List of the rulers of Lüneburg
Encyclopedia
The Principality of Lüneburg
, later also called Celle, was a territory within the Holy Roman Empire
that existed from 1269 to 1705, whose land covered part of the modern-day German state of Lower Saxony
. The territory was granted imperial immediacy which gave it the special status of reporting directly to the emperor. It emerged in 1269 following the division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and its rulers continued to use the title of dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Lüneburg lost its independence in 1705 when it was inherited by the Principality of Calenberg (also known as Hanover), which however could keep a separate seat in the Reichstag for Lüneburg or "Brunswick-Celle". The following is a list of all the rulers of Lüneburg during its time as an independent principality.
Principality of Lüneburg
The Principality of Lüneburg was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory lay within the modern-day state of Lower Saxony in Germany...
, later also called Celle, was a territory within the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
that existed from 1269 to 1705, whose land covered part of the modern-day German state of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. The territory was granted imperial immediacy which gave it the special status of reporting directly to the emperor. It emerged in 1269 following the division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and its rulers continued to use the title of dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Lüneburg lost its independence in 1705 when it was inherited by the Principality of Calenberg (also known as Hanover), which however could keep a separate seat in the Reichstag for Lüneburg or "Brunswick-Celle". The following is a list of all the rulers of Lüneburg during its time as an independent principality.
Old House of Lüneburg
| Portrait | Name | Rule | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| John John of Brunswick, Duke of Lüneburg John reigned jointly with his brother, Albert, as the second Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg until the partition of the duchy. John was also the first ruler of the newly-created Principality of Lüneburg in 1269.-Life:... (1242-1277) |
1269 - 1277 | Following the division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, John was the first ruler of the new Principality of Lüneburg. | |
| Otto II the Strict (1266-1330) | 1277 - 1330 | Otto II of Brunswick-Lüneburg after Otto the Child (Otto I of Brunswick-Lüneburg) | |
| Otto III Otto III, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Otto III, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was Prince of Lüneburg from 1330 to 1352.- Life :Otto was born about 1296 as the second son of Otto the Strict and his wife Matilda of Bavaria, and was introduced to the business of government by his father as early as 1314... (1296-1352) |
1330 - 1352 | ||
| William William II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg William II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1330 to 1369.- Life :William was born around the year 1300 as the fourth child of Otto the Strict and his wife, Matilda of Bavaria.... († 1369) |
1330 - 1369 | William II of Brunswick-Lüneburg William II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg William II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1330 to 1369.- Life :William was born around the year 1300 as the fourth child of Otto the Strict and his wife, Matilda of Bavaria.... . His death precipitated the Lüneburg War of Succession Lüneburg War of Succession The Lüneburg War of Succession was a conflict that broke out in 1370 in north Germany and lasted, with interruptions, for 18 years. The war was over the line of succession to the Principality of Lüneburg... in 1370. |
|
Old House of Brunswick
| Portrait | Name | Rule | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnus Torquatus (1328-1373) | 1369 - 1373 | Magnus II Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Magnus , called Magnus with the Necklace or Magnus II, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruling the Brunswick-Lüneburg principalities of Wolfenbüttel and, temporarily, Lüneburg.... . "Magnus with the Necklace." 2nd cousin, once removed, of William II |
|
Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg
| Portrait | Name | Rule | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert of Saxe-Wittenberg Albert of Saxe-Wittenberg, Duke of Lüneburg Albert of Saxe-Wittenberg was born as the son of Otto , a younger son of the prince-elector Rudolph I of Saxe-Wittenberg, and his wife Elisabeth, daughter of Duke William II of Brunswick-Lüneburg... (d 1385) |
1370 - 1385 | Albert moved the residence to Celle after the slighting Slighting A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:... of Lüneburg Castle. |
|
| Wenceslas of Saxe-Wittenberg Wenceslas I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg Wenceslas I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg from the House of Ascania ruled from 1370 to 1388 and was a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire as well as Prince of Lüneburg. He was the son of Rudolf I and his 3rd wife, Agnes of Lindow.- Life :In 1370 Wenceslas succeeded his brother Rudolf II... (d 1388) |
1370 - 1388 | ||
Middle House of Brunswick
| Portrait | Name | Rule | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry I the Mild (d 1416) | 1388 - 1416 | ||
| William the Victorious (1392-1482) | 1416 - 1428 | ||
| Henry II the Peaceful (1411-1473) | 1416 - 1428 | ||
Middle House of Lüneburg
| Portrait | Name | Rule | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernard I Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Bernard , Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruled over several principalities of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In the genealogy of the House of Welf, he is considered the first member of the Second House of Lüneburg.... (d 1434) |
1388 - 1409 and1428 - 1434 | ||
| Otto I the Lame (d 1446) | 1434 - 1446 | Otto IV of Brunswick-Lüneburg Otto IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Otto IV, also known as Otto Crookleg or Otto the Lame Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was Prince of Lüneburg from 1434 to 1446.- Life :... . Also "Otto Crookleg". |
|
| Frederick the Pious (d 1478) | 1434 - 1457 and1472 - 1478 | Frederick II Frederick II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Frederick II , also known as Frederick the Pious was the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince of Lüneburg from 1434 to 1457 and from 1472 to 1478.- Life :... |
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| Bernard II Bernard II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Bernard II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was the Bishop of Hildesheim from 1452 to 1458, as well as Prince of Lüneburg from 1457 to 1464.- Life :... (1432-1464) |
1457 - 1464 | ||
| Otto II the Magnanimous (1439-1471) | 1457 - 1471 | Otto V of Brunswick-Lüneburg Otto V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Otto, called the Victorious or the Magnanimous , was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince of Lüneburg from 1457 to his death. He shared the principality with his brother, Bernard, until Bernard's death in 1464.... |
|
| Henry I of Lüneburg Henry I of Lüneburg Henry the Middle, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was Prince of Lüneburg from 1486 to 1520.-Life:Henry of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the son of Otto V of Lüneburg and Anna of Nassau, was born in 1468. In 1486, Henry took control of Lüneburg from his mother, who had been regent since the death of Henry’s... (1468-1532) |
1486 - 1520 | ||
| Otto I of Harburg Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Harburg Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1520 to 1527 and Baron of Harburg from 1527 to 1549.- Life :Otto was born on 24 August 1495 as the eldest son of Henry the Middle and his wife, Margarete of Saxony... (1495-1549) |
1520 - 1527 | ||
| Francis Francis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the youngest son of Henry the Middle. Following a thirty-year joint reign of Brunswick-Lüneburg with his brother Ernest the Confessor, he ruled the newly-founded Duchy of Gifhorn from Gifhorn Castle for over 10 years from 1539 until his death in 1549... (1508-1549) |
1536 - 1539 | ||
| Ernest the Confessor (1497-1546) | 1520 - 1546 | Ernest I Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg , also frequently called Ernest the Confessor, was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a champion of the protestant cause during the early years of the Protestant Reformation... . Introduced the Reformation Protestant Reformation The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led... into the Principality of Lüneburg in 1527. He was also the progenitor of the Calenberg-Celle and Wolfenbüttel lines |
|
| Francis Otto Francis Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Francis Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1555 to 1559.- Life :When Francis Otto took over the reins of power in 1555, he had to promise the interim government, that had ruled since the death of his father in 1546, that he would comply with a large number of... (1530-1559) |
1555 - 1559 | ||
| Henry of Dannenberg Henry III, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Henry was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1559 until 1598 and ruled over the Dannenberg subdivision of the duchy. He was the son of Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.He died in Dannenberg on 19 January 1598.... (1533-1598) |
1559 - 1569 | Henry III Henry III, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Henry was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1559 until 1598 and ruled over the Dannenberg subdivision of the duchy. He was the son of Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.He died in Dannenberg on 19 January 1598.... |
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William the Younger (1535-1592) | 1559 - 1592 | |
| Ernest II Ernest II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Ernest II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg , was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1592 to 1611.-Life:Ernest was born on 31 December 1564 as the second of fifteen children and the eldest son of William the Younger and his consort Dorothea of Denmark. After studying at Wittenberg, Leipzig and Straßburg he... (1564-1611) |
1592 - 1611 | ||
| Christian Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Christian the Elder, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg, was Prince of Lüneburg and Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Minden.- Life :... (1566-1633) |
1611 - 1633 | ||
| Augustus the Elder (1568-1636) | 1633 - 1636 | Augustus | |
| Frederick Frederick IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Frederick, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1636 to 1648.Frederick was born on 28 August 1574, the tenth child of William the Younger and Dorothea of Denmark.... (1571-1648) |
1636 - 1648 | ||
New House of Lüneburg
| Portrait | Name | Ruled from | To | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Christian Louis Christian Louis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Christian Louis was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. A member of the House of Welf, from 1641 until 1648 he ruled the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, and, from 1648, until his death the Principality of Lüneburg.... Christian Ludwig |
10 December 1648 | 15 March 1665 | Nephew of the previous duke; he was already Duke of Brunswick-Calenberg, which he resigned to his next brother to take up the rule of this duchy. |
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John Frederick John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg John Frederick was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, from 1665 until his death.... (1625-1679) Johann Friedrich |
1665 | ||
| George William George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg George William was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled first over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, then over the Lüneburg subdivision. In 1689 he occupied the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg.... Georg Wilhelm |
15 March 1665 | 28 August 1705 | Brother of Christian Louis, previously ruler of Brunswick-Calenberg | |
| In 1705 the Principality of Lüneburg was united with the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg through inheritance. | |
Sources
- Geckler, Christa Die Celler Herzöge - Leben und Wirken 1371-1705 Georg Ströher Celle 1986, (officially incorrect) ISBN 3-921744-05-8
- William Havemann: Geschichte the Lande Brunswick und Lüneburg, 3 Bde., Nachdruck. Hirschheydt, Hannover 1974/75, ISBN 3-7777-0843-7 (Originalausgabe: Verlag the Dietrich'schen Buchhandlung, Göttingen 1853–1857)
- Hans Patze (Begr.): Geschichte Niedersachsen, 7 Bde. Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1977- (Veröffentlichungen the Historischen Kommission für Niedersachsen und Bremen, 36)