Johann II. (Palatinate-Simmern)

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Count Palatine and Duke Johann II of Simmern
Grave monument of Johann and Beatrix in the Stephanskirche in Simmern

Johann II von Simmern , also called Duke Hans von Hunsrück (* March 21, 1492 in Simmern ; † May 18, 1557 in Simmern) was Count Palatine and Duke of Simmern .

Life

Johann was the son of Count Palatine and Duke Johann I von Simmern (1459–1509) from his marriage to Johanna (1464–1521), daughter of Count Johann II of Nassau-Saarbrücken . Contrary to the custom of the epoch, the prince's training was more in the scientific field than in knightly exercises. In the natural sciences as well as political and legal theory, Johann was considered the leading prince of his time. He was in contact with numerous artists and scientists.

Johann II enjoyed a high reputation with Emperor Karl V. He was therefore a judge at the Imperial Court of Justice in Speyer until his death and from 1523 governor (representative of the emperor in absentia) in the Imperial Regiment.

The Duchy of Palatinate-Simmern experienced a heyday under Johann. It was probably also he who set up a Latin school in his royal seat, which is attested to in 1514. The Herzog-Johann-Gymnasium , later named after him, emerged from it. In 1530 he set up a printing shop in Simmern Castle . Hieronymus Rhodler worked there as a printer. The tournament book by Georg Rüxner is one of the most famous products of the printing company . Johann von Trarbach and an unknown "Simmern Master" created important Renaissance tombs that can be seen in St. Stephen's Church in Simmern .

Through a clever policy, Johann II secured the succession of the Palatinate Kurlinie for his son Friedrich III. This was achieved in 1553 in a comparison with all the heads of the Palatinate lines in Heidelberg after the Neuburg line with Elector Ottheinrich was about to die out . In this settlement, Johann ceded parts of the Counties of Sponheim , Lützelstein , Guttenberg and other goods to the House of Pfalz-Zweibrücken .

In 1555, shortly before his death, he revoked serfdom for the citizens of the city of Simmern .

Marriages and offspring

In 1508 Johann married Margravine Beatrix (1492–1535) in Trarbach , daughter of Margrave Christoph I of Baden , with whom he had twelve children:

⚭ 1. 1537 Princess Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1519–1567)
⚭ 2. 1569 Countess Amalia von Neuenahr (1539–1602)
⚭ 1541 Princess Elisabeth of Hesse (1503–1563)
⚭ 1535 Count Georg II. Von Erbach (1506–1569)
  • Reichard (1521–1598), Count Palatine of Simmern-Sponheim
⚭ 1. 1569 Countess Juliane zu Wied (1545–1575)
⚭ 2. 1578 Countess Emilie von Württemberg (1550–1589)
⚭ 3. 1589 Countess Palatine Anna Margarete von Veldenz (1571–1621)
  • Maria (1524–1576), nun in Marienberg near Boppard
  • Wilhelm (1526–1527)
  • Sabine (1528–1578)
⚭ 1544 Count Lamoral von Egmond (1522–1568)
⚭ 1551 Count Philip III. from Hanau-Munzenberg (1526–1561)

After the death of his first wife, Johann married (after 19 years of widowhood) the thirty-one year old Maria Jakobine (1525–1575), daughter of Count Louis XV. from Oettingen . This marriage remained childless.

literature

  • Georg R. Spohn:  Johann II the Younger. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , pp. 509-511 ( digitized version ).
  • Hans-Georg Sturm: Count Palatine Reichard von Simmern 1521–1598. Diss., Mainz. Trier 1968, p. 5f.
  • Willi Wagner: The Wittelsbachers of the Pfalz-Simmern line. Simmern 2003.
  • Johann Samuelersch : General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts: in alphabetical order. Section 2, H-N; Theil 21 , Gleditsch, 1842, p. 178 f.

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Johann I. Duke of Pfalz-Simmern
1509–1557 		Friedrich III.
personal data
SURNAME Johann II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johann II of Simmern
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count Palatine and Duke of Simmern
DATE OF BIRTH March 21, 1492
PLACE OF BIRTH Simmern / Hunsrück
DATE OF DEATH May 18, 1557
Place of death Simmern / Hunsrück