Duke John William of Saxe-Altenburg

Duke John William of Saxe-Altenburg
Noble family	House of Wettin
Father	Frederick William I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
Mother	Countess Palatine Anna Maria of Neuburg
Born	13 April 1600(1600-04-13) Torgau
Died	2 December 1632(1632-12-02) (aged 32) army camp outside Brzeg
Burial	St. Sophia Church in Dresden

Duke John William of Saxe-Altenburg (born: 13 April 1600 in Torgau; died: 2 December 1632 outside Brzeg) was a member of the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin and a titular Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.

Life

John William was the second son of Duke Frederick William I of Saxe-Weimar (1562–1602) from his second marriage to Anna Maria (1575–1643), daughter of Duke Philip Louis of Neuburg.

After the death of his father John William inherited the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg jointly with his brothers John Philip, Frederick and Frederick William II. Initially, the guardianship of the princes was taken up by the Elector of Saxony and their uncle John II. After John II died in 1605, the Elector was their sol guardian.

After the War of the Jülich succession, the brothers had been invested with Jülich, Cleves and Berg. However, they were only nominally Dukes and took the coat of arms. In 1612, the brothers went to the University of Leipzig to complete their education. In 1618, the oldest brother John Philip came of age and began to rule independently. The younger brothers agreed that he would rule alone, in exchange for a financial compensation. Initially, the agreement was for a limited number of years. In 1624, however, it was extended indefinitely. John William made his Grand Tour to Italy, Holland, France, England and Hungary together with his brother Frederick William.

In the Thirty Years' War John William served as a colonel in the Saxon army. In 1632, he died of a fever in an army camp outside Brzeg. He was buried in the St. Sophia Church in Dresden.

References

• E. Pasch. (1881) (in German). "Johann Wilhelm (Herzog von Sachsen-Altenburg)". In Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). 14. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. p. 368–368.
• This page is a translation of its German equivalent.

Persondata
Name	John William of Saxe-Altenburg
Alternative names	Johann Wilhelm von Sachsen-Altenburg (German)
Short description	Colonel in the Saxon army; titular Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Jülich-Cleves-Berg
Date of birth	13 April 1600
Place of birth	Torgau
Date of death	2 December 1632
Place of death	army camp outside Brzeg