The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a territory in
Northern Germany
Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...
, held by the younger line of the
House of Mecklenburg
The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Slavic origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), ...
residing in
Neustrelitz. Like the neighbouring
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German ...
, it was a sovereign member state of the
German Confederation
The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
and became a
federated state
A federated state (which may also be referred to as a state, a province, a region, a canton, a land, a governorate, an oblast, an emirate or a country) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. Such sta ...
of the
North German Confederation and finally of the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
upon the
unification of 1871. After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and the
German Revolution of 1918–19
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**G ...
it was succeeded by the
Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
The Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (german: Freistaat Mecklenburg-Strelitz) was a state of the Weimar Republic established in 1918 following the German Revolution which had overthrown the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The state lasted ...
.
Geography
It consisted of two detached parts of the
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...
region: the larger
Lordship of Stargard
The Lordship of Stargard (German: ''Herrschaft Stargard'', ''Stargarder Land'' or ''Land Stargard'') was a county first set up in the 13th century as the ''terra Stargardiensis'' and first documented in the area of the border between Brandenburg, ...
with the residence of Neustrelitz to the southeast of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the
Principality of Ratzeburg on the west. The first was bounded by the
Prussian provinces of
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
and
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...
, the second bordered on the
Duchy of Lauenburg (incorporated into the
Province of Schleswig-Holstein in 1876) and the territory of the
Free City of Lübeck
The Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Freie und Hansestadt Lübeck) was a city-state from 1226 to 1937, in what is now the German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
History
Imperial Free City and the Hanseatic ...
. Major towns beside Neustrelitz included
Neubrandenburg,
Friedland,
Woldegk
Woldegk () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 24 km southeast of Neubrandenburg. The former municipality Petersdorf was merged into Woldegk in May 2019. Woldegk ...
,
Stargard,
Fürstenberg, and
Wesenberg. The Grand Duchy also comprised the former
commandries
In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...
of the
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
in
Mirow and
Nemerow.
History
The
Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, established according to the dynastic
Treaty of Hamburg in 1701, adopted the
corporative constitution of the sister
Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Ho ...
by an act of September 1755. During the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
it was spared the infliction of a
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
occupation through the good offices of King
Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his minister
Maximilian von Montgelas; Duke
Charles II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz declared neutrality in 1806 and joined the
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria a ...
in 1808, however, he withdrew in 1813 on the eve of the
German campaign in favor of an alliance against
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
. He joined the
German Confederation
The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
established by the 1815
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...
to succeed the dissolved Holy Roman Empire; he and his cousin
Frederick Francis I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin both assumed the title of
grand duke
Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approx ...
(''Großherzog von Mecklenburg''). The Congress of Vienna further recognized that the Grand Duke and four other princes should receive special compensation totaling 69,000 "souls" in the Saar region. However, the Grand Duke exchanged title to his land to Prussia for a monetary payment.
In 1866, Grand Duke
Frederick William openly rebuked the Prussian annexation of the
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...
, even though the
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.
The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...
had been aided by soldiers from Mecklenburg-Strelitz in the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
. Thereupon, the Grand Duchy joined the
North German Confederation and the reconstituted ''
Zollverein''. Also in the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, the Kingdom of Prussia received valuable assistance from Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
In 1871, both Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz became
States of the German Empire
The German Empire consisted of 25 constituent states and an Imperial Territory, the largest of which was Prussia. These states, or ''Staaten'' (or ''Bundesstaaten'', i.e. federal states, a name derived from the previous North German Confederation; ...
. Mecklenburg-Strelitz returned one member to the
Bundesrat chamber of states. However, the Grand Duke was still styled
Prince of the Wends and the internal government of Mecklenburg-Strelitz remained unmodernized. Mocked by Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck as a safe haven in the face of threatening apocalypse "as everything there happens 50 years later", the Grand Duchy had always been a government of feudal character. The Grand Dukes exercised power only through their ministers via an antiquated type of diet representing social classes. It met for a short session each year, and at other times was represented by a committee consisting of the proprietors of knights' estates (), known as the ''Ritterschaft'', and of the ''Landschaft'', which was composed of burgomasters of selected towns. These feudal arrangements meant that the Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg had among the least power of any sovereign princes in Germany.
[Treitschke, Heinrich. The History of Germany in the Nineteenth Century, Eng. Trans. 1918. Vol. 4, Pages 393-405.]
There was now a renewal of agitation for a more democratic constitution, and the German Reichstag gave some countenance to this movement. In 1904
Adolphus Frederick V, a son of Grand Duke
Frederick William and his wife
Princess Augusta of Cambridge, daughter of
Prince Adolphus, became grand duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In 1907, the grand duke promised a constitution to the duchy's subjects, but this was met with opposition from the nobility.
Aftermath
The Mecklenburg-Strelitz dynasty ended just prior to the loss of the monarchy in developments associated with
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. At that time, there existed only two surviving recognized male dynasts of Strelitz, the young Grand Duke
Adolphus Frederick VI, and his cousin
Charles Michael, who was in
Russian service, being a son of Grand Duchess
Catherine Mikhailovna. In 1914, before the proclamation of war between Germany and Russia, Duke Charles Michael renounced his Mecklenburgish citizenship. On 23 February 1918, Grand Duke Adolf Frederick VI committed suicide, leaving his cousin Charles Michael as heir to the Strelitz throne. Being in Russia, however, Charles Michael did not assume the throne, and in 1918 he wrote to Grand Duke
Frederick Francis IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who was acting as regent in Strelitz, stating that he wished to renounce his rights of succession to Strelitz, though the letter was only received by Frederick Francis in 1919 after the end of the German monarchies, so the issue of succession could not be resolved at the time.
The House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz survives to this day, descending from Duke
George, the morganatic son of Duke George Alexander with Countess Natalia Carlow and nephew of Duke Charles Michael, who adopted him in 1928. George subsequently assumed the title "Duke of Mecklenburg" (
Serene Highness) which was acknowledged by Grand Duke Frederick Francis IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He was later given the
style of "Highness" by the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. George's grandson
Borwin is the present head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
The county of
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...
in the U.S. state of North Carolina, which includes the city of
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, is named after the duchy. The City of Charlotte, known as "The Queen City" was named for Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III of Great Britain. Queen Charlotte was Princess
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, born on 19 May 1744. She was the youngest daughter of
Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg, Prince of Mirow and his wife
Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
References
External links
Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
{{Authority control
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
1815 establishments in Europe
1918 disestablishments in Germany
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
eo:Meklenburgo#Meklenburgo-Strelitz