Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg (28 August 1587 – 1 January 1665) was a titular Margrave of Brandenburg, and from 1598 to 1631 Archbishop of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Life

Christian Wilhelm was a son of Elector Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg (1546-1608) from his first marriage with

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

(1549-1602), a daughter of Margrave

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

of Brandenburg-Küstrin (1513-1571). He was elected as Archbishop of Magdeburg in 1598. However, the city of Magdeburg did not recognize him as

Prince-Bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

, because his election had not been confirmed by the emperor. When he married in 1614, he assumed the title of

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

only. That same year, he also became coadjutor of

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

. In 1624, he became administrator of Halberstadt. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, he entered into an alliance with Denmark. In 1626, he led an army from Lower Saxony into the

Battle of Dessau Bridge The Battle of Dessau Bridge () was a significant battle of the Thirty Years' War between Danish Protestants and the Imperial German Catholic forces on the Elbe River outside Dessau, Germany on 25 April 1626. This battle was an attempt by Ernst ...

. After

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

won this battle, he fled abroad. In 1629, he fled to the court of King

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

. In 1630, he returned to Germany. The

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

of Magdeburg formally deposed him in 1631. Sweden promised to assist him when he attempted to reconquer his Archbishopric. Nevertheless, the reconquest failed and he was badly injured during the siege of Magdeburg in 1631. He was taken up in the army camp

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within the Holy Roman Empire. It was ...

, where his wounds were tended and

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s persuaded him to convert to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. A pamphlet with the title was published in his name, and he was released. Under the Peace of Prague of 1635, he received an annual sum of taler from the revenues of the archbishopric of Magdeburg, plus the districts

Loburg Loburg is a town and former municipality in the Jerichower Land district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Ehle, north of Zerbst. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the town Möckern. The town was first mentioned in the y ...

and

Zinna Zinna () is a village and a former municipality in the district Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the ...

. In 1651, he purchased the Nový Hrad estate in Bohemia. He died at

Zinna Abbey Zinna Abbey () is a former Cistercians, Cistercian monastery, the site of which is now occupied by a village also called Kloster Zinna, today part of Jüterbog in Brandenburg, Germany, about south of Berlin. The village was established by Freder ...

in 1665.

Personal life

Christian William married three times. His first wedding took place on 1 January 1615 in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

, where he married Dorothea (1596-1643), a daughter of the Duke Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. From this marriage, he had a daughter, Sophie Elisabeth (1616-1650), married in 1638 to Duke Frederick William II of Saxe-Altenburg (1603-1669). On 22 February 1650 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, he married Barbara Eusebia (d. 1656), a daughter of Count

Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice Jaroslav (also written as Yaroslav or Jarosław in other Slavic languages) is a Czech and Slovak first name, pagan in origin. Its feminine form is Jaroslava. There are several possible origins of the name Jaroslav. It is very likely that origi ...

and his first wife, Maria Eusebie von Sternberg. On 28 May 1657, he married, again in

, to Countess Maximiliane (1608-1663), daughter of Count Weichard of Salm-Neuburg and Sidonia von Minckwitz.

Death

He died at

Duchy of Magdeburg The Duchy of Magdeburg () was a province of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1680 to 1701 and a province of the German Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1807. It replaced the Archbishopric of Magdeburg after its secularization by Brandenburg, gi ...

, in 1665.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg, Christian William of 1587 births 1665 deaths Christian William German people of the Thirty Years' War Margraves of Brandenburg 17th-century German bishops Archbishops of Magdeburg 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Sons of prince-electors