| Adolf IV | |
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| Reign | 1227 - 1238 |
| Predecessor | Valdemar II of Denmark |
| Successor | Gerhard I John |
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| Reign | 1225 - 1238 |
| Predecessor | Adolf III |
| Successor | Gerhard I |
| Spouse | Heilwig of Lippe |
| Issue | |
| Mechtild, Queen of Denmark John I of Holstein-Kiel Gerhard I of Holstein-Itzehoe Ludolf |
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| Father | Adolf III, Count of Holstein |
| Mother | Adelheid of Querfurt |
| Born | before 1205 |
| Died | 8 July 1261 the Franciscan Friary in Kiel |
Adolf IV (before 1205 – 8 July 1261), was a Count of Schauenburg (1225–1238) and of Holstein (1227–1238), of the family of the Schauenburger. Adolf was the eldest son of Adolf III of Schauenburg and Holstein by his second wife, Adelheid of Querfurt.
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Adolf IV won several victories against the Danes. In 1225 he won the Battle of Mölln against Albert II, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde. On 22 July 1227 with his coalition army Adolf was victorious in the Battle of Bornhöved against a Danish army under the command of King Valdemar II of Denmark and thus regained Holstein. In 1235 he founded Kiel and in 1238 Itzehoe. In 1238 he took part in a crusade in Livonia.
In fulfilment of an oath taken during the heat of the Battle of Bornhöved, Adolf withdrew in 1238 to a Franciscan friary and in 1244 was ordained a priest in Rome (his two under-age sons passed into the guardianship of his son-in-law Duke Abel of Schleswig). Also in 1244 he founded Neustadt in Holstein. He died in 1261 in the Franciscan friary in Kiel, which he himself had founded, whereupon Holstein was divided between his sons John (of Holstein-Kiel) and Gerhard (of Holstein-Itzehoe).
He married Heilwig von der Lippe, daughter of Count Hermann II of Lippe and by her had the following children:
| Preceded by Valdemar II of Denmark |
Count of Holstein 1227–1238 |
Succeeded by John I of Holstein-Kiel and Gerhard I of Holstein-Izehoe |
| Preceded by Adolf III |
Count of Schauenburg 1225–1238 |