Ulrich III, Duke of Mecklenburg or Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (5 March 1527 – 14 March 1603) was Duke of Mecklenburg (-Güstrow) from 1555-56 to 1603.
Contents
Early life
Ulrich was the third son of Duke Albrecht VII and Anna of Brandenburg. Ulrich was educated at the Bavarian court. He later studied theology and law in Ingolstadt. After the death of his father, he took up residence in Bützow and succeeded his cousin Duke Magnus III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as Lutheran administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin in 1550. He later married Magnus's widow, Elizabeth, a daughter of King Frederick I of Denmark. His wife was actually a first cousin of his maternal grandmother Elizabeth of Denmark, daughter of John, King of Denmark. They were first cousins, twice removed. After the death of Elizabeth, he married Anna, daughter of Philip I, Duke of Pomerania.
After the death of his uncle, Henry V, Duke of Mecklenburg, Ulrich took part in the national government, especially during Mecklenburg's participation in the Schmalkaldic War. It erupted from an inheritance dispute, which was settled by the "Ruppiner dictum" of the Elector of Brandenburg.
Reign
On 17 February 1555, Ulrich succeeded his brother John Albert I in partitioned Mecklenburg-Güstrow. In 1556, he received, while maintaining common state government with his brother, the eastern part of Mecklenburg with the capital in Güstrow, and John Albert received the western part with the residence Schwerin. After the death of his brother in 1576, Ulrich became guardian of his offspring, among them his nephew and successor in Güstrow John Albert II. Ulrich built the castle at Güstrow as his main residence.