Nicholas I, Count of Tecklenburg (died 1367), also known as Nicholas III of Schwerin, was a German noble in the Holy Roman Empire.

Life

Nicholas was the son of Gunzelin VI, Count of Schwerin and Richardis, the daughter of Count Otto IV of Tecklenburg. In 1328, he succeeded his uncle, Count Otto V of Tecklenburg, as count of Tecklenburg-Ibbendüren and count of

Lingen Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2024, its population was 59,896 with 2,262 people who had registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is located on the river Ems ...

and

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; ; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, in north-western Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Bremen and the Dutch ...

. He was initially considered an outsider, however, he managed to prove himself capable of the job. He was elected captain of

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

, to establish law and order, despite weak rule by the bishop. In 1350, he lost some territory to the bishop of

, including Fuurstenau, Schwagsdorf and Berge. However, he acquired Altbruchhausen from his father-in-law, although he later had to abdicate there, due to his high debts. Nicholas inherited the County of Schwerin from his brother

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

in 1357. However, in 1358, he sold it to

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

Marriage and issue

Nicholas married Helena, the daughter of Count Otto of Oldenburg-Wildeshausen-Altbruchhausen. They had two children: * Otto VI (died 1388) * Richardis, married Count Otto III of Oldenburg-Dolmenhorst (died 1418). 1367 deaths 14th-century German nobility Counts of Tecklenburg Counts of Schwerin Year of birth unknown {{Germany-noble-stub