Ulrich II. (East Frisia)

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Ulrich II., Painting around 1750

Ulrich II. (* July 6, 1605 ; † November 1, 1648 in Aurich ) took up the post of Count of East Friesland on April 17, 1628 after the unexpected death of his brother Rudolf Christian .

Life

He was the fifth child from Count Enno III's second marriage . (House Cirksena ) and Countess Anna of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf .

Overall, the historiography gives Ulrich II a bad report. He had taken up the post of Count of East Frisia only reluctantly. It is said that he was a bon vivant who enjoyed drinking alcohol and food. During his reign, the Thirty Years' War fell , in which East Friesland suffered great hardship from being visited by the troops of Count Peter Ernst II von Mansfeld . The only exception was Emden , as the recently completed Emder Wall protected the city from being captured by foreign troops. He watched the activities of the foreign troops in the course of the Thirty Years' War in East Frisia passively and had the country more or less administered by Chancellors Wiarda and Bobart. While the population of East Frisia suffered bitter hardship during the war, he had a hunting ground, the zoo in Aurich , built for himself and a park, the Julianenburg , for his wife, the Hessian Countess Juliane .

And yet some important decisions were made during Ulrich's reign. The fen culture began with the leasing of moorland areas near Timmel in 1633, the first evidence of which is the Großefehn that resulted from the leasing . From foundations of the state assets, high schools were created in Norden in 1631 and in Aurich in 1646 , which still bear his name today as Ulrichsgymnasium and Ulricianum .

family

In 1631 he married Juliane von Hessen-Darmstadt (* April 14, 1606; † January 15, 1659), daughter of Ludwig V of Hessen-Darmstadt and Magdalena von Brandenburg (* January 7, 1582; ​​† May 4, 1616) . The couple had the following children:

  • Enno Ludwig (October 29, 1632; † April 4, 1660) ⚭ November 7, 1656 Justine Sophie von Barby (* April 14, 1636; † August 12, 1677)
  • Georg Christian (February 6, 1634; † June 6, 1665) ⚭ May 10, 1662 Christine Charlotte von Württemberg (* October 21, 1645; † May 16, 1699)
  • Edzard Ferdinand (* July 12, 1636, † January 1, 1668) ⚭ July 22, 1665 Anna Dorothea Countess of Criechingen († May 20, 1705)

After his death, his widow Juliana took over the custodial government due to the minority of their children.

literature

predecessor Office successor
Rudolf Christian Count of East Frisia
1628–1648 		Enno Ludwig
( Juliane von Hessen-Darmstadt as regent)
personal data
SURNAME Ulrich II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of East Frisia
DATE OF BIRTH July 6, 1605
DATE OF DEATH November 1, 1648
Place of death Aurich