Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg

Christopher of Mecklenburg
Christopher of Mecklenburg
Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch
	Christopher's tomb in Schwerin Cathedral
Born	30 July 1537; Augsburg
Died	4 March 1592 (aged 54); Tempzin Abbey, near Brüel
Buried	Schwerin Cathedral
Noble family	Mecklenburg
Spouse(s)	; Dorothea of Denmark (m. 1573; died 1575) ; Princess Elizabeth of Sweden (m. 1581)
Issue	Margaret Elisabeth, Duchess of Mecklenburg
Father	Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg
Mother	Anna of Brandenburg

Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch (30 July 1537 – 4 March 1592) was a son of

Commandery of Mirow

.

Life

Christopher was born in

Lutheran

administrator of the Bishopric.

In 1555, he was also elected

Riga, with the right of succession. His election was controversial and led to armed clashes. During a clash on 1 July 1556 in Koknese

, Christoper and William were both taken prisoner. They were released in 1557, and Christopher was recognized as coadjutor. However, when William died in 1563, Christopher found himself unable to exercise his right of succession. Instead, he was taken prisoner again during renewed fighting against Poland. He was released in 1569, after he had renounced all claims on Riga. After his release, he returned to Mecklenburg.

He died on 4 March 1592 at Tempzin Abbey and was buried in the northern chapel of the high choir of Schwerin Cathedral. His widow commissioned a grave monument, which shows a couple kneeling before a prie-dieu. It was crafted in the workshop of the Flemish sculptor Robert Coppens, with assistance from the Pomeranian painter Georg Strachen.^[1]

Marriages and issue

Christopher married his first wife on 27 October 1573 in Kolding. She was Princess Dorothea of Denmark (1528 – 11 November 1575), a daughter of King Frederick I of Denmark. She died only two years later, in Schönberg, which was the capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg.

He married his second wife on 7 May 1581 in Stockholm. She was

Gustav I of Sweden

. With her he had a daughter:

Margaret Elisabeth (11 July 1584 – 16 November 1616), married on 9 October 1608 to
John Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg
.

After Christopher's death, she returned to Sweden, where she lived in Norrköping. She died in 1616 and was buried in Uppsala Cathedral.

References

Alexander Bergengrün: Herzog Christoph von Mecklenburg, letzter Koadjutor des Erzbistums Riga: Ein Beitrag zur livländischen und mecklenburgischen Geschichte. Verlag Franz Kluge, Reval 1898.
ISBN 3-910179-06-1

Ludwig Fromm (1876), "Christoph von Mecklenburg", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 4, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 240–241
Heinz Meybaum (1957), "Christoph von Mecklenburg", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 3, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 247

External links

Literature about Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg in the State Bibliography (Landesbibliographie) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Genealogy of the House of Mecklenburg

Footnotes

^ He was a painter from Old Stettin; licensed by the Council of Lübeck in 1587, see: Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker, et al.: Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, vol. 32, Leipzig, 1938

Regnal titles
Duke Christopher of Mecklenburg House of Mecklenburg Born: 30 July 1537 Died: 4 March 1592
Religious titles
Preceded by Christoph von der Schulenburg as Prince-Bishop	Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg 1554–1592	Succeeded by Charles I of Mecklenburg

[1] He was a painter from Old Stettin; licensed by the Council of Lübeck in 1587, see: Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker, et al.: Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, vol. 32, Leipzig, 1938

[1]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Germany
People	Deutsche Biographie