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Barnim X
Duke of Pomerania
Born	15 February 1549 Wolgast
Died	1 September 1603(1603-09-01) (aged 54) Szczecin
Spouse	Anna Maria of Brandenburg
House	House of Griffin
Father	Philip I of Pomerania-Wolgast
Mother	Maria of Saxony

Barnim X, or according to another accountBarnim XII (15 February 1549, inWolgast – 1 September 1603, inSzczecin) was a duke ofPomerania and a member of theHouse of Griffins. He administered from 1569, theRügenwalde district. From 1600 until his death, he ruled inPomerania-Stettin.

Barnim was the sixth child of DukePhilip I of Pomerania-Wolgast and his wifeMaria of Saxony, Duchess of Pomerania. Philip died in 1560 and was survived by five of his sons; in addition to Barnim, they were his older brothersJohn Frederick (1542–1600),Bogislaw XIII (1544–1606) andErnest Louis (1545–1592) and Barnim's younger brotherCasimir VI (1557–1605). A guardianship government was set up for all the brothers. It consisted of the Lord ChamberlainUlrich von Schwerin as a regent and a regency council of eleven people.

Barnim and his brother Ernest Louis studied from 1563 at theUniversity of Wittenberg, where they lived until 1565 at the home of a Martin Luther, the son of the reformerMartin Luther. In Wittenberg he served asRector in the summer semester of 1564.

In 1569 government in Pomerania was reorganized. DukeBarnim IX, who had no surviving sons, abdicated in favour of his second cousins John Frederick and Barnim X. Barnim waived the co-regency and agreed with his brother that he would rule the district ofRügenwalde. On 25 July 1569, the division of Pomerania was settled in the Treaty of Jasenitz.

Also in 1569, a marriage with a Polish princess was planned, but this did not come about. InRügenwalde Barnim reigned since 1569 in quiet seclusion with reasonable economy. In 1581 he marriedAnna Maria of Brandenburg, a daughter of ElectorJohn George of Brandenburg. The marriage produced no children.

After John Frederick's death of in 1600 Barnim succeeded him as ruler ofPomerania-Stettin. In 1602 he moved from Rügenwalde to the capital city ofStettin. In Rügenwalde, he was succeeded by his younger brotherCasimir VI.

Barnim didn't enjoy governing Pomerania-Stettin. John Frederick had lived beyond his means, leaving substantial debts and districts pledged to his creditors. Barnim cut expenses, which made him unpopular. He died on 1 September 1603 in Stettin, and was buried in the Castle Church in Stettin. He left no children. His widow Anna Maria died in 1618 in herWittum inWolin.

Normally, Barnim's younger brother Casimir would have succeeded him as ruler of Pomerania-Stettin. However, Casimir in decided favour of his older brotherBogislaw XIII, who, in turn, appointed his sonPhilip II as Regent.

Counting the rulers of theHouse of Griffins has always been complicated. From ancient times there were differences, which caused some confusion.^[1] The modern interpretation of Barnim as "the tenth" results if one counts only the members of the House of Griffins, who reached adulthood. If one counts even with those who deceased as a child, he would beBarnim XII. This numeral was common in older literature.

• House of Griffins

• Martin Wehrmann:Genealogy of the Pomeranian Dukes, Verlag Leon Sauniers Buchhandlung, Stettin 1937, p. 122–123.
• Martin Wehrmann:History of Pomerania, vol. 2, Second Edition, Verlag Friedrich Andreas Perthes, Gotha 1921. (Reprinted: Augsburg 1992,ISBN 3-89350-112-6)

• 1549 births
• 1603 deaths
• Dukes of Pomerania
• People from Wolgast
• 16th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire

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