Wislaw II

Wislav II was born in 1240 in Bergen am Rügen . He was the son of Prince Jaromar II and Princess Euthymius Pomerania, daughter of the Duke of Svyatopolk II the Great . After the murder of his father in Denmark , where he took part on the side of the Church in the civil war between the royal family and the archbishops of Lund and Roskilde , Wislav II, together with his brother Jaromar III, ascended the throne of the Principality of Rügen. Since 1285, after the death of his brother, he became the sovereign ruler.

From the very beginning of his reign, Wislaw II established good neighborly relations with the free city of Lübeck , whose citizens he exempted from customs duties within the boundaries of his domain, and in 1266 confirmed the privileges granted to the city. In the Stralsund area, he founded the new city of Shadegard in 1269, to which he also granted a number of privileges.

Disputing his mother’s dowry, in 1270 he occupied the lands of Schlave , and a year later he founded the Rügenwald fortress, but was forced to cede it to the rulers of Brandenburg . After the suppression of the dynasty of the rulers of Loyce in 1273, Wislav II annexed these lands to his possessions.

On June 13, 1283, in Rostock, together with the free cities of Lübeck, Wismar , Rostock, Stralsund, Greifswald , Stettin , Demmin , Anklam , together with the Dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg, Mecklenburg and Pomerania , Wieslav II concluded a peaceful alliance. This alliance was clearly directed against Brandenburg.

In the same year, Wislav II recognized the vassal dependence of the mainland of the principality on Rudolph I of Habsburg, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, having received from him the title of imperial ranger . However, the principality continued to be in vassal dependence on the rulers of Denmark. Prince Rugen was one of the participants in the investigation into the murder of Eric V , King of Denmark.

In 1285, Wislav II confirmed the status of a free city beyond the Tribeseez, and in 1290 granted Stralsund the right to catch herring and a trade monopoly on the island of Rügen, which greatly complicated the development of trade in the region for several centuries, including grain trade. In Greifswald in 1288, he strengthened the development of salt mines, and in 1297 allowed the construction of the port of Rikmündung. He expanded the possessions of the abbeys of Elden and Neuenkamp , and helped found the abbey of Hiddensee .

In an agreement of March 12, 1289 (or 1292) with the Margraves of Brandenburg, Wisław II tried to claim the lands of the Duchy of Pomerania after the death of the childless Duke of Mestwin II, but the attempt failed due to the intervention of the rulers of Greater Poland.

On September 29, 1302, Prince Rügen participated in a meeting with Hakon V Saints , king of Norway, Birger , the king of Sweden , his brother, Duke Eric Magnusson , and Count Jacob of Halland of Denmark. The meeting took place in Solberg, north of modern Gothenburg . In the same year, perhaps immediately after the meeting, Wislav II went to Norway, where he met in Oslo with his daughter Euphemia , Queen of Norway and grandchildren. Other relatives arrived in Norway for Christmas . During the festive service, Wislav II fell ill and died on December 29, 1302. Wislav II was buried in Oslo in the church of St. Mary .

In 1263-1269, Wislaw II married Princess Agnes Braunschweig-Luneburg, the daughter of Duke Otto I of Braunschweig and Princess Matilda of Brandenburg. His wife bore him eight children.

• Wislav III , Prince of Rügen (co-ruler of his father since 1286).
• Jaromar (1267–1294), archdeacon in the Church of St. Nicholas in Stralsund, Bishop of Cummins (1288–1294).
• Euphemia of Rugen , Queen of Norway (1280-1321), wife of Hakon V, king of Norway.
• Sambir (1267-1304), from 1302 co-regent of Prince Wislav III.
• Margarita Ryugenskaya (1270–1318), wife of Boguslav IV , Duke of Pomerania-Volgast.
• Svyatopolk (1273-1285).
• Elena Ryugenskaya (1271–1315), wife of Johann III , Duke of Mecklenburg (died), Prince Bernhard II of Anhalt of Bernburg.
• Sofia Ryugenskaya (1281 - after 1302).

• Joachim Wächter . Das Fürstentum Rügen - Ein Überblick. // Beiträge zur Geschichte Vorpommerns: die Demminer Kolloquien 1985-1994. - Schwerin: Thomas Helms Verlag, 1997 .-- ISBN 3-931185-11-7 .

• Children of Jaromar II. and Children of Wislaw II. on the private site of Jens Ruge Wislavides - Slavic princes of Rugen .