German name:
Johann Georg von Hohenzollern, Kurfürst von Brandenburg

He was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1571-1598). A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the son of Joachim II Hector (1505-1571), Elector of Brandenburg, and his first wife Magdalena of Saxony (1507-1534).

Faced with large debts accumulated during the reign of his father, John George instituted a grain tax which drove part of the peasantry into dependence on the exempt nobility. Though a staunch Lutheran opposed to the rise of Calvinism, he permitted the admission of Calvinist refugees from the wars in the Spanish Netherlands and France. He was succeeded by his son Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg(1546-1508).

Upon the 1568 death of his kinsman Albert I, Duke of Prussia, the Duchy of Prussia was inherited by the latter's underage son Albert Frederick, whose guardians included the elector.

Johann Georg was married three times:
1) Sofie of Liegnitz (1525–1546)
2) Sabine of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1529-1575)
3) Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst (1563-1607), also buried in the Berlin Cathedral.

German name:
Johann Georg von Hohenzollern, Kurfürst von Brandenburg

He was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1571-1598). A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the son of Joachim II Hector (1505-1571), Elector of Brandenburg, and his first wife Magdalena of Saxony (1507-1534).

Faced with large debts accumulated during the reign of his father, John George instituted a grain tax which drove part of the peasantry into dependence on the exempt nobility. Though a staunch Lutheran opposed to the rise of Calvinism, he permitted the admission of Calvinist refugees from the wars in the Spanish Netherlands and France. He was succeeded by his son Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg(1546-1508).

Upon the 1568 death of his kinsman Albert I, Duke of Prussia, the Duchy of Prussia was inherited by the latter's underage son Albert Frederick, whose guardians included the elector.

Johann Georg was married three times:
1) Sofie of Liegnitz (1525–1546)
2) Sabine of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1529-1575)
3) Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst (1563-1607), also buried in the Berlin Cathedral.