John, Duke of Ostrogothia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

John of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland (in Swedish Johan) (18 April 1589 at Uppsala Castle

Uppsala Castle

Uppsala Castle is a 16th century royal castle in the historical city of Uppsala, Sweden. Throughout much of its early history, the castle played a major role in the history of Sweden....

– 5 March 1618 at Bråborg Castle

Bråborg Castle

Bråborg was a former Royal castle at Bråviken, Norrköping Municipality in Östergötland, Sweden. Today, a ruin is all that remain of the estate.- History :...

in Östergötland

Östergötland

Östergötland, English exonym: East Gothland, is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland, and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia...

) was a Swedish

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....

royal

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

dynast. He was 1590-1606 titular Duke of Finland

Duke of Finland

Duke of Finland was an occasional medieval title granted as a tertiogeniture to the relatives of the King of Sweden between the 13th and 16th centuries. It included a duchy along with the feudal customs, and often meant a veritably independent principality...

and 1606-18 reigning Duke of Östergötland

Duke of Östergötland

Swedish princes in some dynasties have been created dukes of various provinces, their wives duchesses of same. In English, the title "Hertig av Östergötland" is sometimes given as Duke of Ostrogothia or Duke of East Gothland...

.

His father was John III of Sweden

John III of Sweden

-Family:John married his first wife, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland , house of Jagiello, in Vilnius on 4 October 1562. In Sweden, she is known as Katarina Jagellonica. She was the sister of king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland...

(1537-92) and mother was Gunilla Bielke

Gunilla Bielke

Gunilla Bielke; full name: Gunilla Johansdotter Bielke , was Queen of Sweden, the second spouse and queen consort of king John III of Sweden...

(1568-97) .

John's half-brother was Sigismund III of Poland and Sweden

Sweden

(1566-1632, reigned Sweden 1592-99, Poland-Lithuania 1587-1632), his uncle was Charles IX of Sweden

Charles IX of Sweden

Charles IX of Sweden also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, brother of Eric XIV and John III of Sweden, and uncle of Sigismund III Vasa king of both Sweden and Poland...

(ruled 1599-1611) and his first cousin was Gustav II Adolf of Sweden (lived 1594-1632).

At the age of one the baby John was created Duke of Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, count of Åland and count of Bråborg. He was tutored together with his first cousin, the five-years-younger hereditary prince, Gustav Adolf of Södermanland, the future king. John's uncle Duke Charles, then king, treated him like his own son.

After the Battle of Stångebro

Battle of Stångebro

The Battle of Stångebro or Battle of Linköping took place at Linköping, Sweden on September 25, 1598, and effectively ended the personal union between Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, that had only existed since 1592...

, Duke John's catholic half-brother Sigismund was declared deposed in 1599 from the Swedish throne after a Swedish civil war. The 10-year-old John would have been the next king according to the line of succession. Their uncle Charles, Duke of Södermanland (1550-1611), the closest adult in the line of succession, took up the regency

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

, and until 1604, no king was proclaimed.

In 1604, Norrköping

Norrköping

Norrköping is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County. The city has a population of 87,247 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 130,050, making it Sweden's tenth largest city and eighth largest...

's succession pact was made and the then 15-year-old Duke John formally renounced his succession rights. Instead, he received promises of several duchies to him, including northern and western Östergötland

Östergötland

, Kinda and Ydre districts in Småland, the county of Läckö, as well as the entire small province of Dalsland

Dalsland

Dalsland is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, and Norway to the northwest....

.

After John's renunciation, the next heir, the elderly regent Duke Charles was proclaimed King Charles IX and became crowned.

In 1605 when King Charles was warring in Livonia, Duke John was together with Queen Christina

Christina of Holstein-Gottorp

Christina of Holstein-Gottorp was a Queen Consort of Sweden as consort of king Charles IX of Sweden, mother of king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and a Regent of Sweden.-Biography:...

and kingdom's councillors a member of the government that ruled on behalf of the absent king.

In 1606 his duchies were exchanged, from Finland to Östergötland. Then, in 1609 Läckö and Dalsland were exchanged for the much closer county of Stegeborg

Stegeborg Castle

Stegeborg Castle is a ruined castle in St Anna parish, Söderköping, Östergötland, located on an island in a narrow sound at the bay of Slätbaken.- Brief history :...

.

After King Charles' death in 1611 Duke John participated in the government. At the parliament of Nyköping the same year, Gustav II Adolf was recognized as the king, and duke John renewed his renunciation. Several districts of Västergötland were added to his duchy.

On 29 November 1612 Duke John married at Tre Kronor Castle

Tre kronor (castle)

Tre Kronor or Three Crowns was a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site where Stockholm Palace is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that Birger Jarl built into a royal castle in the middle of the 13th century...

in Stockholm his first cousin Princess Maria Elizabeth of Sweden

Princess Maria Elizabeth of Sweden

Princess Maria Elizabeth of Sweden, , was a Swedish princess, daughter of king Charles IX of Sweden and Christina of Holstein-Gottorp, and by marriage duchess of Ostrogothia....

(born 10 March 1596 at Örebro Castle

Örebro Castle

Örebro Castle is a medieval castle fortification in Örebro, Närke, Sweden. It was expanded during the reign of the royal family Vasa and finally rebuilt about 1900. The castle lies on an island in river Svartån...

, died 7 August 1618 at Bråborg castle

Bråborg Castle

Bråborg was a former Royal castle at Bråviken, Norrköping Municipality in Östergötland, Sweden. Today, a ruin is all that remain of the estate.- History :...

), daughter of Charles IX

Charles IX of Sweden

and his second wife Christina of Holstein-Gottorp

Christina of Holstein-Gottorp

Christina of Holstein-Gottorp was a Queen Consort of Sweden as consort of king Charles IX of Sweden, mother of king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and a Regent of Sweden.-Biography:...

. The marriage remained childless and was also very unhappy.

Duke John had a remarkable role in development of the town of Norrköping

Norrköping

. For example, he draw guidelines for the new Saltängen

Saltängen

Saltängen is a part of Norrköping, Sweden.The Swedish Maritime Administration and the Swedish Prison and Probation Service are located in Saltängen....

area of the town, and founded Holmens Bruk where arms manufacturing started. He also commenced the building of Johannisborg castle, but died during the construction period.

Duke John died in 1618 and left immense debts. He was a true wastrel, and the Johannisborg construction next to ruined the economy of his duchy.

He had one illegitimate child, Hans Johansson, by his mistress, a Kerstin Månsdotter. The son died unmarried in Germany.

Aside from John's childless widow, his elder half-brother King Sigismund of Poland and half-sister Anna of Finland

Anna of Finland

Anna Vasa or Anna of Sweden also Anne was a Swedish princess. She was the sister of the monarch of Poland, Sweden and Lithuania, Sigismund III Vasa, and starosta of Brodnica and Golub.-Biography:...

survived him and were his closest relatives.

Duke John was buried in Linköping Cathedral

Linköping Cathedral

The Linköping Cathedral is a church in the Swedish city of Linköping. The cathedral is the seat for the bishop in the Church of Sweden Diocese of Linköping. It is situated opposite Linköping Castle.-History:...

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