Adolf Frederick I (15 December 1588 - 27 February 1658) was the reigning Duke of
Mecklenburg-SchwerinMecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany from 1348 on, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV...
from his father's death in 1592 until 1628.
He was a son of
Johann VII of Mecklenburg-SchwerinJohann VII Johann VII Johann VII (7 March 1558 (Güstrow) - 22 March 1592 (Schwerin) (sometimes called Johann V, and sometimes translated to John VII or John V) was Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin...
(1558 - 1592) and Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1569 - 1634), daughter of
Adolf, Duke of Holstein-GottorpAdolf of Holstein-Gottorp was the first Duke of Holstein-Gottorp from the line of Holstein-Gottorp of the House of Oldenburg....
(1526-1586) and his wife
Christine of HesseChristine of Hesse-Kassel was duchess of Holstein-Gottorp as a wife of Duke Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp.Christine was born in Kassel as a daughter of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse and his wife Christine of Saxony....
(1543-1604).
At first Adolf Frederick and his brother Johann Albrecht II reigned under the guardianship of Duke Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Karl I of Mecklenburg (his father’s uncles).
Adolf Frederick I (15 December 1588 - 27 February 1658) was the reigning Duke of
Mecklenburg-SchwerinMecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany from 1348 on, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV...
from his father's death in 1592 until 1628.
Early life
He was a son of
Johann VII of Mecklenburg-SchwerinJohann VII Johann VII Johann VII (7 March 1558 (Güstrow) - 22 March 1592 (Schwerin) (sometimes called Johann V, and sometimes translated to John VII or John V) was Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin...
(1558 - 1592) and Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1569 - 1634), daughter of
Adolf, Duke of Holstein-GottorpAdolf of Holstein-Gottorp was the first Duke of Holstein-Gottorp from the line of Holstein-Gottorp of the House of Oldenburg....
(1526-1586) and his wife
Christine of HesseChristine of Hesse-Kassel was duchess of Holstein-Gottorp as a wife of Duke Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp.Christine was born in Kassel as a daughter of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse and his wife Christine of Saxony....
(1543-1604).
At first Adolf Frederick and his brother Johann Albrecht II reigned under the guardianship of Duke Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Karl I of Mecklenburg (his father’s uncles). The two brothers took over governance of Mecklenburg-Schwerin beginning on 16 April 1608, and after the death of Karl I on 22 July 1610 they also governed in Mecklenburg-Güstrow.
Division of Mecklenburg and Thirty Years' War
In 1621 the duchy of Mecklenburg was formally divided between the two brothers, with Adolf Frederick ruling in Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Johann Albrecht ruling in Mecklenburg-Güstrow. During the
Thirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. The war was fought primarily in Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe...
,
Albrecht von Wallenstein,a Bohemian soldier and politician, gave his services during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...
ousted the dukes and ruled from 1627 until 1631 because they had secretly sided with
Christian IV of DenmarkChristian IV was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1588 until his death. He is sometimes referred to as Christian Firtal in Denmark and Christian Kvart or Quart in Norway.-Biography:...
. The dukes were restored by the Swedes.
Marriage and children
Adolf Friedrich I had 19 children in total.
He was married for the first time on 4 September 1622 to
Anna MariaAnna Maria of Ostfriesland was a German noblewoman.She was a daughter of Count Enno III of Ostfriesland and Anna of Holstein-Gottorp...
(1601 - 1634), daughter of Count
Enno IIIEnno III of Ostfriesland or Enno III of East Frisia was a Count of Ostfriesland from 1599 to 1625 from the Cirksena family...
of
East FrisiaEast Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....
(1563 - 1625) and
AnnaAnna of Holstein-Gottorp was a German noblewoman.She was a daughter of Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and Langravine Christine of Hesse ....
of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1575 - 1615) and they had the following children:
- Christian Ludwig I (1623 - 1692), Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- Sophie Agnes (1625 - 1694)
- Karl (1626 - 1670), Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow
- Anna Maria Dorothea
Anna Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a German noblewoman.She was a daughter of Adolf Frederick I , duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his wife Anna Maria of Ostfriesland...
(1627 - 1669), married in 1647 to Duke August, Duke of Saxe-WeissenfelsAugust, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels , was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt, Administrator of the Diocese of Magdeburg and member of the House of Wettin....
(1614-1680)
- Johann Georg (1629 - 1675)
- Hedwig (1630 - 1631)
- Gustav Rudolf (1632 - 1670)
- Juliane (1633 - 1634)
Adolf Frederick married for the second time in 1635 to Marie Katharina (1616 - 1665), daughter of Duke Julius Ernest, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg (1571 - 1636) and Maria of East Frisia (1582 - 1616) and they had the following children:
- Juliane Sibylla (1636 - 1701)
- Friedrich I
Frederick , Duke of Mecklenburg [-Grabow] - Life :He was the son of Adolf Frederick I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his second wife Marie Katharina , daughter of Julius Ernst, Duke of Braunschweig-Dannenberg .Through his late birth, he was excluded from active government and was a...
(1638 - 1688), Duke of Mecklenburg-Grabow
- Christina (1639 - 1693)
- Bernhard Sigismund (1641 - 1641)
- Augusta (1643 - 1644)
- Maria Elisabeth (1646 - 1713)
- Anna Sophia (1647 - 1723), married in 1677 to Duke Julius Sigismund of Wuerttemberg-Juliusburg (1653-1684)
- Adolf Ernest (1650 - 1651)
- Philipp Ludwig (1652 - 1655)
- Heinrich Wilhelm (1653 - 1653)
- Adolf Frederick II
Adolf Friedrich II was the first Duke of Mecklenburg [-Strelitz] reigning from 1701 to his death. His state was part of the Holy Roman Empire.-Biography:...
(1658 - 1708), Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Ancestry