Adolf Friedrich I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
(1588-1658)
Born 25 December 1588 Schwerin
Died 27 February 1658 Schwerin
Married (1) 4 September 1622 Vorde
Countess Anna Maria von Ostfriesland, daughter of Enno III,
Count von Ostfriesland 1599-1625 and Princess Anna von
Holstein-Gottorp
Born 23 June 1601
Died 15 February 1634
Married (2) 25 February 1635 Schwerin
Duchess Maria Katharina of Brunswick-Dannenberg, daughter
of Julius Ernst, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg and Countess
Marie von Ostfriesland
Born 10 June 1616 Dannenberg
Died 1 July 1665 Grabow
Mecklenburg was ravaged by the thirty years' war. It suffered by the
hands of the Swedish soldiers as well as by those of Imperial armies. Out
of fear no crops were grown, causing starvation upon which pest broke out.
Many succumbed to hunger and disease; probably 8,000
people died in the city of Neubrandenburg and about 20,000 in Guestrow.
In 1643 the Swedes again went through Mecklenburg, to be followed by
the Imperial army, only to have this repeated in 1645. When in 1648 a treaty
was signed in M?nster, the population of Mecklenburg had been reduced from
300,000 to about 50,000.
Adolf Friedrich I, who was Duke in these appalling times, was able
to add the counties of Schwerin and Ratzeburg to his territories. His first
marriage had brought him eight children, of which six reached maturity,
while his second marriage brought him another eleven of which also six
survived.
Source: Leo van de Pas
|
