Henry II, Count of Reuss-Gera
| Henry II, Count of Reuss-Gera | |
|---|---|
Henry II Reuß, Count of Gera
|
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| Spouse(s) | Magdalena of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim-Langenburg |
| Noble family | House of Reuss |
| Father | Henry XVI of Reuss-Gera |
| Mother | Dorothea of Solms-Sonnewalde |
| Born |
10 June 1572 Gera |
| Died | 23 December 1635 (aged 63) Gera |
| Buried | Salvator Church in Gera |
Henry II of Reuss (younger line), nicknamed the Posthumous (10 June 1572 in Gera – 23 December [O.S. 13 December] 1635 in Gera) was Lord of Gera, Lord of Lobenstein and Lord of Oberkranichfeld.
Henry II was born posthumously, as the only son of Henry XVI of Reuss-Gera (1530-1572), the founder of the Younger Line, and his wife, Countess Dorothea of Solms-Sonnewalde (1547-1595).
Henry successfully promoted education and the economy of his country. In 1608, he founded the Rutheneum Gymnasium in Gera (now the Goethe-Gymnasium/Rutheneum). Against the advice of his theological councillor, he granted asylum to Calvinist refugees from Flanders and housed them in his capital city Gera. This led to an upsurge in wool production and an economic boom. During his reign, Gera also developed into the cultural centre of the Reuss areas. He had a particular fondness for "ring riding", and was a frequent guest at the courts in Vienna and Dresden.
Henry II died on 23 December 1635 and was buried in the Salvator Church in Gera. The composer Heinrich Schütz wrote his Musikalische Exequien for this occasion. His elaborately decorated copper outer coffin, with biblical proverbs and evangelical chorals, was transferred from the Salvator Church to the St. John church in 1995. In 2011, it was displayed in an exhibition about funeral practices in the early modern age in the city museum of Gera. It has also been on display in the Museum for Sepulchral Culture in Kassel.
In Weikersheim on 7 February 1594, Henry II married firstly Magdalena (28 December 1572 – 2 April 1596), daughter of Wolfgang, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim-Langenburg. They had one daughter:
In Rudolstadt on 22 May 1597, Henry II married secondly Magdalena (12 Apr 1580 – 22 Apr 1652), daughter of Count Albert VII of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. They had seventeen children:
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Wikipedia