George William, Duke of Liegnitz
| George IV William | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Legnica | |
Georgius Wilhelmus D.G. Dux Silesiae,
engraving by Jan Tscherning (1650-1732) |
|
| Noble family | House of Piast |
| Father | Christian, Duke of Brieg |
| Mother | Louise of Anhalt-Dessau |
| Born |
26 September 1660 Oława, Silesia |
| Died | 21 November 1675 (aged 15) Brzeg |
| Buried | Church of St. John in Legnica |
George William (German: Georg Wilhelm), also known as George IV William ; Polish: Jerzy IV Wilhelm; 29 September 1660 – 21 November 1675) was the last Silesian duke of Legnica and Brzeg from 1672 until his death. He was the last male member of the Silesian Piast dynasty descending from Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159).
George William was the eldest but only surviving son of Duke Christian of Legnica-Brzeg (1618-1672) by his wife Louise (1631-1680), a daughter of the Ascanian prince John Casimir of Anhalt-Dessau. He had three siblings:
As the only surviving son, George William was the sole heir to his father's possessions. Duke Christian of Legnica-Brzeg had spent many years in exile in Poland and in the Duchy of Prussia during the Thirty Years' War, after George William's grandfather Duke John Christian of Brieg had fallen out of favour with the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand II.
Duke Christian became sole ruler over the Silesian duchies of Legnica and Brzeg in 1664. After the abdication of King John II Casimir Vasa of Poland in 1668, he even put forward his own candidacy for the Polish throne; in order to win the affection and support of the old nobility, he initially wanted to give his newborn son an old Piast name (like Mieszko or Bolesław); however, the Calvinist clergy of his duchy opposed this, maintaining that the idea could bring the return to paganism over Poland. The duke, however, saw to it that his son spoke Polish and wore Polish clothes.
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