Ernst Bogislaw von Croÿ (26 August 1620, in Finstingen (Fénétrange) – 7 February 1684, in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

) was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

of the

Prince-Bishopric of Cammin The Bishopric of Cammin (also Kammin, Kamień Pomorski) was both a former Roman Catholic diocese in the Duchy of Pomerania from 1140 to 1544, and a secular territory of the Holy Roman Empire ( Prince-Bishopric) in the Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) area f ...

and official in the service of

Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...

Family

Ernst Bogislaw was born in Finstingen as the son of Ernst von Croÿ (1588–1620), prince and duke of Croÿ, and

Anna of Pomerania Anna of Pomerania (also known as ''Anne de Croy et Aerschot'', ''Anna von Croy und Aerschot, Anna von Pommern'') (3 October 1590, Barth - 7 July 1660, Stolp) was Duchess-Consort of Croy and Havré, and allodial heiress of the extinct ducal hous ...

(1590–1660), daughter of

Bogislaw XIII, Duke of Pomerania Bogislaw XIII (Bogusław XIII) of Pomerania (9 August 1544 – 7 March 1606, Stettin; ''Polish'': Szczecin), son of Philip I and Maria of Saxony, was a prince of Stettin and Wolgast, and a member of the Griffins. Bogislaw studied at the Univers ...

. Ernst was the son of

Charles Philippe de Cröy, Marquis d’Havré Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

(1549–1613), who was the only son of Philippe II of Croÿ by his second wife,

Anna of Lorraine Anna of Lorraine (25 July 1522 – 15 May 1568) was a princess of the House of Lorraine. She was Princess of Orange by her first marriage to René of Châlon, and Duke of Aarschot, Duchess of Aarschot by her second marriage to Philippe II de ...

. Although the

House of Croÿ The House of Croÿ () is a family of European mediatized nobility, which held a seat in the Imperial Diet from 1486, and was elevated to the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1594. In 1533 they became Dukes of Arschot (in Belgium) and in ...

was

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, his parents marriage contract called for a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

education for their children. A few weeks after Ernst Bogislaw was born, his father fell ill and died on 7 October 1620 near

Oppenheim Oppenheim () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a well-known wine center, being the home of the German Winegrowing Museum, and is particularly known for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbru ...

while campaigning during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

for

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, Archd ...

. Hostile to her husband's family, Anna fled with Ernst Bogislaw to Stettin (Szczecin), the capital of the

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country ha ...

. Ernst Bogislaw began studying at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

in 1634. His uncle,

Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania Bogislaw XIV (31 March 1580 – 10 March 1637) was the last Duke of Pomerania. He was also the Lutheran administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Cammin. Biography Bogislaw was born in Barth as a member of the House of Pomerania. He was the thir ...

, granted him lordship over Naugard (Nowogard) and Massow (Maszewo). When Bogislaw XIV, the last duke of the

House of Pomerania The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty (german: Greifen; pl, Gryfici, da, Grif) was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century and had been take ...

, died in 1637, Ernst Bogislaw inherited the late ruler's personal possessions. From 1637 to 1650 Ernst Bogislaw was the administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Cammin; the prince-bishopric was promised to

in the 1648

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peac ...

. In 1650 he renounced his rights to the prince-bishopric in return for a large payment and the expectancy to his mother's Pomeranian pension. Ernst Bogislaw entered the service of

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...

, and served as ''

Statthalter In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

'' of

Farther Pomerania Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (german: Hinterpommern, Ostpommern), is the part of Pomerania which comprised the eastern part of the Duchy and later Province of Pomerania. It stretched roughly from the Od ...

from 1665 to 1670 and then as ''Statthalter'' of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

from 1670 to 1684. Ernst Bogislaw completed his will shortly before his death. With permission from the authorities of

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...

, he bequeathed to the University of Greifswald his assets, including books, the signet ring of Bogislaw XIV, the golden chain of

Ernst Ludwig, Duke of Pomerania Ernst Ludwig (20 November 1545, in Wolgast – 17 June 1592, in Wolgast)Thümmel (2002), p.87 was duke of Pomerania from 1560 to 1592. From 1569 to 1592, he was duke in the ''Teilherzogtum'' Pomerania-Wolgast, sharing the rule over the Duchy of Po ...

, and the Croy Tapestry. After his death in

in Prussia, Ernst Bogislaw was buried next to his mother in the palace church of Stolp (Słupsk). {{DEFAULTSORT:Croy, Ernst Bogislaw von 1620 births 1684 deaths 17th-century Prussian people 17th-century Lutheran bishops Lutheran administrators of Cammin Prince-Bishopric Prussian politicians Prussian nobility Pomeranian nobility Lorraine nobility Ernst Bogislaw University of Greifswald alumni People from Moselle (department) People from the Duchy of Pomerania