Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg
Born(1633-02-26)26 February 1633
Güstrow
Died6 October 1695(1695-10-06) (aged 62)
Güstrow
Noble familyHouse of Mecklenburg
Spouse(s)Magdalene Sibylle of Holstein-Gottorp
IssueChristine of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Charles of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Hedwig of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
FatherJohn Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg
MotherEleonore Marie of Anhalt-Bernburg

Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg [-Güstrow] (26 February 1633 – 6 October 1695) was the last ruler of Mecklenburg-Güstrow from 1636 until his death and last Lutheran Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg from 1636 to 1648.[1]

Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg - Güstrow wafer y.1672

Life

Gustav Adolph was born at the ducal residence in Güstrow, the son of Duke John Albert II and his third wife Eleonore Marie (1600–1657), daughter of Prince Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg.

As Gustav Adolph was a minor when his father died in 1636, his uncle Duke Adolph Frederick I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin at first became regent at Güstrow. This was fiercely opposed by Gustav Adolph's mother. In 1654 he came of age and married Magdalene Sibylle, a daughter of Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp. Their marriage produced eleven children:

The death of the only surviving son, the Hereditary Prince Charles, in 1688 at the age of 23, caused a succession crisis in Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Gustav Adolph's daughter Marie married her cousin Adolphus Frederick II of Mecklenburg, who after the death of his father-in-law claimed the Güstrow heritage, but could not prevail against the ruling duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. A younger daughter, Louise in 1695 married the Danish crown prince Frederick IV and in 1699 became queen consort of Denmark.

Gustav Adolph died in Güstrow at the age of 62. The subsequent inheritance conflict within the House of Mecklenburg was settled by the establishment of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1701.

References

  1. Jonathan Strom: Orthodoxy and reform: the clergy in seventeenth century in Rostoc , Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 1999, ISBN 3-16-147191-1
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