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Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Herzogtum Mecklenburg-Strelitz (German) | |||||||||
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| 1701–1815 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
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| Status | State of theHoly Roman Empire(until 1806) Independent duchy(1806–1808) Member of theConfederation of the Rhine(1808–1813) Independent duchy(1813–1815) | ||||||||
| Capital | Strelitz thenNeustrelitz | ||||||||
| Religion | Lutheran | ||||||||
| Government | Duchy | ||||||||
| Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | |||||||||
• 1701–1708 | Adolphus Frederick II | ||||||||
• 1708–1752 | Adolphus Frederick III | ||||||||
• 1752–1794 | Adolphus Frederick IV | ||||||||
• 1794–1815 | Charles II | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Treaty of Hamburg | 1701 | ||||||||
• Raised to Grand Duchy | 1815 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Germany | ||||||||
TheDuchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was aduchy inNorthern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historicMecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-dayMecklenburg-Strelitz district (the formerLordship of Stargard), and the westernPrincipality of Ratzeburgexclave (the formerPrince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg), which lay mostly in the west of the modernNordwestmecklenburg district. At the time of its establishment, the main part of the duchy bordered on the territory ofSwedish Pomerania in the north and ofBrandenburg in the south; Ratzeburg borderedSaxe-Lauenburg and theFree City of Lübeck.
After more than five years of dispute over succession to theHouse of Mecklenburg, the duchy was established in 1701 in the territory of the former duchy ofMecklenburg-Güstrow. The Güstrow branch of theHouse of Mecklenburg had died out with the death of DukeGustav Adolph in 1695. Duke Frederick William ofMecklenburg-Schwerin claimed heirship, but he had to deal with the demands of his uncleAdolphus Frederick, husband of Mary of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, the daughter of Gustav Adolph. The emissaries of theLower Saxon Circle finally negotiated a compromise on March 8, 1701. The agreement created the final, definitive division of Mecklenburg and was sealed with the1701 Treaty of Hamburg. Section 2 of the treaty established Mecklenburg-Strelitz as a duchy in its own right and assigned it to Adolphus Frederick, together with thePrincipality of Ratzeburg on the western border[1] of Mecklenburg south ofLübeck, theHerrschaft Stargard in the southeast of Mecklenburg, with the cities ofNeubrandenburg,Friedland,Woldegk,Strelitz,Burg Stargard,Fürstenberg/Havel andWesenberg, and thecommandries ofMirow andNemerow. At the same time the principle of primogeniture was reasserted, and the right to summon the jointLandtag was reserved to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.[2] The 1701 provisions were maintained with minor changes until the end of the monarchy. Both parties continued to call themselves Dukes of Mecklenburg; Adolphus Frederick took his residence atStrelitz.
The Strelitz duchy remained one of the most backward regions of the Empire. Nevertheless, its princesses achieved prominent marriages: PrincessCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, sister of DukeAdolphus Frederick IV, marriedKing George III in 1761, thus becomingqueen consort of Great Britain. Her niece PrincessLouise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, daughter of DukeCharles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, marriedFrederick William III of Hohenzollern in 1793 and becamequeen consort ofPrussia in 1797. Her other niece, Louise's sister, PrincessFriederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz married in 1815 PrinceErnest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who, in 1837, becameKing of Hanover, making herqueen consort of Hanover.
Mecklenburg-Strelitz adopted the constitution of the sister duchy in September 1755. In 1806 it was spared the infliction of a French occupation through the good offices of theking of Bavaria. In 1808 its duke, Charles, joined theConfederation of the Rhine, but in 1813 he withdrew from it.[3] TheCongress of Vienna recognized both Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Mecklenburg-Schwerin as grand duchies and members of theGerman Confederation.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mecklenburg".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 1018–1020.
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1 until 1648. 2 until 1701. 3 from 1648. 4 until 1731. 5 until 1705. 6 until 1596. 7 from 1708. 8 until 1773. 9 until 1640. 10 until 1695. 11 from 1701. 12 until 1734. Circles est. 1500:Bavarian,Swabian,Upper Rhenish,Lower Rhenish–Westphalian,Franconian,(Lower) Saxon Circles est. 1512:Austrian,Burgundian,Upper Saxon,Electoral Rhenish · Unencircled territories | ||
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