Albrecht II, Duke von Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Leo van de Pas
died 18 February 1379 in Schwerin, buried at Doberan
marriage contract 10 April 1336 Rostock, Euphemia Eriksdotter
of Sweden; before 4 March 1378 Adelheid von Hohnstein
When he was only three years old his father arranged his marriage
and he was engaged to Euphemia, sister of King Magnus of Sweden,
who came to Mecklenburg in 1336 and they were married on 10 April.
However, he had been only nine years old when his father died. As he
and his younger brother were too young to rule, they were given a
board of sixteen noblemen who acted as their regents. Exploiting
this situation, noblemen and cities tried to gain more independence
from their rulers. One day while Albrecht was riding with some of
his regents, he caught a bird and, pulling out its feathers, asked
his regents whether the bird could survive. When they said no, he
answered that nor could Mecklenburg if the cities and castles were
taken away.
Once grown up he shared the rule of Mecklenburg with his younger
brother Johann. Albrecht forced not only the noblemen to submit but
as well, with support from other princes, several of the robber-knights.
In 1348 both Albrecht and Johann were elevated to the rank of Princes
of the Empire, which made them independent from the Dukes of Saxony.
The Danes tried to interfere in Germany and Albrecht defeated them
first on the Island of Poel and then, in 1349, at Oderberg. There he
imprisoned 350 knights and noblemen while about one hundred drowned
in the river Oder. After being urged by his brother Johann, they divided
their inheritance in 1352, with Johann becoming Lord of Stargard,
Sternburg and Eldenburg. However, in 1358 he bought the county and city
of Schwerin to where he moved his residence from Wismar.
In 1363 representatives of Sweden requested that his son, also named
Albrecht, could become King of Sweden to replace the hated King Magnus.
To support his son he went with an army to Sweden where his son was
acknowledged as King of Sweden at Upsala. He then had to fight King
Magnus for eight years before Magnus was defeated and imprisoned.
However, he was unsuccessful when he tried to obtain the crown of Denmark
for his grandson, as Emperor Karl IV failed to support him and as well
a storm destroyed part of the Mecklenburg fleet. When about sixty years
of age, he married again but died less than a year later.
Best wishes
Leo van de Pas