Barnim VI, Duke of Pomerania

Barnim VI, Duke of Pomerania
Sculpture from the epitaph in Kenz
Spouse(s)	Veronica of Hohenzollern
Noble family	House of Griffins
Father	Wartislaw VI, Duke of Pomerania
Mother	Anne of Mecklenburg-Stargard
Born	c. 1365
Died	22 September 1405(1405-09-22) Pütnitz, near Ribnitz-Damgarten
Buried	Kenz, now part of Kenz-Küstrow

Barnim VI, Duke of Pomerania (c. 1365 – 22 September 1405 in Pütnitz, near Ribnitz-Damgarten) was duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1394 to 1405. He was the son of Wartislaw VI of Pomerania-Wolgast.

Barnim is known for his engagement in piracy. He erected a fort and a port for this purpose in Ahrenshoop, which was destroyed by Rostock in 1395. He allowed the Victual Brothers, a pirate organization assaulting vessels of the Hanseatic League in the Baltic Sea, to use the Peene river as a winter refuge and the Bay of Greifswald as a basis. In 1398, he signed a treaty with the Teutonic Knights not to further support the Victual Brothers (then also "Likedeelers"), but kept on engaging in piracy himself. On one of his expeditions, he was caught by the Hanseatic League in Kopenhagen's port. From 1400-1403, he aided the dukes of Mecklenburg-Werle in their campaigns against Lübeck. Barnim himself was wounded once at Lübeck's gates.^[1]

In 1405, Barnim died of the Black Death. To avoid this fate, he went on a pilgrimage to Kenz near Barth, but died on his way in Pütnitz (a part of today's Ribnitz-Damgarten) on 23 September 1405. He was buried in Kenz, where a large wooden statue resembling Barnim was furnished.^[1]

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  Kenz church. In the Late Middle Ages, the church was a prime destination for pilgrimages due to a nearby holy spring. Barnim, infected with the Black Death, died during his pilgrimage and was buried in Kenz.

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  Cenotaph for Barnim VI in St. Mary's church, Kenz, containing a wooden statue

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  Epitaph for Barnim VI in St. Mary's church, Kenz

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  Tombstone for Barnim VI in St. Mary's church, Kenz

See also

• List of Pomeranian duchies and dukes
• History of Pomerania
• Duchy of Pomerania
• House of Pomerania

References

Ancestors