John George II

John George II, (born May 31, 1613, Dresden, Saxony—died Aug. 22, 1680, Freiberg, Saxony), elector of Saxony (1657–80), under whom Dresden became the musical centre of Germany.

In 1657, just after his accession, he made an arrangement with his three brothers with the object of preventing disputes over their separate territories, and in 1664 he entered into friendly relations with Louis XIV of France. He received money from the French king, but the existence of a strong anti-French party in Saxony induced him occasionally to respond to the overtures of the emperor Leopold I. The elector’s primary interests were not in politics but in music and art. He adorned Dresden; welcoming foreign musicians and others, he gathered around him a large and splendid court, and his capital was the constant scene of musical and other festivals. His enormous expenditure compelled him in 1661 to grant greater control over monetary matters to the estates, a step that laid the foundation of the later system of finance in Saxony.