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.
Neustrelitz is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the shore of the Zierker See in the Mecklenburg Lake District. From 1738 until 1918 it was the capital of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. From 1994 until 2011 it was the capital of the district of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting House of Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin remained a state of the Holy Roman Empire along the Baltic Sea littoral between Holstein-Glückstadt and the Duchy of Pomerania.
Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg, was the first Duke of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz, reigning from 1701 until his death. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a part of the Holy Roman Empire.
The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Polabian origin that ruled until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1909–2004), former Queen of the Netherlands (1948–1980), was an agnatic member of this house.
The Diocese of Ratzeburg is a former diocese of the Catholic Church. It was erected from the Diocese of Oldenburg c. 1050 and was suppressed in 1554. The diocese was originally a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Hamburg; in 1072 it became a suffragan of the merged entity — the "Archdiocese of Hamburg and the Diocese of Bremen". The territory of the diocese was located in what is today the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. The cathedral church of the diocese — dedicated to Ss. Mary and John — is still extant in the city of Ratzeburg. Following its suppression as part of the Protestant Reformation, the remaining Catholic adherents were only represented by the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Germany. The whole territory of the diocese is today included in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hamburg.
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German Confederation and finally of the German Empire in 1871.
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a territory in Northern Germany, held by the younger line of the House of Mecklenburg residing in Neustrelitz. Like the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, it was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German Confederation and finally of the German Empire upon the unification in 1871. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–19 it was succeeded by the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Adolphus Frederick VI was the last reigning grand duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Adolphus Frederick III was a Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He founded the town of Neustrelitz as the capital of Mecklenburg-Strelit to replace the old capital which had burnt down.
Mecklenburg-Güstrow was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in Northern Germany, that existed on three occasions ruled by the House of Mecklenburg at Güstrow.
The Duchy of Mecklenburg was a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire, located in the region of Mecklenburg. It existed during the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period, from 1471 to 1520, as well as 1695 to 1701. Its capital was Schwerin.
Adolf Frederick I was the reigning Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from his father's death in 1592 until 1628 and again from 1631 to 1658. Between 1634 and 1648 Adolf Frederick also ruled the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin as its administrator.
By the Hamburg Agreement on 8 March 1701, Mecklenburg was separated into two duchies with limited autonomy, which formed a collective state–as of 1815, the Grand Duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Since 1755, they had the same constitution and were under the control of the same parliament. In 1815, both parts became Grand Duchies by the Congress of Vienna.
Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg [-Güstrow] was the last ruler of Mecklenburg-Güstrow from 1636 until his death and last Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg from 1636 to 1648.
Frederick William was the reigning duke of Mecklenburg in the Mecklenburg-Schwerin portion of the duchy of Mecklenburg from 1692 until 1713.
Magdalena Sibylle of Holstein-Gottorp was a Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp by birth and by marriage Duchess of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. From 1654 to 1695, she was the consort of Duke Gustav Adolph of Mecklenburg-Güstrow.
The Principality of Ratzeburg is a former state, existing from 1648 to 1918. It belonged to the imperially immediate territory of the Duchy of Mecklenburg within the Holy Roman Empire. It was formed from the territory of the former Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg, which was secularised to Mecklenburg-Güstrow in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Following the death of the last duke in 1695, the territories of Mecklenburg-Güstrow were split up in the 1701 Treaty of Hamburg, which created the semi-ducal states of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, with the latter made up of the Principality of Ratzeburg and the Lordship of Stargard. Its territories remained exclaves of Mecklenburg-Strelitz through its later iterations – the Grand Duchy from 1815 and Free State from 1918 – before the bulk of it was finally incorporated into the unified state of Mecklenburg in 1934 as part of Landkreis Schönberg; its small exclaves were incorporated into Kreis Herzogtum Lauenburg of Schleswig-Holstein. Most of the Principality is now within the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
During its history, the state of Mecklenburg has been repeatedly partitioned into various successor states. Modern historians distinguish three main Partitions of Mecklenburg:
