Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg

Who was Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg?

Albert II Duke of Mecklenburg was a feudal lord in Northern Germany on the shores of the Baltic Sea. He reigned as the head of the House of Mecklenburg. His princely seat was located in Schwerin beginning in the 1350s.

Albert was born in Schwerin as the second son of Lord Henry II of Mecklenburg, Lord of Stargard, of the old Vendic princely clan of the Obotrites, and his second wife Princess Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg, of the princely Ascanian House.

Duke Albert succeeded his father as reigning Prince of Mecklenburg in 1329. He was also keenly interested in obtaining influence in Scandinavia, e.g. fiefs or income. The Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund elevated Mecklenburg to the status of a Duchy on 1 July 1347, through which Albert became the first Duke of Mecklenburg.

On 10 April 1336, Albert married a kinswoman, the Scandinavian heiress Euphemia of Sweden and Norway. Her father was Eric of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland and Halland, her mother was Princess Ingeborg of Norway, the heiress and the only legitimate daughter of King Haakon V of Norway. Through this marriage, Albert gained standing in Sweden by means of his wife's hereditary estates and ancestral connections.