Otto IV of Schaumburg


Otto IV of Schaumburg was a German nobleman. He was a ruling Count of Schauenburg and of Holstein-Pinneberg. He was a son of Jobst I and his wife Mary of Nassau-Siegen, a daughter of Count John V of Nassau-Siegen.
He adopted the teachings of Martin Luther. However, with respect to his elder brothers Cologne's Archbishop-Electors Adolphus III and Anthony I he refrained from open confrontation. In 1559 he officially began the Reformation in Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg. These areas remained Lutheran throughout the Counter-Reformation and into modern times.

Marriages and issue

Otto first married Mary, daughter of Duke Barnim XI of Pomerania-Stettin. Mary and Otto had four sons:
In 1558 Otto married a second time, with Elisabeth Ursula, a daughter of Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Elisabeth Ursula and Otto had two daughters and one son: