John George, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen

John George, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Spouse(s) Franziska of Salm-Neufville
Noble family House of Hohenzollern
Father Eitel Frederick IV, Count of Hohenzollern
Mother Sibylle of Zimmern
Born 1577
Hechingen
Died 28 September 1623(1623-09-28)
Hechingen

Prince John George of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (born:1577 in Hechingen; died: 28 September 1623 in Hechingen) was the first Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen.

Contents

Life

John George was the only surviving son of Count Eitel Frederick IV of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1545-1605) from his second marriage with Sibylle (1558-1599), daughter of Count Froben Christopher of Zimmern. John George was raised by his relatives in Berlin at the court of Brandenburg [1].

John George was a Catholic and loyal to the Emperor's side. From 1603 to 1605, he was president of the Reichskammergericht and later he was president of the Aulic Council[2]. The latter post proved helpful when during a military confrontation with George Dietrich of Westerstetten, John George's army had inadvertantly strayed into Württemberg territory.

He represented Austria at the Imperial Diet. Together with Johann Pistorius, the tried, in vain, to persuade margrave George Frederick of Baden-Durlach to revert to Catholicism. In 1609, the emperor sent him as a special envoy to the French court. On his return, he met Archduke Albert VII in Brussels. He would correspond with the Archduke ever after.

Because of the low pay and several disputes with Melchior Klesl, he tried to resign three times in 1612 and 1613. The Emperor, however, did not accept his resignation. In 1614, he was again sent on a successful mission to France.

In 1620, Emperor Ferdinand II made John George a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece and in on 23 March 1623, he was made an Imperial Prince, together with 22 other imperial counts, including the counts of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Haigerloch. With this elevation, Ferdinand attempted to restore the balance between Catholic and Protestant princes[3].

John George was described as a talented and scientifically formed[4]. In 1623, he added bastions to his hohenzollern Castle.

Marriage and issue

John George married on 11 October 1598 in Hechingen with Franziska (d. 1619), daughter of Wild- and Rhinegrave Frederick I of Salm-Neufville. They had the following children:

married in 1615 Ernest of Marck, Count of Schleiden (1590-1654)
married in 1619 Count James Hannibal II of Hohenems (1595-1646)
married in 1630 Countess Elizabeth of Berg-'s-Heerenberg, Marchioness and heiress of Bergen op Zoom (1613-1671)
married Landgrave Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (1588-1635)
married in 1624 Margrave William von Baden-Baden (1593-1677)
married in 1625 with Count Hugo of Königsegg-Rothenfels (1595–1666)
married in 1630 with John Francis Trautson, count of Falkenstein (1609-1663)
married in 1630 Count Ernest of Isenburg-Grenzau (1584-1664)
married in 1662 with Margravine Marie Sidonie of Baden-Rodemachern (1635-1686)

References

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Mara R. Wade: Pomp, power, and politics: essays on German and Scandinavian court culture and their contexts, Rodopi, 2004, p. 64
  2. ^ Kaiserl. Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse: Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, vol. 26-27, K. K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1858, p. 206
  3. ^ Das staats-lexikon: Encyklopädie der sämmtlichen Staatswissenschaften für alle Stände, vol. 8, F. A. Brockhaus, 1863, p. 296 (Online)
  4. ^ Heidelberger Jahrbücher der Literatur, vol. 41, Mohr und Winter, 1848, p. 126 (Online)
John George, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Born: 1577
Preceded by
Eitel Frederick IV		 Count of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
1605-1623		 Succeeded by
Eitel Frederick V