John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken

John I of Zweibrücken (known as the Lame; ; 8 May 1550 – 12 August 1604) was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken during 1569–1604.

Early life and ancestry He was born in Meisenheim, into the House of Wittelsbach, as the second son of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife, Anna of Hesse. In 1588 he changed the state religion from Lutheranism to Calvinism.

Family and children He married in 1579 Duchess Magdalene of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, daughter of William "the Rich", Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.

They had the following children: Ludwig Wilhelm (28 November 1580 – 26 March 1581) Maria Elisabeth (7 November 1581 – 18 August 1637), married in 1601 to George Gustavus, Count Palatine of Veldenz Anna Magdalena, born and died in 1583 John II of Zweibrücken-Veldenz (26 March 1584 – 9 August 1635) Frederick Casimir of Zweibrücken-Landsberg (10 June 1585 – 30 September 1645) John Casimir of Kleeburg (20 April 1589 – 18 June 1652), father of Charles X Gustav of Sweden. Amalia Jakobäa Henriette (26 September 1592 – 18 May 1655), married 1638 to Count Jakob Franz Pestacalda di Incardino Elisabeth Dorothea, died young in 1593 Anna Katharina, born and died in 1597

Death He died on 12 August 1604 in Germersheim, aged 54. He is interred in the Alexanderkirche, Zweibrücken, while his wife Magdalene was interred in the Schlosskirche Meisenheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Ancestry