Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg

This article is about Frederick II of Brandenburg. For other rulers, see Frederick II (disambiguation).

Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg

Frederick II of Brandenburg (German: Friedrich II.) (19 November 1413 – 10 February 1471), nicknamed "the Iron" (der Eiserne) and sometimes "Irontooth" (Eisenzahn), was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1440 until his abdication in 1470, and was a member of the House of Hohenzollern.

Statue by Alexander Calandrelli, 1898, former Siegesallee, Berlin

Biography

Frederick II was born in Tangermünde to Frederick I, Brandenburg's first Hohenzollern ruler, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Frederick, Duke of Bavaria-Landshut, and Maddalena Visconti. The latter was a daughter of Bernabò Visconti and Beatrice della Scala. As the second son, his brothers included John the Alchemist and Albert Achilles, both of whom also ruled Brandenburg as margraves.

In 1421, at age 8, Frederick was betrothed to Princess Jadwiga of Lithuania, but she died on 8 December 1431, before the marriage could take place, purportedly poisoned by her stepmother Sophia of Halshany.

When Frederick I retired in 1437, he compensated his incapable eldest son John with the Principality of Bayreuth while Frederick II assumed the government of Brandenburg. Unlike his father, he turned away from imperial politics and concentrated on his efforts to pacify the nobility and towns of the electorate. Quarrels with the city of Berlin began in 1440 with his plans to build a new residence on the Cölln island of the Spree river. In 1448 the Berliner Unwille (indignation) against the cession of the city's territory for an electoral stronghold culminated in open revolt, when the citizens flooded the excavation of the future Stadtschloss. Nevertheless Frederick II prevailed, had the palace built and the city's rights decisively curtailed.

In 1454 and 1455, he concluded the Treaties of Cölln and Mewe and thereby re-gained the Neumark (New March) from the Teutonic Order state. Weary of the long struggle with the Duchy of Pomerania, he abdicated in 1470 in favour of his younger brother Albert Achilles, he retired to the Bayreuth Principality and died one year later in Neustadt an der Aisch.

Family and children

On 11 June 1441, Frederick II married Catherine of Saxony (1421 – August 23, 1476), a daughter of Elector Frederick I of Saxony and Katharina of Brunswick-Lüneburg. They had four children:

• Dorothea of Brandenburg (c. 1446 – March, 1519), married Duke John V of Saxe-Lauenburg on 12 February 1464.
• Margaret of Brandenburg (c. 1450 – 1489), married Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania.
• Johan of Brandenburg (December 23, 14{06-16} - 1454)
• Erasmus von Brandenburg (c. 1452 - 1465).

Ancestors

Family of Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg

16. Frederick IV, Burgrave of Nuremberg               8. John II, Burgrave of Nuremberg                       17. Margaret of Carinthia               4. Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg                             18. Berthold VII, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen               9. Elisabeth of Henneberg-Schleusingen                       19. Adelheid of Hesse               2. Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg                                   20. Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen               10. Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen                       21. Elisabeth of Lobdaburg-Arnshaugk               5. Elisabeth of Meissen                             22. Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor               11. Mathilde of Bavaria                       23. Beatrix of Silesia-Glogau               1. Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg                                         24. Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor               12. Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria                       25. Beatrix of Silesia-Glogau               6. Frederick of Bavaria-Landshut                             26. Frederick III of Sicily               13. Elisabeth of Sicily                       27. Eleanor of Anjou               3. Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut                                   28. Stefano Visconti               14. Bernabò Visconti                       29. Valentina Doria               7. Maddalena Visconti                             30. Mastino II della Scala               15. Beatrice Regina della Scala                       31. Taddea da Carrara

Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern Born: 19 November 1413 Died: 10 February 1471
Regnal titles
Preceded by Frederick I	Elector of Brandenburg 1440–1470	Succeeded by Albert III Achilles
	Margrave of Brandenburg 1440–1470