John George I (German: Johann Georg I; 5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.
Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg.
He succeeded to the electorate in 23 June 1611 on the death of his elder brother, Christian II. The geographical position of electoral Saxony rather than her high standing among the German Protestants gave her ruler much importance during the Thi...
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John George I (German: Johann Georg I; 5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.
Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg.
He succeeded to the electorate in 23 June 1611 on the death of his elder brother, Christian II. The geographical position of electoral Saxony rather than her high standing among the German Protestants gave her ruler much importance during the Thirty Years' War. At the beginning of his reign, however, the new elector took up a somewhat detached position. His personal allegiance to Lutheranism was sound, but he liked neither the growing strength of Brandenburg nor the increasing prestige of the Palatinate; the adherence of the other branches of the Saxon ruling house to Protestantism seemed to him to suggest that the head of electoral Saxony should throw his weight into the other scale, and he was prepared to favor the advances of the Habsburgs and the Roman Catholic party.
Thus he was...
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