John Adolphus of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön ( or ''Hans Adolf''; 8 April 1634,

Ahrensbök Ahrensbök (Holsatian: ''Ahrensböök'') is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 17 km northwest of Lübeck, and 45 km southeast of Kiel. History Ahrensbök came int ...

– 2 July 1704 Ruhleben) was the second Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön, which had been created by a division of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg.

Life

He was born on 8 April 1634 in

, the eldest son of the first Duke of Plön, Joachim Ernest and Dorothea Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. From 1645 to 1650 he went on a grand tour around the countries of Europe, including

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and

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. He was accompanied by his brother, Augustus, who was one year younger. In 1671 he inherited the dukedom from his father. On 25 October 1671 he was bestowed with the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

, the highest Danish order of knighthood, becoming the 124th member of the order. In 1684 he had the first hunting lodge built in Traventhal; this was followed in 1685 by St. John's Church, Plön and in 1690 the parish church of Plön. In 1694 he led the Dutch army at the Siege of Huy. John Adolphus took part in several of the major wars of his time, including the Ottoman wars and handed over the running of his duchy during those times largely to his mother and his wife. During his reign the Treaty of Traventhal was signed at the ducal hunting lodge in Traventhal, a milestone during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. In 1704 went to

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and fought against the

Kuruc Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti- Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711. Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national inde ...

s with the forces of Holstein-Plön and Denmark. He participated in the battle of Smolenice.

Family

John Adolphus married Dorothea of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, a daughter of Rudolf Augustus of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. They had two children: * Adolphus Augustus (born 29 March 1680; died 29 June 1704), married Elisabeth Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Nordborg (1683–1767). She was the daughter of Rudolf of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg, and granddaughter of Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg. :* their son, Leopold Augustus (1702-1706), died as a child * Dorothea Sophia (1692–1765), married Adolphus Frederick III, Duke of Mecklenburg Duke John Adolphus died on 2 July 1704 in Ruhleben, a few days after his son, Adolphus Augustus, had been killed in a riding accident. Because Leopold Augustus, son of Adolphus Augustus and grandson of John Adolphus died in childhood in 1706, the estate went to John Adolphus' nephew, Joachim Frederick, from the line of Schleswig-Holstein-Nordborg.

Ancestors

Sources

External links

Family line of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön

of Plön with a portrait of John Adolphus on emergency money
{{Authority control Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön 1634 births 1704 deaths Generals of the Holy Roman Empire