Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2022)

Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Herzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin (German)
1701–1815
Flag Coat of arms
Mecklenburg c. 1803 (brown), with Mecklenburg-Schwerin being the larger central territory[clarification needed]
Status	State of the Holy Roman Empire State of the Confederation of the Rhine
Capital	Frederick Francis I
History
• Treaty of Hamburg	1701
• Raised to Grand Duchy	1815
Currency	Mecklenburg thaler
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Mecklenburg Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Today part of	Germany

The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (

.

Origins

The dynasty's progenitor, Niklot (1090–1160), was a chief of the Slavic Obotrite tribal federation, who fought against the advancing Saxons and was finally defeated in 1160 by Henry the Lion in the course of the Wendish Crusade. Niklot's son, Pribislav, submitted to Henry, and in 1167 came into his paternal inheritance as the first Prince of Mecklenburg.

After various divisions of territory among Pribislav's descendants, Henry II of Mecklenburg (1266–1329) by 1312 had acquired the lordships of Stargard and Rostock, and bequeathed the reunified Mecklenburg lands – except for the County of Schwerin and Werle – to his sons, Albert II and John. After they both had received the title of duke, the former lordship of Stargard was recast as the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Stargard for John in 1352. Albert II retained the larger western part of Mecklenburg, and after he acquired the former County of Schwerin in 1358, he made Schwerin his residence.

In 1363 Albert's son, Duke

, where he was crowned king one year later. In 1436, William, the last Lord of Werle, died without a male heir. Because William's son-in-law, Ulric II of Mecklenburg-Stargard, had no issue, his line became extinct upon Ulric's death in 1471. All possessions fell back to Duke Henry IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who was then the sole ruler over all of Mecklenburg.

In 1520 Henry's grandsons, Henry V and

.

History

In June 1692, when

was reserved to the ruler of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Continued conflicts and partitions weakened the rule of the dukes and affirmed the reputation of Mecklenburg as one of the most backward territories of the Empire.

Mecklenburg-Schwerin began its existence during a series of constitutional struggles between the duke and the nobles. The heavy debt incurred by

, to whose armies he had sent a contingent, and in 1813–1814 he fought against France.

Aftermath

With the

).

List of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1701-1815)

• 1692-1713 Frederick William
• 1713-1728 Charles Leopold, his brother
• 1728-1756
  Christian Louis II
  , his brother
• 1756-1785 Frederick II, his son
• 1785-1815
  Frederick Francis I, his nephew, became Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as a result of the Congress of Vienna, until 1837

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mecklenburg". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 1018–1020.