Gerhard VI, Count of Oldenburg (; 1430 – 22 February 1500) was a

Count of Oldenburg image:BlasonChristian Ier (1143-1167), comte d'Oldenbourg.svg, 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg image:Blason Gérard VI (1430-1500), comte d'Oldenbourg et de Delmenhorst.svg, 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst This is a ...

and regent of

Bad Zwischenahn Bad Zwischenahn (; ) is a town and a municipality in the low-lying Ammerland district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is on Zwischenahner Meer, approximately 15 km northwest of Oldenburg and about 70 km south of the North Sea coast. His ...

in 1440–1482.

Biography

Gerhard was the third son of Dietrich of Oldenburg and his wife,

Hedvig of Holstein Hedvig of Holstein (, ; 1398–1436) was a duchess of Schleswig and a countess of Holstein from the family of Schauenburg. She was the mother of King Christian I of Denmark and ancestor of the Danish Royal houses of Oldenburg and Schleswig-Hol ...

. His eldest brother first succeeded their father and later was elected King

Christian I of Denmark Christian I ''(Christiern I)'' (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a German noble and Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), King of Norway, Norway (1450–1481) and King of Sweden, Sweden (1457 ...

in 1448, therefore passing on the county to his brothers in 1450. From 1440 to 1463 Gerhard VI ruled in

Delmenhorst Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district (''List of German urban districts, Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen (city), Bremen with which ...

as regent and from 1464 to 1482 (after the death of his brother Maurice) as the guardian of his nephew Jakob. He was constantly at war with Gerhard III, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, and

Frisians The Frisians () are an ethnic group indigenous to the German Bight, coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland an ...

. In 1483 Gerhard was compelled to abdicate in favor of his sons, and he died whilst on a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

in the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

valley.

Family and children

In 1453 he married with Adelheid of Tecklenburg (c. 1435 – 2 March 1477), daughter of Otto VII, Count of Tecklenburg. They had eleven children: * Gerhard of Oldenburg (1454–1470) * Dietrich of Oldenburg (c. 1456 – 1463) * Adolph, Count of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst (1458 – 17 February 1500) * Christian of Oldenburg (1459 – 27 May 1492) *

John V, Count of Oldenburg John V, Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (also counted as John XIV, including also non-ruling namesake siblings; 1460, Oldenburg – 10 February 1526, Oldenburg) was a member of the House of Oldenburg. He was the ruling Count of Oldenburg ...

(1460 – 10 February 1526) * Otto of Oldenburg (d. 17 February 1500), a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Bremen Cathedral Bremen Cathedral (), named after St. Peter, is a church situated in the market square in the center of Bremen. The cathedral belongs to the Bremian Evangelical Church, a member of the umbrella organization Evangelical Church in Germany. It ...

Chapter * Elisabeth of Oldenburg (1468 – 12 September 1505) * Anna of Oldenburg (1469 – 26 September 1505) * Irmgard of Oldenburg; married Hero Oomkens von Esens, Lord of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund. * Hedwig of Oldenburg (d. 22 February 1502); married in 1498 Edo Wimken II of Jever (1468 - 19 April 1511); had issue, including Maria of Jever. * Adelheid of Oldenburg (d. 1513); married in 1503 Dietrich III of Plesse.

Ancestry

References

Other sources

*Hartmut Platte (2006) ''as Haus Oldenburg'' (Börde-Verlag, Werl) {{Authority control 1430 births 1500 deaths Counts of Oldenburg