Duke John II of Bavaria-Munich (1341 – 1397), (German: Johann II, Herzog von Bayern-München), since 1375 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was the third son of Stephen II and Elizabeth of Sicily.[1]
Memorial plaque to the Wittelsbacher buried in the crypt of Frauenkirche.
Duke of Bavaria
From 1375 to 1392 John ruled in Bavaria-Landshut with his brothers Stephen III and Frederick. In 1385 John II and his wife inherited a third of County of Gorizia with Lienz, but already in 1392 he sold his part to the Habsburgs. In 1392 John initiated a new partition of Bavaria since he refused to finance the Italian adventures of his brothers who were both married with daughters of Bernabò Visconti but also Stephen's expensive holding of court. The duchy of Bavaria-Landshut then was reduced since Bavaria-Ingolstadt and Bavaria-Munich were created. Frederick kept Bavaria-Landshut while Stephen received Bavaria-Ingolstadt which he soon treated as a disadvantage. Therefore, John ruled Bavaria-Munich for three years only until 1395, then he shared his power again with Stephen after an armed conflict between both brothers.
John II was succeeded by his sons Ernest and William III who finally managed to enforce their sole rule over Bavaria-Munich against Stephen III. John is buried in the Frauenkirche in Munich.
Marriage and children
John married in 1372 Catherine of Gorizia,[1] a daughter of Count Meinhard VI of Gorizia and Catharina of Pfannberg. Their children were:
