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 into 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.
| Ruler | Born | Reign | Death | Ruling part | Consort | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1408 | 1464-1466 | 26 September 1466 | East Frisia | A first wife no children Theda Ukena 1455 six children | First Count of East Frisia. Emperor Frederick III raised Ulrich to the status of Imperial Count in 1464. | |||
| Regency of Theda Ukena (1466-1480) | Had no descendants. The county went to his brother. | |||||||
| 1 June 1460 | 1466-1491 | 19 February 1491 | East Frisia | Unmarried | ||||
| 15 January 1462 | 1491-1528 | 14 February 1528 | East Frisia | Elisabeth of Rietberg (1470-1512) 1498 three children | Second son of Ulrich I and Theda Ukena. | |||
| 1505 | 1528-1540 | 24 September 1540 | East Frisia | Anna of Oldenburg 1530 six children | Eldest son of the previous. He had a brother:
their father, Edzard I had introduced primogeniture in the county of East Frisia, so that Enno II inherited the county alone. Johan had to hold back. Despite his ambitions, he always acknowledged his brother's rights and did not dispute the inheritance. Despite this, Johan is counted as I. | |||
| Regency of Anna of Oldenburg (1540-1561) | Sons of Enno II, ruled together, until 1561 under regency of their mother. This coregency implies that the primogenture law issued by their grandfather, Edzard the Great, may have been revoked. | |||||||
| 24 June 1532 | 1540-1599 | 1 March 1599 | East Frisia | Catherine of Sweden 1 October 1559 Stockholm ten children | ||||
| 29 September 1538 | 1540-1591 | 29 September 1591 | East Frisia | Unmarried | ||||
| 6 June 1539 | 1599-1610 | 21 December 1610 | East Frisia (at Berum and Norden) | Edzard II 1 October 1559 Stockholm ten children | Inherited from her husband some towns in East Frisia, which she ruled autonomously. After her death, her domains were reabsorbed in the county. | |||
| 30 September 1563 | 1586-1600 1599-1625 | 19 August 1625 | Rietberg East Frisia | Walburgis, Countess of Rietberg 28 January 1581 three children Anna of Holstein-Gottorp 28 January 1598 three children | Probably inherited Rietberg from his first wife. The Treaty of Berum (1600) formally divided the inheritance of Walburga between her daughters, and Sabina Catharina got the County of Rietberg. | |||
| 11 August 1582 | 1600-1618 | 31 May 1618 | Rietberg | John III, Count of Rietberg 3 March 1601 eleven children | Daughter of Walburgis and Enno III, inherited Rietberg from her mother. Married her paternal uncle, so the county stayed in the family. | |||
| 1566 | 1618-1625 | 31 May 1618 | Rietberg | Sabina Catharina, Countess of Rietberg 3 March 1601 eleven children | Brother of Enno III, ruled Rietberg after the death of his wife and niece. | |||
| 2 June 1602 | 1625-1628 | 17 April 1628 | East Frisia | Unmarried | Son of Enno III, and half-brother of Sabina Catharina. Left no descendants. The county passed to his brother. | |||
| 1 April 1606 | 1625-1640 | 31 December 1640 | Rietberg | Albertine Marie of St. Martin 10 November 1626 no children | Son of Sabina Catharina and John III. Left no descendants. The county passed to his brother. | |||
| 6 July 1605 | 1628-1648 | 1 November 1648 | East Frisia | Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt 5 March 1631 three children | Brother of Rudolph Christian. | |||
| 31 May 1618 | 1640-1660 | 7 August 1660 | Rietberg | Anna Catharina Ernestine of Salm-Reiferscheid 1647 five children | Brother of Ernest Christopher. | |||
| Regency of Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt (1648-1651) | In 1654, the county was raised to a principality. Had no male descendants, and the principality passed to his brother. | |||||||
| 29 October 1632 | 1648-1660 | 4 April 1660 | East Frisia | Juliana Sophia of Barby-Mühlingen (14 April 1636 - 12 August 1677) 7 November 1656 two children | ||||
| Regency of Anna Catharina Ernestine of Salm-Reiferscheid (1660-1666) | Left no descendants. The county passed to his brother. | |||||||
| 16 September 1650 | 1660-1677 | 7 October 1677 | Rietberg | Unmarried | ||||
| 6 February 1634 | 1660-1665 | 6 June 1665 | East Frisia | Christine Charlotte of Württemberg 14 May 1662 three children | Brother of Enno Louis. | |||
| Regency of Christine Charlotte of Württemberg (1665-1690) | ||||||||
| 1 October 1665 | 1665-1708 | 30 June 1708 | East Frisia | Eberhadine Sophie of Oettingen-Oettingen (16 August 1666-30 October 1700) 7 November 1656 ten children Anna Juliana of Kleinau (1674-1727) 1701 one child | ||||
| 13 November 1651 | 1677-1680 | 15 March 1690 | Rietberg | Unmarried | Brother of Frederick William, abdicated to become a canon, but remained regent for his younger brother (despite he was already an adult), and would return for the regency if his niece. | |||
| Regency of Canon Francis Adolph William, Count of Rietberg (1680-1685) | ||||||||
| 8 May 1653 | 1680-1687 | 10 June 1687 | Rietberg | Johannetta Elizabeth Franziska of Manderscheid-Blankenheim (26 September 1663-29 April 1704) 4 October 1685 Blankenheim one child | ||||
| Regencies of Canon Francis Adolph William, Count of Rietberg (1687-1690) and Friedrich Christian von Plettenberg and Hermann Werner von Wolff-Metternich zur Gracht (1690-1702, imperial appointment) | Daughter of Ferdinand Maximilian, after her death the county was inherited by the Kaunitz family. | |||||||
| 1 August 1686 | 1687-1758 | 1 January 1758 | Rietberg | Maximilian Ulrich von Kaunitz 6 August 1699 sixteen children | ||||
| 13 June 1690 | 1708-1734 | 12 June 1734 | East Frisia | Christine Louise of Nassau-Idstein (31 March 1691 – 13 April 1723) 24 September 1709 Idstein five children Sophie Caroline of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 8 December 1723 Berum no children | ||||
| 18 June 1716 | 1734-1744 | 25 May 1744 | East Frisia | Sophie Wilhelmine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (8 July 1714 - 7 September 1749) 25 June 1734 one child | 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 state was conquered by King Frederick II of Prussia. | |||
| East Frisia annexed to Prussia | ||||||||