Tetzlav (1168–1170) In 1168 after the
capture of the fortress and temple on
Arkona and
Charenza by
Valdemar I of Denmark the Rügen princes finally had to pay
feudal homage to the Danes. In addition to handing over the temple treasure to the Danes and transferring the estates owned by the temple to the Church, the Rügen princes were obliged to render knights' service in case of war, to pay annual taxes, to provide hostages and to adopt Christianity.
Tetzlav (died 1170) who was described by
Saxo Grammaticus in 1164 as king, was from then on titled the Prince of Rügen.
Jaromar I (1170–1218) His brother and successor, Prince
Jaromar I (died 1218), accepted Danish supremacy and promoted the adoption of Christianity. By 1169, the Pope had placed the island of Rügen within the bishopric of
Roskilde. In 1178, the
Bishopric of Schwerin, which was in
Henry the Lion's domain and was involved in the Rügen campaign under Bishop
Berno, was given responsibility for all the mainland territories of Rügen apart from Ryck. Donations of estates by the Pomeranian prince,
Casimir I from the areas around
Pütte and
Barth to
Dargun Abbey, founded in 1172 by Danish monks, show that, at that time, Pomerania extended well into Rügen's mainland territories through the region of
Borgwallsee to Barth. In 1177, Rügen troops supported military campaigns by the Danes to
Wollin,
Usedom and
Gützkow, and, in 1178, to
Wusterhusen and
Wolgast Jaromar I resided from 1180 on the
Rugard near
Bergen. In 1182, when the Danish king,
Knut VI, refused 1182 to pay feudal homage to the emperor
Frederick Barbarossa, the Duke of Pomerania,
Bogislaw I, is supposed to have contemplated forcing Knut VI to do so. But first he had to conquer Rügen. However, in 1184, the Pomeranian navy was defeated in the
Bay of Greifswald by the Danish-Rügen fleet. The Danes then plundered the areas around Wolgast, Usedom and Wollin. The following year they again ravaged the countryside around the Peene estuary and
Cammin and destroyed the castle of
Groswin at
Stolpe. Finally, Bogislaw I was forced to submit to Danish
suzerainty. Two years after Bogislaw I died in 1187, the Danish king appointed the Prince of Rügen, Jaromar I, as guardian of Bogislaw's minor sons. Jaromar I was able to use this opportunity to considerably expand his domain, as gifts to
Bergen Abbey, founded in 1193, indicate. These estates included both land around
Barth and
Tribsees as well as around Gützkow and
Ziethen. In the border dispute between Jaromar I and the widow of Bogislaw I, Knut VI awarded the estates of Miserez (near
Jarmen) and
Loitz to Gützkow Castle which was in Rügen's hands. Jaromar was given Tribsees and Wusterhusen as a fief. On the founding of the
Hilda Abbey at the mouth of the
Ryck in 1199, Jaromar I granted large areas of land on both sides of the Ryck to the abbey. The sons of Bogislaw I, who were now of age, confirmed these grants in 1216 and 1219, after they had gained possession of Gützkow. Until 1240, the Ryck marked the boundary between the Principality of Rügen and the Duchy of Pomerania.
Barnuta (1218–1221) After Jaromar I's death in 1218, his son
Barnuta became his successor. However, he stepped down in 1221, leaving the government of the principality to his brother,
Vitslav I.
Vitslav I (24 Nov 1221–1249) Vitslav I had taken part as early as 1219 in a military campaign by
Waldemar II against
Estonia. When Valdemar II lost control of Danish possessions on the southern Baltic Sea coast following his defeat in the
Battle of Bornhöved, only the Principality of Rügen remained under Danish suzerainty. The first new settlements were established north of the Ryck by Eldena Abbey. In the area around Tribsees, too, the first German settlers were had already arrived by 1221. In the years that followed they also settled in the area of
Richtenberg. Vitslav I encouraged this development, by enabling Cistercian monks from the Lower Rhine to found
Neuenkamp Abbey in the region in 1231. The result was a rising influx of German settlers into an area of forest in the southern part of Rügen's mainland territory, 300 hides in area, which had been donated by the monastery with the aim of clearing and cultivating it. Two collateral branches of the princely house, the lords of
Gristow and the family of
Putbus also encouraged colonization by Germans of their estates in Reinberg and Brandshagen. This period also saw the granting of town rights to
Stralsund in 1234, and it evolved into an important trading post. In Loitz
Detlef von Gadebusch, who came into the area while Mecklenburg advanced against Pomerania, tried to establish vassal rule similar to that of the
Jaczos of Salzwedel with
County of Gützkow in Pomerania. It is probably that, in 1244, he also came under the
Duchy of Pomerania. On the island of Rügen itself, there was no significant German settlement at that time.
Jaromar II (1249–1260) From 1246,
Jaromar II was co-regent with his father, Vitslav I, who died in 1250. He strove, during his early years in power, to achieve peaceful relations with his Pomeranian neighbours, especially the counts of Gützkow. He encouraged trade, especially with
Lübeck, and abolished
wrecking rights. The destruction of Stralsund in 1249 by an army commissioned by the town of Lübeck led to four years of privateering against Lübeck-registered ships until Lübeck eventually backed down and paid compensation. The estates of the monasteries were greatly expanded under Jaromar II. In 1252, he sold the present-day
Mönchgut estate of Reddevitz on Rügen to Eldena Abbey, and he also promoted the establishment of town-based monasteries in Stralsund. He gave
town rights to Barth in 1255 and to
Damgarten in 1258. In 1259 he intervened in the conflict between the Danish king,
Christopher I and the archbishops of
Lund and landed with a Rügen army on
Zealand. He conquered
Copenhagen, routed a peasant army raised by the Queen Dowager,
Margaret Sambiria, and devastated large parts of Zeeland,
Scania and
Lolland. In 1260, he landed on
Bornholm and destroyed the fort of
Lilleborg. In the same year he was killed by a woman who stabbed him in revenge.
Vitslav II (1260–1302) and Jaromar III (1260–1282) Vitslav II, who came to power at the age of 20 after the violent death of his father, tried to improve the relationship between Lübeck and Stralsund by renewing trade agreements. At the behest of Stralsund, he had the nearby town of
Schadegard, founded in 1269, razed. In 1270, as a result of his mother's claims, he came into the possession of the fiefdom of Schlawe and founded the city of
Rügenwalde there. By in 1277 he had sold the estates and town to the
margraves of Brandenburg. After the extinction of the line of Detlef von Gadebusch in 1273 he inherited the region of Loitz. In 1283 he formed an alliance with several North German towns and other princes in the
Rostock Peace Treaty The investiture of Vitslav II in 1283 by the German king,
Rudolf, was probably only related to the mainland territory. The regular participation of Vitslav II in Danish royal councils and attestations indicates the perpetuation of the feudal relationship between Rügen and the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1285, Grimmen was given town rights by Vitslav. In 1296, Neuenkamp Abbey founded a
daughter monastery on the island of
Hiddensee. By granting trade monopoly on the island of Rügen and the rights to fish for
herring to
Wittow, hitherto reserved for Lübeck, he supported the town of Stralsund, but at the same time hampered the general development of trade and commerce. Prior to his death in 1282, Vitslav II's younger brother,
Jaromar III, often served as regent and co-prince.
Vitslav III (1303–1325) and Sambor III After Wizlaw II died during a visit to
Norway in 1302, his sons,
Vitslav III and
Sambor III, became joint princes of Rügen. Sambor died, however, in 1304. At the instigation of his mother's relatives, Vitslav III had received a courtly, aristocratic education and was a
minnesinger. Since his first marriage turned out to be childless, in 1310 his liege lord, the King of Denmark
Erik Menved, agreed a contract of inheritance with Vitslav III, whereby the collateral branches of the princely houses of Putbus and Gristow renounced their succession in favour of the Danish crown. Erik Menved tried to enforce his dominance over the developing trading towns in the southern Baltic region. As a vassal of Erik Menveds, Wizlaw III tried to restrict Stralsund's privileges and Lübeck rights. The failure of negotiations eventually led to the siege of Stralsund in 1316 by an army under the leadership of Duke Eric I of Saxe-Lauenburg. A night attack by Stralsund ended in a victory over the besieging army and the duke was taken prisoner. Vitslaw III, who had participated in the siege of the town from the seaward side, had to escape. In 1317, there was a peace treaty between the town and its regional ruler. Vitslav III, whose financial situation had been worsened by the war, awarded numerous privileges to Stralsund, gave them the right to his royal taxes and jurisdiction and sold his mint to the town.
Pomeranian dukes (House of Griffins) • 1325–1326
Wartislaw IV • 1326–1368
Bogislaw V,
Wartislaw V and
Barnim IV • 1368–1372
Wartislaw VI and
Bogislaw VI • 1372–1394
Wartislaw VI • 1394–1415
Wartislaw VIII • 1415–1432/6
Swietobor II • 1432/6-1451
Barnim VIII • 1451–1457
Wartislaw IX • 1457–1478
Wartislaw X Andrew Michael Parrillo-Kowieski On August 14th 2024, Andrew Michael Parrillo-Kowieski of Kowalki village in Gmina Tychowo, inside the Bialogard County, within Western Pomerania has claimed the hereditary right, style and title to the styled name of
Prince of Rügen, 19th, via his matrilineal lineage and
male primogeniture of Headship of House Kownia. == Inheritance by the Dukes of Pomerania ==