Treaty of Soldin (1466)

The Treaty of Soldin (German: Vertrag von Soldin) was signed on 21 January 1466 at Soldin (now Myślibórz) by the Brandenburgian elector Frederick II and the Pomeranian dukes Eric II and Wartislaw X. It was mediated by the town of Stettin (now Szczecin). The treaty temporarily settled a conflict about the succession of Otto III, Duke of Pomerania, who had died without issue: Emperor Frederick III, elector Frederick II as well as Eric II and Wartislaw X of Pomerania claimed to be the rightful heir of Otto's share of the Duchy of Pomerania.

The Brandenburgian elector and the Pomeranian dukes bypassed the emperor's claims, and settled for a solution where the Pomeranian dukes took the Duchy of Pomerania, including Otto's as well as their own shares, as a fief of the Electorate of Brandenburg. The implementation of the treaty failed due to the refusal of parts of the Pomeranian nobility and the town of Stettin to obey to the treaty's terms. Neither did the Pomeranian dukes enforce the treaty, and successfully intrigued against it at the emperor's court. Brandenburg tried to enforce the treaty militarily, yet initially with limited success.Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor declared the treaty null and void in 1469, but confirmed Brandenburg's claims in 1470. The treaty of Soldin was superseded by the Second Peace of Prenzlau in May 1472, that ended the war and confirmed Pomerania as a Brandenburgian fief.

Brandenburg and the Duchy of Pomerania were part of a long-standing dispute regarding the status of the latter. While Brandenburg regarded Pomerania to be her legal fief, the Pomeranian dukes rejected such claims. Both sides were at times successful in convincing the Holy Roman Emperor of their respective view, and frequently, the conflict resulted in warfare. The most recent of these armed conflicts was fought between 1444 and 1448 about territory in the Uckermark, claimed by both Pomerania and Brandenburg. The First Peace of Prenzlau (1448) had ended this war by dividing the area in a Brandenburgian and a Pomeranian part. The Duchy of Pomerania was itself internally divided between various members of the House of Pomerania, each of whom ruled a part ("Teilherzogtum") of it named after its respective primary residence. In 1455, Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg had bought back the Neumark from the Teutonic Order State, and was searching for an access to the Baltic Sea for his land-locked electorate.

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