augusta (1679–1740), daughter of Prince Karl Wilhelm von Anhalt-Zerbst . The prince was educated by Gottfried Christoph Sommer in Gotha, trained in Geneva from 1735 to 1738 and entered Danish military service in 1739. He traveled to France in 1741 and later visited his sister Augusta in England, where he received his doctorate from Oxford University . In 1742 he changed to Electoral Saxon service as a colonel, and in 1744 became regiment owner of Electoral Saxon Infantry Regiment No. 3 , which he commanded himself until 1746, and fought in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg . In 1746 he became major general and set up his general staff headquarters in Naumburg (Saale) . In 1748 he received the Polish Order of the White Eagle . On January 27, 1750, Johann Adolf became a master in the Masonic lodge "To the Three Hammers" in Naumburg under the name "Chevalier de la Truelle d'Or". In 1753 he was elected lieutenant general.

Shortly after the beginning of the Seven Years' War , he was taken prisoner in Altenburg in 1756 . He was released after he promised not to fight Prussia any more. His infantry regiment was transferred to the Prussian army.

He retired to Eisenberg , where he built the house at Markt 25 as early as 1750 and had Friedrichstanneck Castle built here in 1756 . After the death of Joseph Friedrich von Sachsen-Hildburghausen he was his brother Friedrich III from 1787 as before until 1772 . Senior of the Ernestine House, through which he received the Senioratsamt Oldisleben . He was followed by Friedrich Josias von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld in the senior citizen office . From 1788 Daniel Collenbusch was his personal physician. Johann Adolf is buried in the Eisenberg Castle Church.

family

From 1754 the houses were negotiating Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach about a marriage between Johann Adolf and Ernestine Albertine , daughter of Ernest Augustus I of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach , which extends over the height of the Dotalgelder dragged on . When an agreement was reached, Ernestine Albertine had already chosen Philipp II. Ernst von Schaumburg-Lippe . Johann Adolf later morganatically married Marie Maximiliane Elisabeth Schauer . With this he had three children, of whom a son and a daughter survived:

• Friedrich Adolph (* / † 1760)
• Adolph Christian Carl (1761-1835)
• Johanna Adolfine Friederike (1767–1804)

Marie Maximiliane Elisabeth Schauer and her two children were promoted to imperial nobility on January 12, 1779 by Emperor Joseph II under the name of "von Gothart" at the instigation of Johann Adolf .

literature

• August Beck:  Johann Adolf . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, p. 376.
• Johann Samuelansch: General encyclopedia of the sciences and arts . Second section, part 21, Leipzig 1842, p. 240 ( digitized version ).
• Michael Ranft: The Saxon Patriot, who honestly tells the political history of his fatherland as briefly as possible from the best news of the student youth. Tenth piece. Holle, Leipzig 1772, p. 181 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Johann Adolf von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reinhard Breymayer, Friedrich Häussermann: The educational table of the Princess Antonia . Walter de Gruyter, 2011, ISBN 978-3-11-083496-3 , p. 565 ( google.de [accessed June 5, 2020]).
2. ↑ Mercurii Relation, or weekly Ordinari newspapers from Underschidlichen Orthen: 1743 . No. January 1 , 1743 ( google.de [accessed June 5, 2020]).
3. ↑ General Handbook of Freemasonry, second completely revised edition of Lenning's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry: Quaderstein-Zytomierz . FA Brockhaus, 1867, p. 121 ( google.de [accessed June 5, 2020]).
4. ↑ See surrender of Pirna and Infantry Regiment "S 54" (1756) Former regiments from Electoral Saxony
5. ^ Anne-Simone Knöfel: Dynasty and Prestige: The marriage policy of the Wettins . Böhlau, Cologne a. a. 2009, ISBN 978-3-412-20326-9 , p. 358.
6. ^ Oskar Weise: Some information about Prince Johann Adolf von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg . In: Communications from the history and antiquity research association in Eisenberg . Issue 24 (1906), p. 276 ( digitized version ).
7. ^ "Nobility with the permission to discard their previously used gender name Schaur and to call it 'von Gothart'". Imperial nobility files Austrian State Archives AT-OeStA / AVA Adel RAA 150.29 ( Link ).