List of Counts of East Frisia

East Frisian coat of arms

The Counts and Princes of East Frisia from the noble East Frisian family Cirksena descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel. The county came in to existence when Emperor Frederick III raised Ulrich I the son of a local chieftain to the status of Imperial Count in 1464.

The most important ruler from the House of Cirksena was Edzard the Great (1462–1528), under whose leadership the Imperial County of East Frisia reached its greatest extent. During his reign the Reformation spread throughout East Frisia.

In 1654 the Cirksena were elevated to princes by the emperor. Charles Edzard, the last ruler from the House of Cirksena, died without issue during the night of 25/26 May 1744 (reportedly from a glass of buttermilk, which is said to have drunk after a hunt). Immediately thereafter, the county passed to King Frederick II of Prussia.

	Name (Lifespan)	Reign	Title	Note
	Ulrich I (*around 1408; †25 or 26 September 1466)	1464–1466	Count	First Count of East Frisia. Emperor Frederick III raised Ulrich to the status of Imperial Count in 1464.
	Theda Ukena (*1432; †16 November 1494)	1466–1491	Regent	Widow of Ulrich I, as regent for Enno I.
	Edzard I the Great (*1461; †14 February 1528)	1491–1528	Count	The son of Ulrich I and Theda Ukena.
	Enno II (*1505; †24 September 1540)	1528–1540	Count	The son of Edzard I.
	Anna of Oldenburg (*14 November 1501; †24 September 1575)	1540–1561	Regent	Widow of Enno II.
	Johan II (*29 September 1538; †29 September 1591)	1561–1591	Count	The son of Enno II and Anna of Oldenburg ruled together with his brother Edzard II.
	Edzard II (*24 June 1532; †1 March 1599)	1561–1599	Count	The son of Enno II and Anna of Oldenburg.
	Enno III (*30 September 1563; †19 August 1625)	1599–1625	Count	The son of Edzard II.
	Rudolf Christian (*2 June 1602; †17 April 1628)	1625–1628	Count	The son of Enno III.
	Ulrich II (*6 July 1605; †1 November 1648)	1628–1648	Count	The son of Enno III.
	Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt (*14 April 1606; †15 January 1659)	1648–1651	Regent	Widow of Ulrich II
	Enno Louis (*29 October 1632; †4 April 1660)	1651–1660	Count, after 1654 Fürst (Prince)	The son of Ulrich II and Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt.
	George Christian (*6 February 1634; †6 June 1665)	1660–1665	Fürst (Prince)	Second son of Ulrich II and Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt.
	Christine Charlotte of Württemberg (*21. October 1645; †16. May 1699)	1665–1690	Regent	Widow of George Christian.
	Christian Everhard (*1 October 1665; †30 June 1708)	1690–1708	Fürst (Prince)	The son of Georg Christian and Christine Charlotte of Württemberg.
	George Albert (*13 June 1690; †12 June 1734)	1708–1734	Fürst (Prince)	The son of Christian Everhard.
	Charles Edzard (*18 June 1716; †25 May 1744)	1734–1744	Fürst (Prince)	The son of Georg Albrecht and the last Fürst of East Frisia of the House of Cirksena. He died without issue.
After the death of the last Prince of East Frisia, the county passed to King Frederick II of Prussia.

See also: List of Countesses of East Frisia

Literature

• Tielke, Dr. Martin (Hrsg.): Biographisches Lexikon für East Frisia, Bd. 1 ISBN 3-925365-75-3 (1993), Bd. 2 ISBN 3-932206-00-2 (1997), Bd. 3 ISBN 3-932206-22-3 (2001) Ostfries. Landschaftliche Verl.- u. Vertriebsges. Aurich
• Martin Jhering: Hofleben in East Frisia. Die Fürstenresidenz Aurich im Jahre 1728, Hannover 2005
• Heinrich Reimers: East Frisia bis zum Aussterben seines Fürstenhauses, Bremen 1925
• Ernst Esselborn: Das Geschlecht Cirksena, Berlin 1945
• F. Wachter: Das Erbe der Cirksena. Ein Stück ostfriesischer Geschichte und des Kampfes um die Vorherrschaft in Norddeutschland., Aurich 1921