John (1383 – 14 March 1443) was the Count Palatine of Neumarkt from 1410 until 1443.

Life

John was born in Neunburg vorm Wald

Neunburg vorm Wald

Neunburg vorm Wald is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 21 km east of Schwandorf on the river Schwarzach, a tributary of the Naab....

 in 1383 as the second surviving son of Rupert III of the Palatinate, King of Germany. In 1407 he married Catherine of Pomerania, the daughter of Duke Warcislaw VII of Pomerania-Stolp. In 1410 after the death of his father, the territories of the Palatinate were divided between his four sons; John received the Upper Palatinate

Upper Palatinate

The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...

, a territory he had governed since 1404, with its capital at Neumarkt

Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz

Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz is the capital of the Neumarkt district in the administrative region of the Upper Palatinate, in Bavaria, Germany. With a population of about 40,000, Neumarkt is the seat of various projects, and acts as the economic and cultural center of the western Upper Palatinate,...

. John immediately began the construction of a new castle and several churches, and the economic boom caused by the establishment of his government at Neumarkt lead the town to have its golden age. Other cities were not neglected, and both Sulzbach

Sulzbach

- Germany :* Sulzbach-Rosenberg, a town in the district Amberg-Sulzbach, Bavaria* Sulzbach, Saarland, a town in the district of Saarbrücken, Saarland* Sulzbach, Hesse, a municipality in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, Hesse...

 and Neunburg were fortified.

John was an ardent supporter of King Sigismund and used his support to try and further his territories. He came into conflict with his brother Louis

Louis III, Elector Palatine

Louis III, Count Palatine of the Rhine , was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach in 1410–1436....

, the Elector Palatine, who ruled some territories of the Upper Palatinate around Amberg

Amberg

Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...

. In 1415 he joined the Parakeet Society

Parakeet Society

The Parakeet Society was a union of the enemies of Louis VII the Bearded, duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt. It was founded on April 17, 1414 by his cousin, duke Henry XVI of Bavaria-Landshut...

 against Duke Louis VIII of Bavaria-Ingolstadt

Bavaria-Ingolstadt

Bavaria-Ingolstadt was a duchy which was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1447.-History:After the death of Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Frederick, and John II jointly ruled Bavaria-Landshut. After seventeen years, the brothers decided to formally divide their inheritance...

, and remained a member after it transformed into the League of Constance. He was embroiled in the Hussite Wars

Hussite Wars

The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1419 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons...

 from 1419 until 1434. He became a long-standing member of the court of Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 against the influence of the Margraves of Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

, a fact which lead to the eventual crowning of his son Christopher as the King of Denmark, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

.

John died in Kastl

Kastl

Kastl may refer to the following places in Bavaria, Germany:*Kastl, Upper Bavaria, in the district of Altötting*Kastl, Amberg-Sulzbach, in the district of Amberg-Sulzbach*Kastl, Tirschenreuth, in the district of Tirschenreuth...

 in 1443 and was buried in Neunburg vorm Wald.

Marriage

John married Catherine of Pomerania (c. 1390 – 4 March 1426) on 15 August 1407 and had the following children:

1. Margaret (1408)
2. Adolph (1409–1409)
3. Otto (1410)
4. John (1411)
5. Frederick (1412)
6. John (1413)
7. Christopher (26 February 1416 – 5 January 1448)