Henry II, Count of Hoya

Henry II, called Henry with the Axe, was count of Hoya from 1235, when he succeeded his father Henry I, until his death on 25 January 1290. Chronicles gave him his nickname for the brutal violence of his warfare.

He chiefly pressed south against the bishops of Minden and secured the new frontier with castles at Liebenau and Steyerberg. With Jutta of Ravensberg he is said to have fathered twenty-five children, at least eight of whom reached adulthood, including his successors Gerhard II and Otto II.