| Principality of Rugia / Rügen Fürstentum Rügen (de) Fyrstendømmet Rügen (da) |
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| Vassal of Denmark State of the Holy Roman Empire* |
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coat of arms[1] |
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| 13th century borders of the principality of Rügen | ||||
| Capital | Charenza (before 1180) Rugard (1180–1325) |
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| Government | Principality | |||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||
| - Wends conquered by Denmark |
1168 | |||
| - Princely line extinct; to Pomerania |
1325 | |||
| - Acquired by Swedish Pomerania |
1648 |
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| * Rugia may not always have been a state of the Empire, but was continuously a fief of Denmark. | ||||
The Principality of Rugia or Principality of Rügen (German: Fürstentum Rügen) was a Danish principality consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a local dynasty of princes of the Wizlawiden (House of Wizlaw) dynasty. For at least part of this period, Rugia was subject to the Holy Roman Empire.
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The Danes conquered the Rani stronghold of Arkona in 1168. The rulers of the Rani became vassals of the Danish king, and the Slavic population was gradually Christianized.
In the 12th century, the Duchy of Rügen not only functioned as a bridgehead for Danish expansions into Vendland, but also Rani forces successfully participated in Danish raids into Circipania and areas conquered by Pomerania's Wartislaw I in the 1120s. After Pomerania had become part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1181, she sent out a navy in 1184 to subdue Rügen for the empire, too. A Danish and Rani counterattack destroyed the Pomeranian navy in the Bay of Greifswald — granting Danish access to all of the Wendish Baltic coast and making Denmark the predominant power until 1227. In this year's Bornhöved battle the Danes again lost all Wendish lands except for Rügen.
After the Danish conquest, the princes moved their capital from Charenza to nearby Rugard (now incorporated in Bergen auf Rügen). While the island of Rügen was incorporated into the Danish Archdiocese of Roskilde, the mainland portion was incorporated into the Saxon Bishopric of Schwerin as a compensation for the Duchy of Saxony's aid in the conquest.
Tezlaw was mentioned by Saxo Grammaticus already in 1164 as a king. After the Danish conquest, he became a prince, and in 1170 was succeeded by his brother, Jaromar I (d. 1218).[2]
After Jaromar, the succession of Slavic princes under Danish vasselage was as follows:
When Rügen became a Danish principality, not only religion changed. In the course of the Ostsiedlung, large amounts of German settlers had been encouraged to come to Rugia by the Rani prince Jaromar I and his successors. In the early 13th century, the mainland section of the duchy, which in large parts consisted of woodland, was settled by Germans, who established new villages and towns as well as settling in existing Rani dwellings. The first German settlements are recorded in the Ryck valley and the Tribsees area in the Trebel valley. The German settlement on the islands of Rügen started only in the 14th century, when the mainland was already densely German settled. In the following centuries, Rani and German population mixed and shared a common fate. As the Rani language, culture and administration was transformed into German in the 13th century, the Rani ceased to exist as a distinguishable ethnic group. Danes and Danish property are recorded also.[3]
The Dargun Abbey, founded 1272 by the Pomeranian dukes, was also sponsored by the Rugian dukes with land. Ostsiedlung was enhanced by abbeys founded on behalf of the princes of Rügen:
The abbeys were granted vast lands, in part turned over from the former temple estates. Wittow had been Arkona's temple isle before the Danish conquest, and the other temples, e.g. in Charenza, also had rich possessions.
Towns were either built within a clearance or near an older Rani burgh and granted Lübeck law when grown to a respective size. The date Lübeck law was granted is given in the following list as it is usually seen as the town's anniversary, even if the town itself was projected and built earlier:
One exception is the town of Greifswald: While projected and built while within the Rugian principality, the area was claimed by the Griffin Duchy of Pomerania before it was granted market rights in 1241 by the Rugian and Pomeranian dukes in common and granted Lübeck law not by the Rugian, but by the Pomeranian duke allone.
The other exception is the town of Schadegast: Founded close to Stralsund, the town had to be levelled on behalf of the Stralsund burghers in 1269.
After the 1168 Danish conquest, the Rugian dukes became a valuable ally to the Danes who participated in many Danish expeditions:
In 1235, Wizlaw I gained half of the terra Wolgast, yet lost it to the Pomeranian dukes before 1250.[2] Wizlaw II did not succeed in inheriting Schlawe-Stolp from his mother, but gained the terra Loitz in 1275
While the main branch of the House of Wizlaw (House of Rügen) went extinct with the death of Wizlaw III, two branches remained:
The principality of Rügen was inherited by the Griffins ruling the Duchy of Pomerania, after the last Rugian prince Wizlaw III died in 1325 and two wars were fought with Mecklenburg for Rügen inheritance (Rügischer Erbfolgekrieg).
Denmark at several occasions tried to again acquire the principality, yet without or only with temporary success. In 1625, a Danish offer of 150,000 riksdaler for Rügen was rejected. During the Swedish-Brandenburgian War (1675–79) Christian V of Denmark conquered the principality twice, but was unable to keep it afterwards. The last time the principality was under Danish rule was from 1715 until 1721.[4]
The area of the principality retained some special status within the Duchy and later Province of Pomerania, where it was at times the splinter duchy of Pomerania-Barth, Swedish Pomerania and the Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, then referred to as Neuvorpommern. Today, most of the area is administered as the districts of Vorpommern-Rügen and Vorpommern-Greifswald within the German federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.