Gunzelin I. (Schwerin)

Statue in the facade of the Schwerin Castle

Gunzelin von Hagen , also Gunzelin I (* between 1125 and 1130; † June 18, 1185 ), was the first count of Schwerin after the conquest of the Abodritenland by Henry the Lion .

Life

Gunzelin probably comes from the noble von Hagen family , whose name comes from the lost Hagen Castle in the Brunswick office of Salder and who owned many estates near Wolfenbüttel and Hildesheim . He is said to have helped Heinrich the lion in battles against the Abodrites as Burgrave of Dahlenburg . This is supported by the fact that Bishop Bogufał II of Posen referred to Gunzelin as nobilis vir de Dalewo alias de Dalemburg . After Gunzelin had distinguished himself in the battles, Heinrich the Lion appointed his trusted ministerial as the first Count of Schwerin in 1160. In addition to the rebuilt Schwerin Castle, Gunzelin also received Ilow Castle . He was the most important of Heinrichs newly appointed feudal people in the Abodritenland. Helmold von Bosau therefore referred to him as the “praefectus” of the Abodrite country.

In 1164 Gunzelin justified the trust the lion placed in him when he was able to defend the castles Ilow and Schwerin against the army of Pribislaw in the most difficult situation until the duke restored the situation. In the battle of Verchen , believed to have been lost, he succeeded in defeating the troops of Pribislav and the Pomeranian princes. The Christianization of the newly conquered land was promoted by Bishop Berno under the protection of Gunzelin.

When Pribislaw got the Abodritenland back as a ducal fief in 1167 , Schwerin Castle and an extensive area belonging to it were excluded. Gunzelin and his descendants retained this area as the County of Schwerin until Nicholas III. sold this to Albrecht II of Mecklenburg in 1358 .

In 1172 Gunzelin accompanied Duke Heinrich the Lion on a pilgrimage to Palestine. When the power of Heinrich was to be smashed, he gave him help, but this could not prevent the smashing of Heinrich's empire after the imperial journey from 1180 to 1181.

He probably died on June 18, 1185 and was buried in Schwerin Cathedral .

family

Hardly any facts are known about the family situation. Gunzelin was still unmarried in 1150, but must have married shortly afterwards, since a younger son of his appeared as a witness as early as 1174. He married Oda von Lüchow († 1190). The marriage produced five male descendants:

• Hermann von Schwerin († 1228), from 1191 to 1195 counter-bishop of Schwerin
• Helmold I († 1206), Count of Schwerin from 1185 to 1194
• Gunzelin (Günzel) II. († around 1221), Count of Schwerin
• Heinrich von Schwerin († around 1228), called the Black , Count of Schwerin
• Friedrich I († 1240), Bishop of Schwerin from 1238 to 1240

literature

• Georg Bode : Origin and homeland of Gunzelins von Hagen of the first Count of Schwerin , Wolfenbüttel 1912 ( digitized ; PDF; 8.0 MB)
• Ludwig Fromm:  Gunzelin I, Count of Schwerin . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1879, p. 181 f.
• Karl Jordan:  Gunzelin I, Count of Schwerin. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 7, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1966, ISBN 3-428-00188-5 , p. 325 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Friedrich Wigger : About the family tree of the old Counts of Schwerin (essay 3, vol. 34) . Schwerin, 1869 ( digitized version )

Web links

• Gunzelin I. von Hagen the first count of Schwerin and the history of his origins