Count John VII of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (nicknamed "the Dike Builder"; 9 September 1540 in

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

– 12 November 1603 in

) was a member of the

House of Oldenburg The House of Oldenburg is a Germans, German dynasty with links to Denmark since the 15th century. It has branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig, Duchy ...

and was the ruling Count of

County of Oldenburg The County of Oldenburg was a county of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1448 Christian I of Denmark (of the House of Oldenburg), Count of Oldenburg became King of Denmark, and later King of Norway and King of Sweden. One of his grandsons, Adolf, D ...

from 1573 until his death. His parents were Count Anthony I of Oldenburg and Sophie of Saxe-Lauenburg.

Life

In 1573, John VII inherited the

from his father. In 1575, he inherited the Lordship of

Jever Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday resort. Jever was granted c ...

from

Maria of Jever Maria of Jever, known in Jeverland as ''Fräulein Maria'', (5 September 1500 – 20 February 1575) was the last ruler of the Lordship of Jever from the Wiemken family. She ruled from 1517 to her death. Early life Maria was the third child of t ...

, despite objections by Count Edzard II of

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

. In 1577, he had to concede the revenue from

Harpstedt Harpstedt is a municipality in the district of Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, south of Bremen (30 km). Harpstedt is also the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Harpstedt Harpstedt is a municipality in the district ...

Delmenhorst Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district ('' Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen with which it forms a contiguous urban area, whereas the ...

Varel Varel () is a town in the district of Friesland, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Jade River and the Jade Bight, approximately south of Wilhelmshaven and north of Oldenburg. With a population of 23,984 (2020) it is the biggest ...

and some minor castles to his younger brother Anthony II for a 10-year period. In 1597, the

Aulic Council The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juri ...

ordered that the County of Delmenhorst be split off from Oldenburg; this separation would last until 1647. In 1596, John VII attempted to dam the Schwarze Brack, in order to create a land link from Oldenburg to Jever. He had to cancel this project under pressure of Edzard II. John VII nevertheless earned the nickname "dike builder" with his costly land reclamation projects in

Butjadingen Butjadingen is a peninsula and municipality in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Butjadingen is situated on the German North Sea coast. It is bordered on the west and southwest by the Jade River and the east by the ...

and the

Jade Bight The Jade Bight (or ''Jade Bay''; german: Jadebusen) is a bight or bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. It was formerly known simply as ''Jade'' or ''Jahde''. Because of the very low input of freshwater, it is classified as a bay rather than an ...

. He reorganized the administration and the judiciary and modernized the organization of the Lutheran Church in Oldenburg. His superintendent Hamelmann unified the Lutheran confession. John VII died in 1603 and was succeeded by his son Anthony Günther.

Marriage

In 1576 John VII married Countess Elisabeth of

Schwarzburg Schwarzburg may refer to: * Schwarzburg (municipality) * The House of Schwarzburg * Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt * Schwarzburg-Sondershausen * House of Schwarzburg * 13th-century fortress built by the Teutonic Order in Transylvania, present day Codlea ...

(1541-1612), daughter of

Günther XL, Count of Schwarzburg Günther XL, Count of Schwarzburg nicknamed ''the Rich'' or ''Günther with the fat mouth'' (31 October 1499 in Sondershausen – 10 November 1552 in Gehren), was a ruling Count of Schwarzburg. Life Guenther was the eldest son of Henry XXXI ...

. John and Elisabeth had six children: * John (1578–1580) * Anne (1579–1639) *

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

(1581–1619) * Catherine (1582–1644), married in 1633 Augustus of Saxe-Lauenburg * Anthony Günther (1583–1667), succeeding Count of Oldenburg * Magdalene (1585–1657), heiress of

; married in 1612

Rudolph, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst Rudolph of Anhalt-Zerbst ( Harzgerode, 28 October 1576 – Zerbst, 30 July 1621), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the unified Principality of Anhalt. From 1603, he was ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst. Rudolph ...

References

* * Hans Friedl, Wolfgang Günther, Hilke Günther-Arndt and Heinrich Schmidt (eds.): ''Biographisches Handbuch zur Geschichte des Landes Oldenburg'', Oldenburg, 1992, Counts of Oldenburg 1540 births 1603 deaths 16th-century German people {{Germany-noble-stub

Life

Marriage

See also

References