List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein

The following is a list of rulers, usually dukes, who ruled both Schleswig and Holstein, starting from the first Holstein count who received Schleswig, until both provinces were annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia; and afterwards, titular dukes.

Dynasty of Schauenburg

In the course of history the County of Holstein was several times partitioned among the inheriting sons into up to six lines. In 1386 King Oluf II of Denmark and his mother-regent, Queen Margaret I, enfeoffed in Nyborg Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein-Rendsborg and his cognatic successors with the Duchy of Schleswig.^[1] He was as Gerhard II duke of Schleswig. Until 1390 the Rendsborg branch united by inheritance all branches except of that of Holstein-Pinneberg. It remaining a separately ruled territory in Holstein until its line was extinct in 1640, when Holstein-Pinneberg was merged into the then Duchy of Holstein. Furthermore, the here mentioned rulers of course only reigned Holstein and Schleswig in their respective territorial composition of the time, thus without states and territories only merged later in what became today's State of Schleswig-Holstein, such as Ditmarsh, conquered and annexed in 1559, Saxe-Lauenburg merged in 1876, Heligoland (British rule 1807–1891), Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck, Region of Lübeck, together with some Hamburgian exclaves in 1937. In turn much of the current westerly, northerly and easterly suburbs within Greater Hamburg were ceded from Holstein on 1 April 1937 (Cf. Greater Hamburg Act). North Schleswig had merged into Denmark in 1920. Some Lauenburgian and Mecklenburgian municipalities were exchanged by the Barber Lyashchenko Agreement in 1945.

Portrait	Reign	Name
	1332–1340	Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg, as Gerhard I also Duke of Jutland
	1375–1384	Henrik Jern and Klaus (joint rule)
	1384–1386	Nicholas, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (aka Klaus),
	1386–1404	Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein-Rendsborg, as Gerhard II also Duke of Sønderjylland, a Danish fief later called Schleswig after its capital.
	1404–1427	Henry IV
	1427/40-1459	Adolf VIII, Count of Holstein as Adolf I Duke of Schleswig

The House of Oldenburg ruling Schleswig, and ruling Holstein besides the House of Schauenburg

Christian I inherited the Duchy of Schleswig, a Danish fief, and the County of Holstein-Rendsburg, a Saxe-Lauenburgian subfief within the Holy Roman Empire, following the death of his maternal uncle Adolf I (and VIII as Count of Holstein-Rendsburg). In 1474 Lauenburg's liege lord Emperor Frederick III elevated Christian as Count of Holstein-Rendsburg to Duke of Holstein, thus becoming an immediate imperial vassal (see imperial immediacy). The smaller Holstein-Pinneberg remained a county further ruled by the House of Schauenburg.

House of Oldenburg (1460–1544)

Portrait	Reign	Name
Joint rule in the Duchy of Schleswig and the County of Holstein-Rendsburg (= Duchy of Holstein as of 1474).
	1460–1481	Christian I (Christian 1.), elevated to Duke of Holstein by Emperor Frederick III in 1474
	1481–1513	John I (Hans), with Frederick I since 1482
	1513–1523	Christian II (Christian 2.), deposed, died 1559; with Frederick I
	1490–1533	Frederick I (Frederik 1.), as administrator 1482–1490, thereafter co-ruling
	1523–1544	Christian III (Christian 3.), with his father until 1533

House of Schauenburg (1460–1544)

Image	Reign	Name
Joint rule in the Counties of Holstein-Pinneberg and of Schaumburg.
	1426–1464	Otto II
	1464–1474	Adolphus X
	1474–1492	Eric
	1492–1510	Otto III
	1510–1526	Anthony
	1492–1510	John IV
	1527–1531	Jobst I
	1531– 1560	John V

The Houses of Oldenburg, Gottorp, Haderslev, and Schaumberg ruling in Holstein and Schleswig

The House of Schauenburg (Schaumburg) continued its rule only in the County of Holstein-Pinneberg. Independent of that county Christian III ruled the entire Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig also in the name of his then still minor half-brothers John II the Elder and Adolf between 1533 and 1544. In 1544 they partitioned the Duchies of Holstein (a fief of the Holy Roman Empire) and of Schleswig (a Danish fief) in an unusual way, following negotiations between the brothers and the Estates of the Realm of the duchies, which opposed a factual partition. They determined their youngest brother Frederick for a career as Lutheran administrator of an ecclesiastical state within the Holy Roman Empire.^[2]

So the revenues of the duchies were divided in three equal shares by assigning the revenues of particular areas and landed estates to each of the elder brothers, while other general revenues, such as taxes from towns and customs dues, were levied together but then shared among the brothers. The estates, whose revenues were assigned to the parties, made Holstein and Schleswig look like patchwork rags, technically inhibiting the emergence of separate new duchies, as intended by the estates of the duchies. The secular rule in the fiscally divided duchies thus became a condominium of the parties. As dukes of Holstein and Schleswig the rulers of both houses bore the formal title of "Duke of Schleswig, Holstein, Dithmarschen and Stormarn".

The dynastic name Holstein-Gottorp comes as convenient usage from the technically more correct Duke of Schleswig and Holstein at Gottorp. Adolf, the third son of Duke and King Frederick I and the second youngest half-brother of King Christian III, founded the dynastic branch called House of Holstein-Gottorp, which is a cadet branch of the then royal Danish House of Oldenburg. The Danish monarchs and the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp listed below ruled both duchies together as to general government, however, collected their revenues in their separate estates. John II the Elder conveniently called Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev produced no issue, so no branch emerged from his side.

Similar to the above-mentioned agreement Christian III's youngest son John the Younger gained for him and his heirs a share in Holstein's and Schleswig's revenues in 1564, comprising a third of the royal share, thus a ninth of Holstein and Schleswig as to the fiscal point of view. John the Younger and his heirs, however, had no share in the condominial rule, they were only titular partitioned-off dukes.

The share of John II the Elder, who died in 1580, was halved between Adolf and Frederick II, thus increasing again the royal share by a fiscal sixth of Holstein and Schleswig.^[3] As an effect the complicated fiscal division of both separate duchies, Holstein and Schleswig, with shares of each party scattered in both duchies, provided them with a condominial government binding both together, partially superseding their legally different affiliation as Holy Roman and Danish fiefs.

House of Oldenburg (1544–1580)

Portrait	Reign	Name
Condominial rule in the Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig.
	1523– 1559	Christian III – with his brothers Adolf and John II
	1559– 1588	Frederick II (Frederik 2.)

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev

Portrait	Reign	Name
Condominial rule in the Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig.
	1544– 1580	John II the Elder – with his brothers Adolf and Christian, and then the latter's son Frederick.
In 1580 Frederick II and Adolf halved John's share among each other.

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1544–80)

Portrait	Reign	Name
Condominial rule in the Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig.
	1544– 1586	Adolf – with his brothers John II and Christian and then the latter's son Danish Frederick II

House of Schauenburg (1544–80)

Image	Reign	Name
Joint rule in the Counties of Holstein-Pinneberg and of Schaumburg.
	1531– 1560	John V – with Otto IV since 1544
	1544– 1576	Otto IV – till 1560 with his brother John V
	1576– 1601	Adolphus XI

House of Oldenburg (1580–1640)

Portrait	Reign	Name
Condominial rule in the Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig.
	1559–1588	Frederick II (Frederik 2.)
	1588–1648	Christian IV – He acquired Holstein-Pinneberg and merged it with his share of Ducal Holstein in 1640

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1580–1640)

Portrait	Reign	Name
Condominial rule in the Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig.
	1544–1586	Adolf
	1586–1587	Frederick II
	1587–1590	Philip
	1590–1616	John Adolf
	1616–1659	Frederick III

House of Schauenburg (1580–1640)

Portrait	Reign	Name
Joint rule in the Counties of Holstein-Pinneberg and of Schaumburg.
	1576–1601	Adolphus XI
	1601–1622	Ernest – elevated to Prince of Schaumburg in 1619
	1622–1635	Jobst Hermann
	1635–1640	Otto V
With Otto's death the main line of Schauenburg was extinct and Holstein-Pinneberg was acquired by Christian IV for the royal share of the Holstein duchy.

House of Oldenburg (1640–1713)

Portrait	Reign	Name
Condominial rule in the Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig.
	1588–1648	Christian IV
	1648–1670	Frederick III (Frederik 3.)
	1670–1699	Christian V (Christian 5.)
	1699–1730	Frederick IV (Frederik 4.)
In 1713 Frederick IV united all of Schleswig/Sønderjylland in one hand.

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1640–1713)

Portrait	Reign	Name
Condominial rule in the Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig.
	1616–1659	Frederick III
	1659–1694	Christian Albert
	1694–1702	Frederick IV
	1702–1713	Charles Frederick
In 1713 Frederick IV, being as King of Denmark also the liege lord of Schleswig, deposed Charles Frederick as co-ruling Duke of Schleswig, who, however, remained co-ruling Duke of Holstein as a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway continued as the sole Duke of Schleswig.

The House of Oldenburg ruling Schleswig and co-ruling Holstein with the House of Gottorp

House of Oldenburg (1713–1773)

Portrait	Reign	Name
	1699–1730	Frederick IV (Frederik) (united Schleswig under the Danish crown in 1721. Holstein's partition continued.)
	1730–1746	Christian VI
	1746–1766	Frederick V (Frederik V)
	1766–1808	Christian VII
In 1773 Christian VII united entire Holstein and Schleswig in one hand.

House of Holstein-Gottorp (1713–1773)

Portrait	Reign	Name
	1702–1739	Charles Frederick (until 1713 also co-ruling in Schleswig)
	1739–1762	Charles Peter Ulrich (later Peter III of Russia)
	1762–1773	Paul (later Paul I of Russia)
In 1773 Paul waived his co-rule in Holstein in return for the prior Danish County of Oldenburg.

House of Oldenburg (1773–1863)

Portrait	Reign	Name
	1766–1808	Christian VII (Christian 7.) sole ruler in both duchies since 1773
	1808–1839	Frederick VI (Frederik 6.), in 1815 he acquired the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg ruled in personal union since
	1839–1848	Christian VIII (Christian 8.)
	1848–1863	Frederick VII (Frederik 7.) rivalled by: Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg 1848–51

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1863–1865)

Portrait	Reign	Name
	1863–1864/65	Christian IX of Denmark rivalled by duke Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein in the Holstein and Schleswig; the Saxe-Lauenburgian estates of the realm conveyed the Lauenburg ducal throne to William I of Prussia in personal union in 1865. In 1876 Lauenburg merged into Schleswig-Holstein.
In 1864, following the Second Schleswig War, the Duchies of Holstein and of Schleswig became an occupied territory of the German Confederation and two years later, following the Austro-Prussian War, part of the new Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein.

Titular dukes

Prussia, the annexing state, recognized the head of the House of Oldenburg as mediatized duke of this duchy/these two duchies, with the rank and all the titles pertaining:

1848–69 : Christian, Duke of Augustenborg, rival in 1848, renounced first in 1851, second in 1863
1863–80 : Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
1880–1921 : Ernest Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
1921–31 : Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
1931–34 : Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
1934–65 : Wilhelm Friedrich, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
1965–80 : Peter, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
1980– : Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (born 1949)
Heir: Friedrich Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Schleswig-Holstein (born 1985)

Christian IX(1848–1869)
Frederick VIII(1863–1880)
Ernst Gunther(1880–1921)
Albert(1921–1931)
Friedrich Ferdinand(1931–1934)
Wilhelm Friedrich(1934–1965)
Peter(1965–1980)
Christoph(1980 to date)
Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ferdinand Heir Apparent

Notes

↑ Esben Albrectsen, "Das Abel-Geschlecht und die Schauenburger als Herzöge von Schleswig", Marion Hartwig and Frauke Witte (trls.), in: Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg [De slevigske hertuger; German], Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (ed.) on behalf of the Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, Neumünster: Wachholtz, 2008, pp. 52–71, here pp. 63seq. ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5
↑ In 1551 Frederick became administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim, comprising ecclesiastical and secular power, and, however, lacking secular power Bishop of Schleswig with the pertaining revenues from episcopal estates.
↑ Cf. Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen, "Die dänischen Könige als Herzöge von Schleswig und Holstein", Frauke Witte and Marion Hartwig (trls.), in: Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg [De slevigske hertuger; German], Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (ed.) on behalf of the Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, Neumünster: Wachholtz, 2008, pp. 73–109, here pp. 87seq. ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5

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