| County of Gützkow Grafschaft Gützkow (German) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County ofDuchy of Pomerania | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
| Capital | Gützkow | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| Count | |||||||||
• 1129–? (last) | Dobrosława of Pomerania | ||||||||
• 1351–1359 (last) | Johann III of Gützkow | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Dobrosława of Pomerania being titled the Countess of Gützkow | 1129 | ||||||||
| Contained within | |||||||||
| • Country | Duchy of Pomerania | ||||||||
| |||||||||
TheCounty of Gützkow (German:Grafschaft Gützkow) was acounty located within theDuchy of Pomerania in theHigh Middle Ages. It was established in 1129 from theCastellany of Gützkow. Following the death of its last count in 1359, it was re-established into the Vogtei Gützkow.
Wartislaw was castellan of Gützkow until his death in 1219. His wife Dobroslawa, daughter ofBogislaw II, Duke of Pomerania, was styled Countess of Gützkow in a 1226 document approving the transfer of various lands to the nearbyStolpe Abbey. In 1234, Dobroslawa married the German noble Jaczo von Salzwedel, who expanded the old burgh on Gützkow'sSchlossberg hill with stone buildings.[1]
Around 1230,German settlers were invited to the sparsely settled central and northern areas devastated by earlier warfare. The German settlement was part of the pattern of larger migrations and social changes known asOstsiedlung ("eastwards settlement").Hanshagen was named after CountJohann I of Gützkow.Konrad II von Salzwedel, Jaczo's brother and since 1233 bishop of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Cammin (under the name Konrad III), advanced his relatives by enfeoffing them with lands belonging toUsedom Abbey (Grobe,Pudagla).[2] Gützkow evolved into a town and was grantedLübeck law.
To opposeEldena Abbey, which dominated the northern areas, Jaczo and Dobroslawa in 1242 founded aFranciscan friary (Grey Friars) inGreifswald, at this time the marketplace of Eldena. Hence this friary housed the tombs of the von Gützkow family. An inscription on the ceiling read:
The Counts of Gützkow also minted their own coins.[4]
Jaczo's sons Johann I, Konrad and Jaczo II were until 1270 calledHerren von Gützkow (lords of Gützkow), thereafterGrafen von Gützkow (Counts of Gützkow). The marriage of Jaczo II and Cecislawa of Putbus was already arranged by the time they were aged five and two, respectively, Cecislawa being a princess of a branch of the family of theprinces of Rügen who ruled the areas north of Gützkow. Other arrangements connected the Gützkow family with theHouse of Pomerania. In 1295, Jaczo II was a witness to the internal partition of theDuchy of Pomerania, which made Gützkow a part ofPomerania-Wolgast. Jaczo's grandson, Nikolaus of Gützkow, was in 1319 appointed byWartislaw IV of Pomerania-Wolgast to lead a court.
Johann III and Johann IV were involved in a conflict with the Pomeranian dukes about their mother Margarete's possessions. Margarete's brother,Bogislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania, had handed over the areas ofKonsages,Schlatkow andBünzow as dowry. Probably whenWartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania, claimed these areas, they joined Pomerania's opponentMecklenburg in the first war for the Rugian succession. After theBattle of Griebenow, the Counts of Gützkow settled the conflict, changed sides and fought for the dukes of Pomerania. In 1327 they besieged the town ofBarth. In April 1328, an army led by the Counts of Gützkow and assisted by troops fromDemmin andAltentreptow won the decisiveBattle of Völschow against the troops ofHeinrich II of Mecklenburg (the Lion).
In 1329 - 1334, Counts Johann III and Johann IV assisted the dukes ofPomerania-Stettin in thePomeranian-Brandenburgian War against theMargraviate of Brandenburg. In 1331 (1334), they participated in theBattle of Kremmer Damm. Due to the high war costs, they sold many areas to the town of Greifswald, e.g. in 1334 - 1351Sanz,Müssow andGuest.
Count Johann V of Gützkow died on October 25, 1351, during theBattle of Schoppendamm nearLoitz fighting in the Second War for the Rugian Succession. When his uncle Johann III died soon afterwards in 1359, the House of Gützkow became extinct in the male line. Until 1378, the sisters of Johann V continued to live in Burg Gützkow. The Counts of Gützkow were succeeded by the Dukes of Pomerania, who hence added "Count of Gützkow" to their title. The Gützkow coat of arms was incorporated into the arms of Pomerania. Subsequent to the dissolution of Pomerania as independent dukedom, the line Pommern-Stettin continued the use of the subsidiary title e.g. Erich v. Gützkow-Peglow.[5]
.svg)
The nameGrafschaft Gützkow (County of Gützkow) was further used to describe the area that the Pomeranian dukes had turned into aVogtei. The lastVogt wasHans Owstin, who is mentioned in the 1480s. In the beginning of the 16th century, the Vogtei Gützkow was made part ofAmtWolgast, that comprised the area of the former Vogtei, the territory ofWusterhusen and the areas east of Gützkow. Even after the Vogtei was dissolved, the area was still referred to asGrafschaft Gützkow.[6]
The area of the principality, castellany, county and Vogtei of Gützkow did not change significantly over time. In the north, it was bordered by the riversRyck andZiese. In the east, the border ran east ofZüssow,Ranzin,Vitense andOwstin. In the west, the border ran west ofDersekow. In the south, the county was bordered by thePeene river, from time to time including the territories ofMiserez andPloth south of the Peene. At the end of the 12th century, the territory ofLoitz was for some time part of Gützkow.
Stolpe Abbey received many gifts of land on both sides of the Peene River shortly after the principality was subdued by the Pomeranians.Jaromar I, Prince of Rügen, donated vast areas on both sides of the Ryck River toEldena Abbey while he was appointed by the kingCanute VI of Denmark to rule in the place of the infant sons of the subduedBogislaw I, Duke of Pomerania, in 1189 - 1212. Thus, Gützkow's territory was sandwiched between that of Eldena in the north and that of Stolpe in the south.
The Counts of Gützkow gave parts of their county in fee to the knightly families ofBehr, vonHorn and von Heyden.
