List of the counts and princes of East Frisia

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The count's coat of arms of East Frisia

The list of the Counts and Princes of East Friesland contains the chronological order of the rulers of East Friesland from the foundation of the county in 1464 to the extinction of the Cirksena dynasty in 1744.

The Cirksena had prevailed in the 15th century after a time that was characterized by the struggle of the chief clans for areas of power, influence and supremacy. Around 1430, Edzard Cirksena defeated his adversary Focko Ukena as the leader of the League of Freedom . His son Ulrich Cirksena was in 1464 by Emperor Friedrich III. raised to the status of imperial count and enfeoffed with East Friesland as imperial county. However, the Cirksena were never able to establish a strong rule in East Frisia. Power struggles with the self-confident East Frisian estates broke out again and again .

From 1581 to 1600 the Counts of East Friesland were the rulers of the County of Rietberg in personal union , after Count Enno III. the Rietbergsche heir daughter Walburg von Rietberg had married. In the Berumer settlement (1600), however, he ceded the county of Rietberg to his daughters.

Count's coat of arms of East Frisia

Count Rudolf Christian introduced the count's coat of arms in its final form in 1626 . It combines the coats of arms of the most important East Frisian chief families on six fields , in whose succession the counts and princes saw themselves. It shows (from top left to bottom right - not heraldic):

  • the coat of arms of the Cirksena from Greetsiel , the golden, crowned virgin eagle (the tail wheels are said to have been taken from the North city ​​coat of arms and are taken as an indication of the origin of the oldest verifiable ancestors),
  • the coat of arms of tom Brok from Brokmerland , a golden eagle crowned on head and wings,
  • the coat of arms of the chiefs of Manslagt from the Krummhörn , a silver field, in it a red bar, which is set with five alternating gold and silver diamonds; above the beam two blue crescent moon and below it a blue crescent moon,
  • the coat of arms of chief Focko Ukena from Leer and Moormerland , a silver lion on a blue background with an overturned golden crown around his neck,
  • the coat of arms of Attena from Esens , who ruled Wittmund, the right-hand, red armored black bear with a gold collar on a gold background,
  • the coat of arms of Attena chief Hero Omken from Harlingerland , two golden, diagonally crossed, two-stranded flagella in the blue field.

The three crowned helmets above the East Frisian coat of arms are part of the coat of arms of the Cirksena (middle helmet, which is decorated with a golden lily in front of six golden ostrich feathers) and of the Harlingerland (right helmet with two diagonally crossed flagella and a lily) as well as the tom Brok (with red and gold helmet cover). The emblem of Eala Frya Fresena indicates the tradition of Frisian freedom .

Counts and princes of East Frisia

Illustration Name and dates of life Reign title Remarks
UllrichI.jpg Ulrich I
(* around 1408; † September 25 or 26, 1466) 		1464-1466 Count In 1464 Ulrich and his descendants were raised to the rank of imperial count . He then moved his main residence from Greetsiel to Emden , while Aurich became his summer residence.
Theda.jpg Theda
(1432 - November 16, 1494) 		1466-1491 Regent of the county of East Friesland As Ulrich I's widow, Theda led the government when her sons were immature. Her eldest son Enno I supported her until he died on February 19, 1491 near Friedeburg .
Jacob Cornelisz van Amsterdam.jpg Edzard I (the Great)
(1462-14 February 1528) 		1491-1528 Count Edzard the Great was Ulrich I's second son. He brought about the greatest expansion of East Frisia and promoted the Reformation . The " East Frisian Land Law " was created under his government .
Enno2-optimized.jpg Enno II
(1505-24 September 1540) 		1528-1540 Count Edzard I's second son continued the work of the Reformation that had begun under his father , while his younger brother Johann I remained Catholic but took part in government affairs.
Annaostf.jpg Anna
(14 November 1501 - 24 September 1575) 		1540-1561 Regent of the county of East Friesland Widow Ennos II. Headed the custodial government after she had compared herself with her brother-in-law, the Catholic Count Johann I.
Johann II
(born September 29, 1538 - † September 29, 1591) 		1561-1591 Count Ennos II's youngest son ruled alongside his brother Edzard II from 1561 to 1591.
Edzardii.jpg Edzard II
(June 24, 1532 - March 1, 1599) 		1561-1599 Count Ennos II's eldest son ruled alongside his mother from 1558, alongside his brother Johann II from 1561 to 1591 , and alone from 1591 to 1599. Because of the disputes with his brother Johann II and the city of Emden , Edzard II moved his residence from Emden to Aurich .
Ennoeastfrisia-optimized.jpg Enno III.
(September 30, 1563 - August 19, 1625) 		1599-1625 Count During his reign, two important contracts were concluded between the Count's House and the East Frisian estates: the Emden Concordat of 1599 and the Osterhusischen Accord of 1611.
Rudolfchristian.jpg Rudolf Christian
(born June 25, 1602; † April 16, 1628) 		1625-1628 Count Ennos III. second son died in an accident at the age of 26. During the reign of Rudolf Christian, the visitation of East Frisia took place as a retreat and quarters for foreign troops who were involved in the Thirty Years' War .
Ulrichiiostf.jpg Ulrich II
(July 6, 1605 - November 1, 1648) 		1628-1648 Count Ennos III. third son. During his reign the Thirty Years' War fell, in which East Frisia suffered great hardship from being visited by the troops of Count von Mansfeld . The only exception was Emden , as the recently completed Emder Wall protected the city from being captured by foreign troops. The fen culture also began during this time, when Emder citizens founded Timmelerfehn in 1633 (today's Westgroßefehn ).
Julianeostf.jpg Juliane
(April 14, 1606 - January 15, 1659) 		1648-1651 Regent of the county of East Friesland Juliane, Ulrich II's widow, led the custodial government because her children were minors.
Ennoludwig.jpg Enno Ludwig
(October 29, 1632 - April 4, 1660) 		1651-1660 Count, from 1654 prince The eldest son of Ulrich II took office in 1651 as Count of East Frisia. He was in 1654 by Emperor Ferdinand III. through the mediation of the Helmstedt professor and native East Frisian Hermann Conring raised to the personal imperial prince status.
Georgchristian.jpg Georg Christian
(February 6, 1634 - June 6, 1665) 		1660-1665 Prince Since Enno Ludwig had no male descendants, Ulrich's second son followed in the government. He was raised to the hereditary prince status in 1662 .
Edzard Ferdinand
(July 12, 1636 - January 1, 1668) 		1665 Prince He ruled after his brother Georg Christian died suddenly. Because of the pregnancy of the princely widow Christine Charlotte, Edzard Ferdinand only took over the government as a representative of a possible male heir Georg Christian, who was then born with Christian Eberhard on October 1st, 1665. This ended the four-month interim government of Edzard Ferdinand.
Christine Charlotte from Württemberg.jpg Christine Charlotte
(October 21, 1645 - May 16, 1699) 		1665-1690 Regent After the death of her husband, Prince Georg Christian von Ostfriesland, Christine Charlotte von Württemberg ruled East Frisia for 25 years from 1665 onwards.
Christianeberhard.jpg Christian Eberhard
(October 1, 1665 - June 30, 1708) 		1690-1708 Prince Christian Eberhard became prince on the day of his birth in 1665, but remained under the tutelage of his mother until 1690. He was called "the peaceable" because of his good relationship with the East Frisian estates.
Georgalbrecht.jpg Georg Albrecht
(born June 13, 1690 - † June 11, 1734) 		1708-1734 Prince As the second son of Prince Christian Eberhard, he ruled in difficult times. The country was particularly hard hit by the Christmas flood of 1717. The conflict between the Princely House and the Estates also erupted again during the reign of Georg Albrecht.
Carledzard.jpg Carl Edzard
(June 18, 1716 - May 25, 1744) 		1734-1744 Prince Carl Edzard was the last Prince of East Friesland from the House of Cirksena. After the ongoing conflicts of the previous years between the Princely House and the Estates, it hardly had any respect. The city of Emden and other unruly estates refused to pay homage to him. After his death, East Frisia fell to King Friedrich II of Prussia .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Martin Tielke: East Frisian landscape
  2. ↑ Johann (the Younger) in the Biographical Lexicon for East Friesland , (PDF; 32 kB)
  3. ↑ Samtgemeinde Hesel: The coat of arms of Ostfriesland ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / hesel.conne.net
  4. ^ NDR Online: Ostfriesland - width between mud flats and moor. Eala frya Fresena
  5. ↑ Biographical Lexicon for East Frisia : Ulrich I (PDF; 107 kB)
  6. ↑ Biographical Lexicon for East Friesland : Theda (PDF; 48 kB)
  7. ^ Franz Xaver von Wegele:  Edzard I. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 650.
  8. ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Enno II. (PDF; 70 kB)
  9. ↑ Ernst Friedländer:  Anna, Countess and Regent of East Frisia . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 468 f.
  10. ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Johann II. (PDF; 55 kB)
  11. ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Edzard II. (PDF; 145 kB)
  12. ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Enno III. (PDF; 66 kB)
  13. ^ Biographical lexicon for East Friesland : Rudolf Christian (PDF; 47 kB)
  14. ↑ Biographical Lexicon for East Frisia : Ulrich II. (PDF; 48 kB)
  15. ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Juliane (PDF; 52 kB)
  16. ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Enno Ludwig (PDF; 68 kB)
  17. ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Georg Christian (PDF; 70 kB)
  18. ↑ Biographical Lexicon for East Friesland : Edzard Ferdinand (PDF; 75 kB)
  19. ↑ Biographical Lexicon for East Friesland : Christine Charlotte (PDF; 75 kB)
  20. ↑ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Christian Eberhard (PDF; 67.2 kB)
  21. ^ Günther Möhlmann:  Cirksena. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , pp. 255 f. ( Digitized version ). (Family article, mentioned there p. 256)
  22. ↑ Biographical Lexicon for East Frisia : Carl Edzard (PDF; 81 kB)

literature

  • Tielke, Dr. Martin (Hrsg.): Biographisches Lexikon für Ostfriesland , Vol. 1 ISBN 3-925365-75-3 (1993), Vol. 2 ISBN 3-932206-00-2 (1997), Vol. 3 ISBN 3-932206-22 -3 (2001) East Fries. Scenic Verl.- u. Vertriebsges. Aurich
  • Martin Jhering: Court life in East Frisia. The princely residence of Aurich in 1728 , Hanover 2005
  • Heinrich Reimers: East Frisia until the extinction of his princely house , Bremen 1925
  • Ernst Esselborn: The Cirksena Family , Berlin 1945
  • F. Wachter: The legacy of the Cirksena. A piece of East Frisian history and the struggle for supremacy in northern Germany. , Aurich 1921

Web links

Commons : Counts and Princes of East Friesland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
This version was added to the selection of informative lists and portals on October 4th, 2008 .