He was the son of Count Palatine
Stephen of Simmer-Zweibrücken and his wife,
Anna of Veldenz. He studied in
Rome and
Bologna. In 1458, he became Bishop of
Münster. After the death of Archbishop
Frederick III of Magdeburg on 11 November 1464, the
cathedral chapter unanimously elected John as his successor on 13 December 1464. On 18 June 1465, his election was confirmed by
Pope Paul II. He formally became Archbishop when he received the papal bull, however, he had incurred debts in Münster and he was unable to accept his new office until the spring of 1466. He was inaugurated in Magdeburg, although
Halle was the official capital of his bishopric, because the citizens of Halle opposed him. On 9 July 1467, he reached a compromise with the city of Halle. He paid 3000 Rhenish florins and the city paid him homage on 17 July. In order to expand the influence of the bishopric, he acquired several possessions, including
Bernburg,
Sandersleben,
Gröbzig,
Wormsdorf, Hohenerxleben, Gänsefurth and
Jerichow. He also tried to promote peaceful relations between his bishopric and its neighbour states. In 1471, he participated in the public peace of Nuremberg and fought against the
robber barons in the area. He mediated between the Hanseatic cities and Brandenburg. He helped the cities in his territory develop by granting them more freedom. On 7 November 1467, John and the citizens of
Calvörde besieged
Calvörde Castle, in order to arrest Frederick and Bernd von Alvensleben for street robbery in Calvörde and robbing merchants from
Breslau. The brothers were also wanted by Duke
Henry II of Brunswick-Lüneburg for highway robbery. John died on 13 December 1475, exactly eleven years after his election. He died at his residence,
Giebichenstein Castle. He was buried in
Magdeburg Cathedral, next to his predecessor Frederick III of Beichlingen. == References ==