Nikolaus (Rostock)

Nikolaus, Lord of Rostock , called the child (* before 1262; † November 25, 1314 ) was first co-regent from 1282 to 1284, then from 1284 to 1312 sole Lord of Rostock .

Life

He was the youngest son of Waldemar and his wife Agnes. His eldest brothers Johann and (Heinrich) Borwin IV. Died before 1285, so that he was sole ruler only under the reign of his mother. In fact, however, his father's trustee Johann Moltke in Toitenwinkel (1271/1309) not only ruled the country during the guardianship, but also determined the affairs of government after the young ruler had reached the age of majority. Johann Moltke not only promoted three other family members to the sovereign council, but also concluded alliances with other noble families from Mecklenburg such as B. the families Axekow , Babbe , Bülow and Preen . Against these Mecklenburg immigrants within the Rostock knighthood, resistance arose among noble families who had been resident in Rostock for a long time, especially the Schnakenburg family . Nikolaus von Rostock tried to build a balance between the two aristocratic factions in order to become more independent from the influence of the Moltkes. Meanwhile, the Moltkes not only occupied the sovereign council with their supporters, but also the important marshal's office and that of the Rostock mayor. In the next escalation stage, the two factions of the Rostock knighthood looked around for external allies. The Schnakenburgs allied themselves with the Margraves of Brandenburg and presented marriage candidates from the Brandenburg sphere of influence. The Moltkes, on the other hand, entered into an alliance with Denmark and actually got a Pomeranian duke's daughter as the wife of Nikolaus von Rostock. After the Schnakenburgs were again defeated, they resorted to open violence against the Moltkes and their followers. Both parties now called on their protecting powers Brandenburg and Denmark for support. Brandenburg and the allied Mecklenburg rulers Mecklenburg and Werle tried in vain to conquer the rulership of Rostock alongside the Schnakenburgs. Instead, Denmark prevailed as the protective power of the Moltkes.

Nikolaus von Rostock had not been able to settle the conflict in his knighthood and was now forced to place his country under the protection and feudal rule of King Erich of Denmark in 1300 . After successfully defending himself, however, he made himself the owner of the Rostock estate and ousted Nikolaus. In 1311, Heinrich II of Mecklenburg, now in alliance with the Danish king, again besieged the Hanseatic city of Rostock, which was striving for independence , and succeeded in taking it on December 15, 1312. On November 25, 1314, Nikolaus von Rostock, who was finally deprived of power, died, whereby the rule of Rostock fell to Denmark, but it was immediately transferred to Heinrich II of Mecklenburg as pledge for his war costs. On May 21, 1323, Henry II made peace with the Danish King Christoph II . He received the rule of Rostock including the bailiwicks of Gnoien and Schwaan as hereditary fiefs from Denmark and the rule of Rostock ceased to exist independently.

Nikolaus was buried in the Johanniskloster Rostock . Nikolaus became engaged several times, first to Euphemia, daughter of Count Günther von Lindow , then on the advice of Heinrich II. Of Mecklenburg with his sister-in-law Margarete von Brandenburg , daughter of Margrave Albrecht III. von Brandenburg , and Margarete (1299), daughter of Duke Bogislaws IV. von Pommern-Wolgast . He finally married the latter. She survived her husband and died on January 14, 1316. They had a daughter, Elisabeth, who married Count Christian von Delmenhorst on February 16, 1317. Two of her sons became canons, Johann of Cologne and Bremen and Christian of Bremen and Osnabrück.

literature

• Karl Ernst Hermann Krause:  Nikolaus the child . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 23, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1886, p. 616 f.

Web links

• Family tree of the House of Mecklenburg

Individual evidence

1. ^ Tobias Pietsch: Leading groups in the late medieval lower nobility of Mecklenburg . Kiel 2019.

predecessor	Office	successor
Waldemar	Lord of Rostock 1282-1312	Danish crown domain ( Erich VI. )