Principality of Rügen
| Principality of Rügen | ||||||||||
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Fürstentum Rügen (de) Fyrstendømmet Rygien (da) |
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| Vassal of Denmark State of the Holy Roman Empire* |
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 13th century borders of the principality of Rügen
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| Capital |
Charenza (before 1180) Rugard (1180–1325) |
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| Languages | East Pomeranian German, Polabian | |||||||||
| Government | Principality | |||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
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Wends conquered by Denmark |
1168 | ||||||||
| • | Princely line extinct; to Pomerania |
1325 | ||||||||
| • | Acquired by Swedish Pomerania |
1648 |
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| Today part of | ||||||||||
| * Rügen may not always have been a state of the Empire, but was continuously a fief of Denmark. | ||||||||||
coat of arms
The Principality of Rügen (German: Fürstentum Rügen) was a Danish principality consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a local dynasty of princes of the Wizlawiden (House of Wizlaw) dynasty. For at least part of this period, Rügen was subject to the Holy Roman Empire.
The Danes conquered the Rani stronghold of Arkona in 1168. The rulers of the Rani became vassals of the Danish king, and the Slavic population was gradually Christianized.
In the 12th century, the Duchy of Rügen not only functioned as a bridgehead for Danish expansions into Vendland, but also Rani forces successfully participated in Danish raids into Circipania and areas conquered by Pomerania's Wartislaw I in the 1120s. After Pomerania had become part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1181, she sent out a navy in 1184 to subdue Rügen for the empire, too. A Danish and Rani counterattack destroyed the Pomeranian navy in the Bay of Greifswald — granting Danish access to all of the Wendish Baltic coast and making Denmark the predominant power until 1227. In this year's Bornhöved battle the Danes again lost all Wendish lands except for Rügen.
After the Danish conquest, the princes moved their capital from Charenza to nearby Rugard (now incorporated in Bergen auf Rügen). While the island of Rügen was incorporated into the Danish Archdiocese of Roskilde, the mainland portion was incorporated into the Saxon Bishopric of Schwerin as a compensation for the Duchy of Saxony's aid in the conquest.
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Wikipedia