George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach

George Frederick
Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
File:Georg Friedrich Hohenzoller st.jpg George Frederick, c. 1601
Spouse(s)	Sophie of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Noble family	House of Hohenzollern
Father	George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Mother	Emilie of Saxony
Born	(1539-04-05)5 April 1539 Ansbach
Died	Ansbach

George Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach (German: Georg Friedrich der Ältere; 5 April 1539 in Ansbach – 25 April 1603) was Margrave of Ansbach and Bayreuth, as well as Regent of Prussia. He was the son of George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and a member of the House of Hohenzollern. He married firstly, in 1559, Elisabeth of Brandenburg-Küstrin (29 August 1540 – 8 March 1578). He married secondly, in 1579, Sophie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (30 October 1563 – 1639), daughter of William of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Dorothea of Denmark.

George Frederick reigned in his native Ansbach, Franconia and Jägerndorf, Upper Silesia since 1556 and, after the death of his cousin Albert Alcibiades in 1557, also in Kulmbach. He took over the administration of the Duchy of Prussia in 1577, when the then-reigning Duke Albert Frederick became ill.

He was the last of the older Franconia line of the House of Hohenzollern. Upon his death Ansbach and Kulmbach were inherited by younger princes of the Brandenburg line according to the House Treaty of Gera of 1598.

George Frederick rebuilt the palace and fortress Plassenburg, which was destroyed after the second margravian war (1552–1554), as one of the most impressive residences of the renaissance in the German empire. He also built the fortress Wülzburg and the old palace in Bayreuth.

During his reign between 1557 and 1603 in the Franconian territories of the Hohenzollern (Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach) he kept peace, rebuilt cities and Castles, founded several schools and a University.

Ancestors

Family of George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach

16. Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg               8. Albrecht III, Elector of Brandenburg                       17. Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut               4. Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach                             18. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony (= 24)               9. Anna of Saxony                       19. Margaret of Austria (= 25)               2. George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach                                   20. Jogaila               10. Casimir IV Jagiellon                       21. Sophia of Halshany               5. Sophia of Poland                             22. Albert II of Germany               11. Elisabeth of Austria                       23. Elisabeth of Bohemia               1. George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach                                         24. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony (= 18)               12. Albert III, Duke of Saxony                       25. Margaret of Austria (= 19)               6. Henry IV of Saxony                             26. George of Poděbrady               13. Sidonie of Poděbrady                       27. Kunigunde of Sternberg               3. Emilie of Saxony                                   28. Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg               14. Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg                       29. Dorothea of Brandenburg               7. Catherine of Mecklenburg                             30. Eric II, Duke of Pomerania               15. Sophie of Pomerania                       31. Sophie of Pomerania-Stolp

George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach House of Hohenzollern Born: 5 April 1539 Died: 25 April 1603
Preceded by George	Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1543–1603	Succeeded by Joachim Ernst
Preceded by Albert Alcibiades	Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 1553–1603	Succeeded by Christian
Preceded by Albert Frederick	Regent of Prussia 1577-1603	Succeeded by John Sigismund