Duchy of Pomerania

Duchy of Pomerania
Herzogtum Pommern, Księstwo Pomorskie
State of the Holy Roman Empire
1121–1637
coat of arms (1530–1637)
Pomerania under the rule of the last Griffins
Capital		Szczecin, also Demmin and Wolgast
Government		Feudal duchy
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Wartislaw I, Duke of Pomerania	1121
•	Partition into Wolgast and Stettin	1295
•	Reunited under Bogislaw X	1478
•	Joined Upper Saxon Circle	1512
•	Divided again into P.-Wolgast and P.-Stettin	1532
•	Occupied by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden	1630
•	Death of Duke Bogislaw XIV	March 10, 1637 1637
Preceded by Succeeded by Principality of Rugia Bishopric of Cammin Swedish Pomerania Province of Pomerania (1653–1815)
Today part of		Poland  Germany

coat of arms (1530–1637)

The Duchy of Pomerania (German: Herzogtum Pommern, Polish: Księstwo Pomorskie, 12th century – 1637) was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (Griffins).

The duchy originated from the realm of Wartislaw I, a Slavic Pomeranian duke, and was extended by the Lands of Schlawe and Stolp in 1317, the Principality of Rügen in 1325, and the Lauenburg and Bütow Land in 1455. During the High Middle Ages, it also comprised the northern Neumark and Uckermark areas as well as Circipania and Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

The Dukes of Pomerania were vassals (by conquest) of Poland from 1122 to 1138; of the Duchy of Saxony from 1164 to 1181, of the Holy Roman Empire from 1181 to 1185, of Denmark from 1185 to 1227 and the Holy Roman Empire again from 1227 to 1806 (including periods of vassalage to the Margraves of Brandenburg). Most of the time, the duchy was ruled by several "Griffin" dukes in common, resulting in various internal partitions. After the last Griffin duke had died during the Thirty Years' War in 1637, the duchy was partitioned between Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden. The Kings of Sweden and the Margraves of Brandenburg, later Kings of Prussia, became members as Dukes of Pomerania in the List of Reichstag participants.