John II, Count of Gorizia

John II
Count of Gorizia
Coat of arms of the Albertine line of the Counts of Gorizia, in the Ingeram Codex, 1459
Born	c. 1433
Died	(1462-05-22)22 May 1462 Lienz, County of Gorizia
Noble family	Meinhardiner
Father	Henry VI, Count of Gorizia
Mother	Catherine of Gara

John II of Gorizia (German: Johann II. von Görz, c. 1433 – 22 May 1462) was the penultimate Count of Gorizia. He ruled the County of Gorizia from 1454 until his death.

Life

John II was the eldest son of Count Henry VI of Gorizia (1376–1454) from his second marriage with Catherine, a daughter of Nicholas II Garai (Garai Miklós), Palatine of Hungary. Under the long rule of his father, the County of Gorizia had suffered a steep decline. Henry had first married Elizabeth (d. 1426), a daughter of Count Hermann II of Celje, and after her early death remained a loyal ally of the Counts of Celje. He and Count Ulrich II of Celje signed an inheritance treaty in 1437, which brought him in conflict with his mighty neighbors, the Republic of Venice and the Habsburg duke Frederick V of Austria (later Emperor Frederick III), and even with his second wife. Henry also agreed to betroth his son John to Elizabeth of Celje, the daughter of Count Ulrich II, a project that ulimatively was not realized.

Young John was held hostage in Celje from 1444. After his release upon his father's death in 1454, he took up government in Gorizia. When Count Ulrich II of Celje was killed in 1456, he claimed the extinct Ortenburg estates in the Duchy of Carinthia, however, this claim was unsuccessful. Nevertheless he went on to occupy and plunder the Ortenburg lands, until he was finally defeated by the Habsburg forces of Emperor Frederick III in 1460. A peace treaty was signed at Feldsberg Castle, whereupon Count John was forced to renounce the Ortenburg estates and to cede twelve Gorizia fortresses as a reparation, including his Lienz residence at Bruck Castle.

John II died in 1462 at his Lienz residence and was deeply mourned by his subjects, due to him having been very popular. He was succeeded by his younger brother Leonhard.

External links

• Entry for John II at Genma