View source for County of Gützkow

{{Short description|Feudal Pomeranian county (1129–1359)}}
{{Infobox Former Subdivision
|conventional_long_name = County of Gützkow
|common_name       = Gützkow
|native_name       = ''Grafschaft Gützkow'' (German)
|subdivision       = [[County]]
|nation            = [[Duchy of Pomerania]]
|membership_title1 = Country
|membership1       = [[Duchy of Pomerania]]
|membership_title2 = 
|membership2       = 
|membership_title3 = 
|membership3       = 
|year_start        = 1129
|date_start        = 
|event_start       = [[Dobrosława of Pomerania]] being titled the Countess of Gützkow
|event1            = 1359
|event_end         = Reorganisation into the [[Vogtei Gützkow]]
|p1                = Castellany of Gützkow
|flag_p1           = 
|border_p1         = 
|s1                = Vogtei Gützkow
|flag_s1           = DEU Gützkow COA.svg
|border_s1         = no
|image_map         = 
|image_map_caption = 
|title_leader      = [[Count]]
|leader1           = [[Dobrosława of Pomerania]]
|year_leader1      = 1129–? (last)
|leader2           = [[Johann III of Gützkow]]
|year_leader2      = 1351–1359 (last)
|capital           = [[Gützkow]]
|image_coat        = DEU Gützkow COA.svg
|stat_area1        = 
|stat_year1        = 
|stat_pop1         = 
|political_subdiv  = 
|category          = 
|footnotes         = 
}}
The '''County of Gützkow''' ({{langx|de|Grafschaft Gützkow}}) was a [[county]] located within the [[Duchy of Pomerania]] in the [[High Middle Ages]]. It was established in 1129 from the [[Castellany of Gützkow]]. Following the death of its last count in 1359, it was re-established into the Vogtei Gützkow.

==County of Gützkow (1219-1359)==
Wartislaw was castellan of Gützkow until his death in 1219. His wife Dobroslawa, daughter of [[Bogislaw II, Duke of Pomerania]], was styled Countess of Gützkow in a 1226 document approving the transfer of various lands to the nearby [[Stolpe Abbey]]. In 1234, Dobroslawa married the German noble Jaczo von Salzwedel, who expanded the old burgh on Gützkow's ''Schlossberg'' hill with stone buildings.<ref>W. Wöller, ''Heimatgeschichte von Gützkow und Umgebung'' Heft 2, p.15 "Bei Ausgrabungen 1932 freigelegte Fundamentreste (um 1 m stark) und große Feldsteine wurden auf Anordnung des damaligen Eigentümers des Schlossbergs, eines Baumeisters, herausgebrochen und verkauft, bevor eine wissenschaftliche Untersuchung stattfinden konnte."</ref>

Around 1230, [[Germans|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 as ''[[Ostsiedlung]]'' ("eastwards settlement"). [[Hanshagen (Ostvorpommern)|Hanshagen]] was named after Count [[Johann I of Gützkow]]. [[Konrad II von Salzwedel]], Jaczo's brother and since 1233 bishop of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cammin]] (under the name Konrad III), advanced his relatives by enfeoffing them with lands belonging to [[Usedom Abbey]] ([[Grobe]], [[Pudagla]]).<ref>Wöller, p.17</ref> Gützkow evolved into a town and was granted [[Lübeck law]].

To oppose [[Eldena Abbey]], which dominated the northern areas, Jaczo and Dobroslawa in 1242 founded a [[Franciscan]] friary (''Grey Friars'') in [[Greifswald]], at this time the marketplace of Eldena. Hence this friary housed the tombs of the von Gützkow family. An inscription on the ceiling read:
: "''Anno MCCLXII [...] Fratres minores primo intraverunt hanc civitatem ad obtinendum. Vocati a Domino Jackecen comite generoso de Gutzkow, [...] quorum corpora hic in choro requiescunt. Nota: quod generosus Comis Jackecen de Gutzkow hanc aream dedit fratibus in honorem sanctorum Petri et Pauli [...]''<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DXgOAAAAYAAJ&dq=grafschaft+g%C3%BCtzkow&pg=PA198 K. Theodor Pyl, ''Pommersche Geschichtsdenkmäler'', p.198]</ref>"<!--add translation-->

The Counts of Gützkow also minted their own coins.<ref>"1937 wurden beim Münzfund von [[Kröslin|Karrin]] 47 Münzen mit dem Wappen der Grafen von Gützkow entdeckt" (Wöller, p. 21)</ref>

Jaczo's sons Johann I, Konrad and Jaczo II were until 1270 called ''Herren von Gützkow'' (lords of Gützkow), thereafter ''Grafen 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 the [[princes of Rügen]] who ruled the areas north of Gützkow. Other arrangements connected the Gützkow family with the [[House of Pomerania]]. In 1295, Jaczo II was a witness to the internal partition of the [[Duchy of Pomerania]], which made Gützkow a part of [[Pomeranian duchies and dukes|Pomerania-Wolgast]]. Jaczo's grandson, Nikolaus of Gützkow, was in 1319 appointed by [[Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania|Wartislaw 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 of [[Groß Polzin|Konsages]], [[Schlatkow]] and [[Bünzow]] as dowry. Probably when [[Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania]], claimed these areas, they joined Pomerania's opponent [[Mecklenburg]] in the first war for the Rugian succession. After the [[Battle of Griebenow]], the Counts of Gützkow settled the conflict, changed sides and fought for the dukes of Pomerania. In 1327 they besieged the town of [[Barth, Germany|Barth]]. In April 1328, an army led by the Counts of Gützkow and assisted by troops from [[Demmin]] and [[Altentreptow]] won the decisive [[Battle of Völschow]] against the troops of [[Heinrich II of Mecklenburg]] (''the Lion'').

In 1329 - 1334, Counts Johann III and Johann IV assisted the dukes of [[Pomeranian duchies and dukes|Pomerania-Stettin]] in the [[Pomeranian-Brandenburgian War]] against the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]]. In 1331 (1334), they participated in the [[Battle of Kremmer Damm]]. Due to the high war costs, they sold many areas to the town of Greifswald, e.g. in 1334 - 1351 [[Groß Kiesow|Sanz]], [[Behrenhoff|Müssow]] and [[Diedrichshagen|Guest]].

Count Johann V of Gützkow died on October 25, 1351, during the [[Battle of Schoppendamm]] near [[Loitz]] 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.<ref>Staatsarchiv-Stettin XXIII Fol.5,456</ref>

==Vogtei Gützkow (1359-c.1600)==
[[File:Coat of arms of the House of Pomerania (XVI century).svg|thumb|160px|right|Gützkow represented in the 17th century coat of arms of the [[Duchy of Pomerania]] (bottom, center)]]

The name ''Grafschaft Gützkow'' (County of Gützkow) was further used to describe the area that the Pomeranian dukes had turned into a [[Vogt]]ei. The last [[Vogt]] was [[Hans Owstin]], who is mentioned in the 1480s. In the beginning of the 16th century, the Vogtei Gützkow was made part of [[Amt (country subdivision)|Amt]] [[Wolgast]], that comprised the area of the former Vogtei, the territory of [[Wusterhusen]] and the areas east of Gützkow. Even after the Vogtei was dissolved, the area was still referred to as ''Grafschaft Gützkow''.<ref>Ivo Asmus, Heiko Droste, Jens E. Olesen, Helmut Backhaus, ''Gemeinsame bekannte: Schweden und Deutschland in der frühen Neuzeit'', 2003, p.255, {{ISBN|3-8258-7150-9}}, {{ISBN|978-3-8258-7150-5}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=nI9dItT816kC&dq=grafschaft+g%C3%BCtzkow&pg=PA255]</ref>

==Territory==
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 rivers [[Ryck]] and [[Ziese]]. In the east, the border ran east of [[Züssow]], [[Ranzin]], [[Vitense (Ostvorpommern)|Vitense]] and [[Owstin]]. In the west, the border ran west of [[Dersekow]]. In the south, the county was bordered by the [[Peene]] river, from time to time including the territories of [[Miserez]] and [[Ploth]] south of the Peene. At the end of the 12th century, the territory of [[Loitz]] 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 to [[Eldena Abbey]] while he was appointed by the king [[Canute VI of Denmark]] to rule in the place of the infant sons of the subdued [[Bogislaw 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 of [[Behr]], von [[Horn (surname)|Horn]] and von Heyden.

==Gützkow branch of the House of Salzwedel==
#[[Jaczo von Salzwedel]] (b. c.1180, d. c.1248), married Dobroslawa of Pomerania
##Johann I
##Konrad I (III),married N.N. von Werle, daughter of [[Nikolaus I von Werle]]
##Jaczo II (b. 1244, d. before 1297) married Cecislawa von Putbus (b. 1247, d. after 1295)
###Jaczo III married N.N. von Werle, daughter of [[Johann I von Werle]]
####Nikolaus
####Bernhard, mentioned 1317 in the [[Peace of Templin]]
###Johann II married Margarete von Pommern, daughter of [[Barnim I, Duke of Pomerania]]-Stettin
####Jaczo IV (d. 1319 in the [[Battle of Wöhrden]])
####Johann III ''der Ältere'' (''the Elder'') (d. 1359)
####Johann IV ''der Jüngere'' (''the Younger'') (Henning) (d. 1334 after the Battle of Kremmer Damm), married Mechthild von Schwerin, daughter of Gunzelin V von Schwerin
#####Johann V (d. 25.October 1351 in the Battle of Schoppendamm near Loitz
#####Elisabeth (d. about 1378)
#####Mechthild (d. about 1378)
#[[Konrad II von Salzwedel]] (d. 1241), as ''Konrad III'' [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cammin|Bishop of Cammin]] (1233–1241)

===Footnotes===
{{Reflist}}

==Sources and references==
*{{De-ADB|13|632|636|Jaczo von Salzwedel|Theodor Pyl}}
*{{De-ADB|14|218|221|Johann III. und IV.|Theodor Pyl}}
*{{NDB|7|290|291|Gützkow, Grafen von|Roderich Schmidt}}
*Wächter, Joachim: ''Zur Geschichte der Besiedlung des mittleren Peeneraums''. In: ''Beiträge zur Geschichte Vorpommerns: die Demminer Kolloquien 1985–1994''. [[Thomas Helms Verlag]], Schwerin 1997, {{ISBN|3-931185-11-7}} {{in lang|de}}
*Wächter, Joachim: ''Das Fürstentum Rügen - Ein Überblick''. In: ''Beiträge zur Geschichte Vorpommerns: die Demminer Kolloquien 1985–1994''. Thomas Helms Verlag, Schwerin 1997, {{ISBN|3-931185-11-7}} {{in lang|de}}
*Wöller, Werner: ''Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Mittelalter und frühe Neuzeit''. In: Ortsgeschichtskommission Gützkow beim Rat der Stadt Gützkow (publ.): ''Heimatgeschichte von Gützkow und Umgebung''. Heft 2/1990, pp.&nbsp;4–23 {{in lang|de}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194629/http://www.kulturportal-mv.de/index.phtml?showdata-139&Instanz=411&Datensatz=88&SpecialTop=137 Burg Gützkow] bei [https://web.archive.org/web/20080915025644/http://www.kulturportal-mv.de/ Kulturportal Mecklenburg-Vorpommern] {{in lang|de}}

{{Pomeranian history|adm}}

{{coord missing|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutzkow, County of}}
[[Category:History of Pomerania]]
[[Category:Former states and territories of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania]]
[[Category:Duchy of Pomerania]]
[[Category:Counties of the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1129]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1359]]