Johann Georg of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (born 1577 in

Hechingen Hechingen ( Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border. Geography The town lies at the foot of t ...

; died 28 September 1623 in

) was the first Prince of

Hohenzollern-Hechingen Hohenzollern-Hechingen was a small principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. History The County of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the Co ...

Life

Johann Georg was the only surviving son of Count Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1545–1605) from his second marriage with Sibylle (1558–1599), daughter of Count Froben Christoph of Zimmern. Johann Georg was raised by his relatives in Berlin at the court of Brandenburg. Johann Georg was a Catholic and loyal to the Emperor's side. From 1603 to 1605, he was president of the

Reichskammergericht The ''Reichskammergericht'' (; ; la, Iudicium imperii) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal ...

and later he was president of the

Aulic Council The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juri ...

. The latter post proved helpful when during a military confrontation with Georg Dietrich of Westerstetten, Johann Georg's army had inadvertently strayed into Württemberg territory. He represented Austria at the Imperial Diet. Together with

Johann Pistorius Johann Pistorius (14 February 1546 – 19 June 1608), also anglicized as John Pistorius or distinguished as Johann Pistorius the Younger, was a German controversialist and historian. He is sometimes called Niddanus from the name of his birthp ...

, the tried, in vain, to persuade margrave Georg Friedrich of Baden-Durlach to revert to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 1609, the emperor sent him as a special envoy to the French court. On his return, he met Archduke

Albrecht VII Albert VII may refer to: * Albert VII, Archduke of Austria (1559–1621) * Albert VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Albrecht VII, the Handsome, Duke of Mecklenburg in Güstrow (25 July 1486 – 5 January 1547), was a minor ruler in North Germa ...

in Brussels. He would correspond with the Archduke ever after. Because of the low pay and several disputes with

Melchior Klesl Melchior Khlesl (Klesl,Klesel,CleseliusHe uses the spelling Khlesl himself in his German-language correspondence: Victor Bibl, Klesl's Briefe an K. Rudolfs II. Obersthofmeister Adam Freiherrn von Dietrichstein (1583-1589). Ein Beitrag zur Geschic ...

, 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 Johann Georg a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriag ...

and in on 23 March 1623, he was made an

Imperial Prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. '' Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors ...

, together with 22 other

imperial count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

s, including the counts of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and

Hohenzollern-Haigerloch (Nothing without God) , national_anthem = , common_languages = German , religion = Roman Catholic , currency = , demonym=, area_km2=, area_rank=, GDP_PPP=, GDP_PPP_year=, HDI=, HDI_year=, today= Hohenzollern-Haigerloch was a small county in southwe ...

. With this elevation, Ferdinand attempted to restore the balance between Catholic and Protestant princes. Johann Georg was described as a talented and scientifically formed.''Heidelberger Jahrbücher der Literatur'', vol. 41, Mohr und Winter, 1848, p. 126
Online
In 1623, he added

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s to his

hohenzollern Castle Hohenzollern Castle (german: Burg Hohenzollern ) is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechingen, on the ...

Marriage and issue

Johann Georg married on 11 October 1598 in Hechingen with Franziska (d. 1619), daughter of Wild- and Rhinegrave Friedrich I of Salm-Neufville. They had the following children: *Karl (1599–1599) *Sibyl (died 1621) :married in 1615 Ernst of Marck, Count of Schleiden (1590–1654) *Franziska Katharina (died 1665) :married in 1619 Count Jakob Hannibal II of Hohenems (1595–1646) * Eitel Friedrich V (1601–1661), married in 1630 Countess Elisabeth of Berg-'s-Heerenberg, Marchioness and heiress of Bergen op Zoom (1613–1671), daughter of Hendrik van den Bergh. *Johann Friedrich (* / † 1602) *Anna Maria (1603–1652) :married Landgrave

Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (Ernst Egon; 21 March 1588 in Speyer – 24 August 1635 in Constance) was Imperial Count of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (1618–1635) and Bavarian Field-marshal, and an important military leader in the Thirty ...

(1588–1635) *Georg Friedrich (died 1633), fell in battle *Marie Domina (died young) * Katharina Ursula (died 1640) :married in 1624 Margrave William von Baden-Baden (1593–1677) *Renate Marie (died 1637) :married in 1625 with Count Hugo of Königsegg-Rothenfels (1595–1666) *Maximiliane (died 1639) :married in 1630 with Johann Franz Trautson, count of Falkenstein (1609–1663) *Leopold Friedrich (died 1659), a canon at Cologne *Anna Maria (1614–1670) :married in 1630 Count Ernst of Isenburg-Grenzau (1584–1664) * Philipp, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1616–1671) :married in 1662 with Margravine Marie Sidonie of Baden-Rodemachern (1635–1686)

Footnotes

References

* *E. G. Johler: ''Geschichte, Land- und Ortskunde der souverainen teutschen Fürstenthümer Hohenzollern, Hechingen und Sigmaringen'', 1824, p. 54 ff {{DEFAULTSORT:Johann Georg, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen Princes of Hohenzollern-Hechingen Counts of Hohenzollern House of Hohenzollern Knights of the Golden Fleece 1577 births 1623 deaths 16th-century German people 17th-century German people People from Hechingen