Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch (30 July 1537 – 4 March 1592) was a son of Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg. He was Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch, as well as

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 ...

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by Ratzeburger See, four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the distri ...

and of the

Commandery 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 Mirow.

Life

Christopher was born in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

. At the urging of his elder brother John Albert I, the cathedral chapter appointed Christopher as the successor of Bishop Christopher I of

in 1554. Christopher thus became the first

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

administrator of the Bishopric. In 1555, he was also elected

coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

of Bishop

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, with the right of succession. His election was controversial and led to armed clashes. During a clash on 1 July 1556 in

Koknese Koknese () is a town in Aizkraukle Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the right bank of the Daugava River. It has a population of nearly 3,000. According to the provisions of the 2021 Latvian administrative reform, Koknese gained ...

, Christoper and William were both taken prisoner. They were released in 1557, and Christopher was recognized as coadjutor. However, when William died in 1563, Christopher found himself unable to exercise his right of succession. Instead, he was taken prisoner again during renewed fighting against Poland. He was released in 1569, after he had renounced all claims on Riga. After his release, he returned to Mecklenburg. He died on 4 March 1592 at Tempzin Abbey and was buried in the northern chapel of the high choir of Schwerin Cathedral. His widow commissioned a grave monument, which shows a couple kneeling before a ''prie-dieu''. It was crafted in the workshop of the Flemish sculptor Robert Coppens, with assistance from the Pomeranian painter Georg Strachen.He was a painter from Old Stettin; licensed by the Council of Lübeck in 1587, see: Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker, ''et al.'': ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', vol. 32, Leipzig, 1938

Marriages and issue

Christopher married his first wife on 27 October 1573 in

Kolding Kolding () is a Denmark, Danish seaport city located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre and has numerous industria ...

. She was Princess Dorothea of Denmark (1528 – 11 November 1575), a daughter of King

Frederick I of Denmark Frederick I ( Danish and ; ; ; 7 October 1471 – 10 April 1533) was King of Denmark and Norway. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark and Norway, when subsequent monarchs embraced Lutheranism after the Protestant Reformatio ...

. She died only two years later, in Schönberg, which was the capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg. He married his second wife on 7 May 1581 in Stockholm. She was Princess Elizabeth of Sweden (4 April 1549 – 12 November 1597), a daughter of King

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...

. With her he had a daughter: * Margaret Elisabeth (11 July 1584 – 16 November 1616), married on 9 October 1608 to

John Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg John Albert II (5 May 1590 in Waren – 23 April 1636 in Güstrow) was a duke of Mecklenburg. From 1608 to 1611, he was the nominal ruler of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; the actual ruler being the regent, his great-uncle Charles I. From 1611 to 1621 ...

. After Christopher's death, she returned to Sweden, where she lived in

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

. She died in 1616 and was buried in

Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral () is a cathedral located between the University Hall (Uppsala University), University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in t ...

References

* Alexander Bergengrün: ''Herzog Christoph von Mecklenburg, letzter Koadjutor des Erzbistums Riga: Ein Beitrag zur livländischen und mecklenburgischen Geschichte''. Verlag Franz Kluge, Reval 1898. *

Friedrich Schlie Friedrich Schlie (12 December 1839 – 21 July 1902) was a German art historian and archaeologist. Life As the son of a Kantor and teacher, Schlie was taught by private tuition until his graduation examination in Rostock in 1863. He then studied ...

: ''Die Kunst- und Geschichts-Denkmäler des Grossherzogthums Mecklenburg-Schwerin.'' II. Band: ''Die Amtsgerichtsbezirke Wismar, Grevesmühlen, Rehna, Gadebusch und Schwerin.'' Schwerin 1898, Neudruck Schwerin 1992, S. 557ff. * *

External links

*
Genealogy of the House of Mecklenburg

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher of Mecklenburg Lutheran Prince-Bishops of Ratzeburg Dukes of Mecklenburg House of Mecklenburg 1537 births 1592 deaths 16th-century German nobility Sons of dukes