List of Counts of East Frisia
Encyclopedia
East Frisians
East Frisians are, in the wider sense, the inhabitants of East Frisia in the northwest of the German state of Lower Saxony. In the narrower sense the East Frisians are the eastern branch of the Frisians, a Germanic people and belong, together with the Danes, Sorbs, Sinti and Romanies to the...
family Cirksena
Cirksena
The Cirksena are noble East Frisian family descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel.- The Cirksena in East Frisia :In 1439 in the wake of clashes between different lines of chieftains, the town of Emden was first placed by Hamburg under direct rule and then, in 1453, finally...
descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel
Greetsiel
Greetsiel is a small port on the bight of Leybucht in western East Frisia, Germany that was first documented in letters from the year 1388. Since 1972, Greetsiel has been part of the municipality of Krummhörn, which has its administrative seat in Pewsum...
. The county came in to existence when Emperor Frederick III
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
raised Ulrich I the son of a local chieftain to the status of Imperial Count in 1464.
The most important ruler from the House of Cirksena was Edzard the Great (1462–1528), under whose leadership the Imperial County of East Frisia reached its greatest extent. During his reign the Reformation spread throughout East Frisia
East Frisia
East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....
.
In 1654 the Cirksena were elevated to princes by the emperor. Charles Edzard
Charles Edzard, Prince of East Frisia
Charles Edzard was the last prince of East Frisia. He ruled from 12 June 1734 until his death...
, the last ruler from the House of Cirksena, died without issue during the night of 25/26 May 1744 (reportedly from a glass of buttermilk, which is said to have drunk after a hunt). Immediately thereafter, the county passed to King Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
.
| Name (Lifespan) | Reign | Title | Note | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulrich I (*around 1408; †25 or 26 September 1466) |
1464–1466 | Count | First Count of East Frisia. Emperor Frederick III Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452... raised Ulrich to the status of Imperial Count Count A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is... in 1464. |
|||
| Theda Ukena Theda Ukena Theda Ukena was from 1466 to about 1480 regent of the County of East Frisia.Theda was the granddaughter and heiress of the chief Focko Ukena and was born in 1432 in Oldersum as the daughter of Uko Fockena and Heba Attena of Dornum. She was probably named after her grandmother Theda of Reide, the... (*1432; †16 November 1494) |
1466–1491 | Regent | Widow of Ulrich I, as regent for Enno I. | |||
| Edzard I the Great (*1461; †14 February 1528) |
1491–1528 | Count | The son of Ulrich I and Theda Ukena. | |||
| Enno II (*1505; †24 September 1540) |
1528–1540 | Count | The son of Edzard I. | |||
| Anna of Oldenburg Anna of Oldenburg Anna of Oldenburg was a Countess consort of East Frisia as the spouse of Count Enno II of East Frisia. She was the Regent of East Frisia in 1540/42-1561 as the guardian for her minor sons. Her reign lasted until 1561 and was generally supported by the Estates... (*14 November 1501; †24 September 1575) |
1540–1561 | Regent | Widow of Enno II. | |||
| Johan II Johan II of East Frisia Count Johan II of East Frisia was a member of the House of Cirksena and from 1561 until his death in 1591 co-regent of the county of East Frisia... (*29 September 1538; †29 September 1591) |
1561–1591 | Count | The son of Enno II and Anna of Oldenburg ruled together with his brother Edzard II. | |||
| Edzard II (*24 June 1532; †1 March 1599) |
1561–1599 | Count | The son of Enno II and Anna of Oldenburg. | |||
 |
Enno III (*30 September 1563; †19 August 1625) |
1599–1625 | Count | The son of Edzard II. | ||
| Rudolf Christian Rudolf Christian, Count of East Frisia Rudolf Christian of Ostfriesland, Count of East Frisia, was count of East Frisia, and the second son of Enno III of East Frisia and Anna of Holstein-Gottorp. During his reign, foreign troops participating in the Thirty Years' War began retreating into and quartering in East Frisia... (*2 June 1602; †17 April 1628) |
1625–1628 | Count | The son of Enno III. | |||
| Ulrich II (*6 July 1605; †1 November 1648) |
1628–1648 | Count | The son of Enno III. | |||
| Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt was the wife of Count Ulrich II of East Frisia and was regent for her minor son Enno Louis from 1648 to 1651... (*14 April 1606; †15 January 1659) |
1648–1651 | Regent | Widow of Ulrich II | |||
| Enno Louis (*29 October 1632; †4 April 1660) |
1651–1660 | Count, after 1654 Fürst (Prince) | The son of Ulrich II and Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt. | |||
| George Christian George Christian, Prince of East Frisia George Christian was a member of the Cirksena family and succeeded his brother Enno Louis as ruler of East Frisia. He ruled from 1660 to 1665. Under his reign, the Cirksena family acquired on 18 April 1662 the hereditary title of Imperial Prince.George Christian grew up with his brother at the... (*6 February 1634; †6 June 1665) |
1660–1665 | Fürst (Prince) | Second son of Ulrich II and Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt. | |||
| Christine Charlotte of Württemberg Christine Charlotte of Württemberg Christine Charlotte of Württemberg was a princess of Württemberg by birth and a princess consort of East Frisia, married in 1662 to George Christian, Prince of East Frisia. She served as the regent of East Frisia during the minority of her son from 1665 until 1690... (*21. October 1645; †16. May 1699) |
1665–1690 | Regent | Widow of George Christian. | |||
| Christian Everhard Christian Everhard, Prince of East Frisia Prince Christian Everhard of East Frisia was a Prince of East Frisia from the House of Cirksena from the day he was born in 1665, but remained under guardianship until 1690.- Life :... (*1 October 1665; †30 June 1708) |
1690–1708 | Fürst (Prince) | The son of Georg Christian and Christine Charlotte of Württemberg. | |||
| George Albert George Albert, Prince of East Frisia George Albert was a member of the family of the Cirksena and was the fourth Prince of East Frisia. He ruled from 1708 to 1734.- Life :He was the second son of Prince Christian Eberhard... (*13 June 1690; †12 June 1734) |
1708–1734 | Fürst (Prince) | The son of Christian Everhard. | |||
| Charles Edzard Charles Edzard, Prince of East Frisia Charles Edzard was the last prince of East Frisia. He ruled from 12 June 1734 until his death... (*18 June 1716; †25 May 1744) |
1734–1744 | Fürst (Prince) | The son of Georg Albrecht and the last Fürst of East Frisia of the House of Cirksena Cirksena The Cirksena are noble East Frisian family descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel.- The Cirksena in East Frisia :In 1439 in the wake of clashes between different lines of chieftains, the town of Emden was first placed by Hamburg under direct rule and then, in 1453, finally... . He died without issue. |
|||
| After the death of the last Prince of East Frisia, the county passed to King Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel... . |
||||||
Literature
- Tielke, Dr. Martin (Hrsg.): Biographisches Lexikon für East Frisia, Bd. 1 ISBN 3-925365-75-3 (1993), Bd. 2 ISBN 3-932206-00-2 (1997), Bd. 3 ISBN 3-932206-22-3 (2001) Ostfries. Landschaftliche Verl.- u. Vertriebsges. Aurich
- Martin Jhering: Hofleben in East Frisia. Die Fürstenresidenz Aurich im Jahre 1728, Hannover 2005
- Heinrich Reimers: East Frisia bis zum Aussterben seines Fürstenhauses, Bremen 1925
- Ernst Esselborn: Das Geschlecht Cirksena, Berlin 1945
- F. Wachter: Das Erbe der Cirksena. Ein Stück ostfriesischer Geschichte und des Kampfes um die Vorherrschaft in Norddeutschland., Aurich 1921