Otto, Duke of Lolland and Estonia

Who is Otto, Duke of Lolland and Estonia?

Otto of Denmark was a Danish prince who was also Duke of Lolland and Estonia.

He was the second son of King Christopher II of Denmark and Euphemia of Pomerania. In his childhood his older brother Eric had been elected as junior king of Denmark. He was given the titles Duke of Lolland and Estonia and expected to expand the Danish conquest of Estonia acquired during Livonian Crusade. Otto was also a Knight of the Teutonic Order.

His father and brother were deposed in 1326 and restored three years later on the condition his father signed a charter that gave him little to no power while the Danish nobles and the Counts of Holstein ruled behind the scene and mortgaged most of the kingdom. His brother Eric predeceased both Otto and his father fighting to rid Denmark from the rule of the Counts of Holstein. King Christopher died in 1332 leaving Otto and his younger brother Valdemar as his only sons and potential heirs to the throne.

The Danish nobles for some apparent reason decided not to elect a successor. In 1332, Otto made an attempt to win the Danish crown, but was defeated by Count Gerhard III of Holstein on Taphed at Viborg in 7 October 1334. He was held prisoner in the Segeberg Castile until 1341 when he disappeared from the historical records.