Adolf Frederick I (; 15 December 1588 – 27 February 1658) was the reigning Duke of

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus Frederick II divided ...

from his father's death in 1592 until 1628 and again from 1631 to 1658. Between 1634 and 1648 Adolf Frederick also ruled the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin as its

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 ...

Early life

He was a son of John VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Sophia, daughter of

Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Adolf of Denmark or Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (25 January 1526 –1 October 1586) was the first Duke of Holstein-Gottorp from the line of Holstein-Gottorp of the House of Oldenburg. He was the third son of King Frederick I of Denmark and ...

, and his wife

Christine of Hesse Christine of Hesse (29 June 1543 – 13 May 1604) was Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp. She exerted some political influence as a widow after 1586. Biography Christine was born in Kassel a ...

. At first, Adolf Frederick and his brother John Albert II reigned under the guardianship of Duke Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Charles I of Mecklenburg (their father's uncles). The two brothers Adolf Frederick and John Albert, took over governance of Mecklenburg-Schwerin beginning on 16 April 1608. After the death of Charles 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, Adolf Frederick ruling in Mecklenburg-Schwerin and John Albert ruling in Mecklenburg-Güstrow. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

ousted the dukes after they secretly sided with King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

against

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Ferdinand II. Wallenstein ruled the duchies from 1627 until 1631, when the Swedes restored the under King

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

. In 1634 Adolf Frederick succeeded Ulrik of Denmark (1611–1633), Ulrik of Denmark as the last Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin before its secularisation.

Marriages and children

Adolf Frederick I fathered 19 children in total. He was married for the first time on 4 September 1622 to his first cousin

Anna Maria of Ostfriesland Anna Maria of Ostfriesland (23 June 1601 – 15 February 1634) was a German noblewoman. Kilian Heck: ''Mit letzter Pracht.– Das Grabmonument für Adolf Friedrich I und seine Gemahlin Anna Maria von Ostfriesland''. In: Gerhard Weilandt, Katja vo ...

(1601–1634), daughter of Count Enno III of

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

and Anna of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. They had the following children: * Christian Louis I (Schwerin, 11 December 1623 – Den Haag, 21 June 1692), Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. *Sophie Agnes (Schwerin, 11 January 1625 – Rühn, 26 December 1694), Abbess of Rühn (1654). *Charles (Schwerin, 8 March 1626 – Mirow, 20 August 1670), Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow. * Anna Maria (Schwerin, 1 July 1627 – Halle a.d.Saale, 11 December 1669), married in 1647 to

August, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels (13 August 1614 in Dresden – 4 June 1680 in Halle), was a Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt of the House of Wettin and administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. He was the fourth (but second surviving) son ...

. *John George (Lichtenburg, 5 May 1629 – Mirow, 9 July 1675), Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow. *Hedwig (Lübeck, 11 August 1630 – Lübz, 17 May 1631). *Gustav Rudolph (Schwerin, 26 February 1632 – Tempzin, 14 May 1670), married Erdmuthe Sophie (1644–1689), daughter of

Duke Francis Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg Francis Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg (born: 9 April 1604; died: 26 November 1658) was a Prince of Saxe-Lauenburg Life Francis Henry, was the ninth and youngest son of Duke Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg (1547–161 ...

. *Juliane (Schwerin, 8 November 1633 – Schwerin, 3 February 1634). 1616 Marie

Adolf Frederick married for a second time in 1635 to Marie Katharina (1616–1665), daughter of Duke Julius Ernest, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg, and Maria of East Frisia (1582–1616). They had the following children: *Juliane Sibylla (Schwerin, 16 February 1636 – Rühn, 2 October 1701), Abbess of Rühn (9 March 1695). *

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

(Schwerin, 13 February 1638 – Schloss Grabow, 28 April 1688), Duke of Mecklenburg-Grabow. * Christina (Schwerin, 8 August 1639 – Gandersheim, 30 June 1693), Abbess of Gandersheim (1681). *Bernhard Sigismund (Schwerin, 21 January 1641 – Schwerin, 15 November 1641). *Augusta (Schwerin, 24 September 1643 – Schwerin, 5 May 1644). * Maria Elisabeth (Schwerin, 24 March 1646 – Gandersheim, 27 April 1713), Abbess of Rühn (1705), Abbess of Gandersheim (1712). *Anna Sophia (Schwerin, 24 November 1647 – Juliusburg, 13 August 1723), married in 1677 to Julius Siegmund, Duke of Württemberg-Juliusburg. *Adolph Ernest (Schwerin, 22 November 1650 – Schwerin, 13 January 1651). *Philipp Louis (Schwerin, 30 May 1652 – Schwerin, 20 October 1655). *Henry William (Schwerin, 6 June 1653 – Schwerin, 2 December 1653). * Adolf Frederick II (posthumously Grabow, 19 October 1658 – 12 May 1708), Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Ancestors

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Adolf Frederick 01 of Mecklenburg, Duke Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Lutheran prince-bishops of Schwerin 1588 births 1658 deaths