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22-675: 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

44-440: A series of constitutional struggles between the duke and the nobles. The heavy debt incurred by Charles Leopold , who had joined Russian Empire in a war against Sweden , brought matters to a head; Charles VI interfered, and in 1728 the imperial court of justice declared the duke incapable of governing. His brother, Christian Ludwig II , was appointed administrator of the duchy. Karl Leopold married three times. His first wife

66-564: Is uncertain; according to Helmold 's Chronica Slavorum , Niklot promised to Christianize his lands as part of the peace agreement, and in the late 1150s he wrote to Henry the Lion: Let the god, who is heaven, be your God; you be our god, and it sufficeth us. You honor Him, and in turn we shall honor you. By 1158, King Valdemar the Great of Denmark began to pay Henry the Lion for assistance, leading Niklot to retaliate. The Danish king and

88-650: The House of Mecklenburg . He became chief of the Obotrite confederacy, including the Kissini and the Circipani , between the years 1130 and 1131. He remained in this position until his death in 1160. At the same time he was Lord of ( Herr zu ) Schwerin , Quetzin and Malchow . For nearly 30 years he resisted Saxon princes, especially Henry the Lion during the Wendish Crusade . Niklot began his open resistance when

110-624: The Thirty Years' War . Nevertheless, the Swedish Empire forced their restoration three years later. When John Albert II 's son, Duke Gustav Adolph , died without male heirs in 1695, Mecklenburg was reunited once more under Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . In June 1692, when Christian Louis I died in exile and without sons, a dispute arose about the succession to his duchy between his brother, Adolphus Frederick II , and his nephew, Frederick William . The emperor and

132-506: The public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Mecklenburg ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 1018–1020. Circles est. 1500: Bavarian , Swabian , Upper Rhenish , Lower Rhenish–Westphalian , Franconian , (Lower) Saxon Niklot Niklot or Nyklot (1090 – August 1160) was a chief or prince of the Slavic Obotrites and an ancestor of

154-596: The Danes. The prince's Saxon allies turned against him during the 1147 Wendish Crusade . Although Niklot resisted the siege of his fortress at Dobin , he was forced to pay tribute to the Christian crusaders. He subsequently arranged peaceful terms with Adolf of Holstein, Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony and Henry of Ratzeburg . After the death of Obotrite Prince Henry, a Christian, Niklot allegedly renounced Christianity in favor of traditional pagan beliefs. However, this

176-577: The German King (later Emperor) Lothar III granted the Obotrite realm to his Danish vassal Canute Lavard . Together with Pribislav of Wagria , son of Budivoj and nephew of Henry , Niklot fought Lothar and Canute. After the murder of Canute in 1131, Niklot and Pribislav partitioned the Obotrite territory, with Niklot receiving the eastern lands. In order to weaken Pribislav in the following years, Niklot allied with Saxon lords, especially Count Adolf II of Holstein , allowing Slavic pirates to attack

198-712: The Kingdom of Sweden. In 1806 the territory was overrun by the First French Empire , and in 1808 Frederick Francis I joined the Confederation of the Rhine . He was later the first member of the confederation to abandon Napoleon , to whose armies he had sent a contingent, and in 1813–1814 he fought against France. With the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Frederick Francis I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin received

220-756: The Saxon duke then allied in 1160. While the Danes harried the coast and distracted the Rani , the Saxons killed Niklot at his stronghold of Burg Werle; the Obotrite territory was largely partitioned by the Christians. Niklot's death ended Slavic control in Mecklenburg up to the Peene River. His son Pribislav recovered his inheritance as Prince of Mecklenburg in 1167 as a Saxon vassal. His other son Wertislaw

242-501: The former County of Schwerin in 1358, he made Schwerin his residence. In 1363 Albert's son, Duke Albert III , campaigned in Sweden , 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

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264-527: The imperial court of justice declared the duke incapable of governing. His brother, Christian Ludwig II , was appointed administrator of the duchy. Under this prince, who became ruler de jure in 1747, the Convention of Rostock, by which a new constitution was framed for the duchy, was signed in April 1755. By this instrument, all power lay in the hands of the duke, the nobles, and the upper classes generally;

286-506: 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

308-594: The lower classes were entirely unrepresented. During the Seven Years' War , Frederick II took a hostile attitude towards Frederick the Great , and in consequence Mecklenburg-Schwerin was occupied by Prussia . In other respects Frederick II 's rule proved beneficial to the country. In the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars , Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin remained neutral, and in 1803 he regained Wismar from

330-461: 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 Charles Leopold , who had joined Russian Empire in a war against Sweden , brought matters to a head; Charles VI interfered, and in 1728

352-646: The rulers of Sweden and of the Electorate of Brandenburg took part in this struggle, which was intensified three years later, when on the death of Gustav Adolph , the family ruling over Mecklenburg-Güstrow became extinct. In 1701, with the endorsement of the Imperial state of the Lower Saxon Circle , the Treaty of Hamburg (1701) was signed and the final division of the country was made. Mecklenburg

374-583: The title of Grand Duke. After the fall of the monarchies in 1918 resulting from World War I, the Grand Duchy became the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . On 1 January 1934 it was united with the neighbouring Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (both today part of the Germany's Bundesland Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ). [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from a publication now in

396-625: Was Princess Sophia Hedwig of Nassau-Dietz (1690–1734), daughter of Henry Casimir II, Prince of Nassau-Dietz , and his wife Henriëtte Amalia van Anhalt-Dessau . They married on 27 May 1709 in Leeuwarden and divorced in 1710. There were no children from this marriage. His second wife was Christine von Lepel (1692–1728), daughter of Nicolaus Friedrich von Lepel (1633-1705) and his wife, Leveka von Plessen (1664-1732). They married on 7 June 1710 at Doberau and divorced on 2 October 1711. There were no children from this marriage, either. His third wife

418-491: Was divided between the two claimants. The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was given to Frederick William , and the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , roughly a recreation of the medieval Stargard lordship, to Adolphus Frederick II . At the same time, the principle of primogeniture was reasserted, and the right of summoning the joint Landtag was reserved to the ruler of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Continued conflicts and partitions weakened

440-653: Was the Grand Duchess Catherine Ivanovna of Russia, daughter of Tsar Ivan V of Russia and his wife Praskovia Saltykova . They married on 19 April 1716 in Danzig . There was one daughter born of this marriage, the Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia . She married Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick and had 5 children. She served as Regent of Russia for her son Ivan VI from 1740 to 1741. This article about

462-597: Was the father of Nicholas I, Lord of Mecklenburg . Karl Leopold, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (26 November 1678 – 28 November 1747) was Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1713 to 1747. He was the second son of Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Grabow (1638–1688), and his wife, Landgravine Christine Wilhelmine of Hesse-Homburg (1653–1722). He succeeded his brother Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , in 1713. Mecklenburg-Schwerin began its existence during

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484-445: Was then the sole ruler over all of Mecklenburg. In 1520 Henry's grandsons, Henry V and Albert VII , again divided the duchy, creating the subdivision of Mecklenburg-Güstrow , which Duke Adolf Frederick I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin inherited in 1610. In a second partition of 1621, he granted Güstrow to his brother, John Albert II . Both were deposed in 1628 by Albrecht von Wallenstein , as they had supported Christian IV of Denmark in

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