county · Germany and Central Europe
County of Schwerin
Origins
After conquering the Obotrites, Henry the Lion founded a German town and bishopric at Schwerin and in 1167 created a county there for Gunzelin of Hagen, one of his vassals. The county lay in western Mecklenburg, separate from the lands restored to the native Lordship of Mecklenburg.
Rule and society
In 1223 Count Henry I of Schwerin captured King Valdemar II of Denmark and his son on the island of Lyø, holding them for two years; this helped to end Danish dominance in northern Germany, sealed by the Battle of Bornhöved in 1227. The counts later split into lines at Schwerin, Wittenburg and Boizenburg.
Decline and legacy
As the comital lines died out, Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg bought the county in 1358 for 20,000 silver marks. Schwerin became the capital of the Mecklenburg dukes and later of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and is today the capital of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- County of Schwerin was a vassal of Duchy of Saxony1167 CE – 1180 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). County of Schwerin. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-schwerin
- MLA
- “County of Schwerin.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-schwerin. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “County of Schwerin.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-schwerin.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘County of Schwerin’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-schwerin (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻