Ulrich II, Count of East Frisia

Historian tend to have a negative view of Ulrich II. His brother Rudolf Christian died unexpectedly, from a stab in his left eye during an argument with a lieutenant in the army of general Matthias Gallas quartered at Berum Castle. He accepted the position of Count of East Frisia only reluctantly. He was said to prefer to enjoy himself about town, deriving great pleasure from alcohol and well-prepared meals. In the face of the foreign troops quartered in East Frisia during the Thirty Years' War, he was rather passive and let his chancellors Wiarda and Bobart manage the country. He even went so far as to build a Lustschloss, the Julianenburg in Sandhorst, for his wife Landgravine Juliana, in the middle of the war, while the population of East Frisia was suffering bitterly. However, he also made some major decisions. He leased out parcels of bog around Timmel in 1633; this is regarded as the starting point of the fen cultivation, which led to the creation of the Großefehn. He also founded Latin schools, the Ulrichsgymnasium in Norden in 1631 and the Gymnasium Ulricianum in Aurich in 1646. These still exist and bear his name today.

He died on 1 November 1648. After his death his widow Juliana took over the regency because their children were still minors.

P. Wagner (1895), "Ulrich II. (Graf von Ostfriesland)", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), vol. 39, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 229–231