Brunswick-Lüneburg
Encyclopedia
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state
from the late Middle Ages
until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
, in what is now northern Germany
. The dukedom emerged in 1235 from the allodial lands of the House of Welf in Saxony
and was granted as an imperial fief to Otto the Child, a grandson of Henry the Lion
. Its name came from the two largest towns in the territory: Brunswick
and Lüneburg
. The duchy was divided several times during the High Middle Ages amongst various lines of the House of Welf, but the rulers all continued to be styled as the "Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg" in addition to their particular title as "Prince of Lüneburg" or "Prince of Wolfenbüttel", etc. The individual principalities making up the duchy continued to exist until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Following the Congress of Vienna
in 1814/15, the territories became part of the Kingdom of Hanover
and Duchy of Brunswick
.
in 1180, he lost his titles as Duke of Saxony
and Duke of Bavaria
. He went into exile
for several years, but was then allowed to stay on the (allodial) estates inherited from his mother's side until the end of his life. In 1235, as part of the reconcialiation between the Hohenstaufen and Welf families, Henry's grandson, Otto the Child, transferred his estates to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
and was and enfeoffed in return with the newly created Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which was formed from the estates transferred to the Emperor as well as other large areas of the imperial fisc
. After his death in 1252, he was succeeded by his sons, Albert the Tall and John, who ruled the dukedom jointly. In 1269 the duchy was divided, Albert receiving the southern part of the state around Brunswick and John the northern territories in the area of Lüneburg. The towns of Lüneburg
and Brunswick
remained in the overall possession of the House of Welf until 1512 and 1671 respectively.
In 1571 the Amt of Calvörde
became an exclave of the Duchy.
The various parts of the duchy were further divided and re-united over the centuries, all of them being ruled by the Welf or Guelph dynasty, who maintained close relations with one another—not infrequently by marrying cousins— a practice far more common than is the case today, even among the peasantry of the Holy Roman Empire, for the salic inheritance laws
in effect, encouraged the practice of retaining control of lands and benefits. The seats of power moved in the meantime from Brunswick and Lüneburg to Celle
and Wolfenbüttel
as the towns asserted their independence.
, the Brunswick Line moved their Residence
to Wolfenbüttel
into a water castle, which was expanded into a Schloss
, whilst the town was developed into a royal seat. The name Wolfenbüttel was given to this principality. Not until 1753/1754 was the Residence moved back to Brunswick, into the newly built Brunswick Palace
. In 1814 the principality became the Duchy of Brunswick
.
and Leine split away as the Principality of Calenberg.
To the north this new state bordered on the County of Hoya near Nienburg and extended from there in a narrow, winding strip southwards up the River Leine through Wunstorf and Hanover where it reached the Principality of Wolfenbüttel. In 1495 it was expanded around Göttingen and in 1584 went back to the Wolfenbüttel Line. In 1634, as a result of inheritance distributions, it went to the House of Lüneburg, before becoming an independent principality again in 1635, when it was given to George
, younger brother of Prince Ernest II of Lüneburg, who chose Hanover
as his Residenz. New territory was added in 1665 in the vicinity of Grubenhagen and in 1705 around the Principality of Lüneburg. In 1692 Duke Ernest Augustus from the Calenberg Line acquired the right to be a prince-elector
as the Prince-Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Colloquially the Electorate was also known as the Electorate of Hanover
or as Kurhannover. In 1814 it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Hanover
.
inherited the state of Lüneburg with his wife, the Duke's daughter, Sophie Dorothea, later known as the "Princess of Ahlden". It was united with the Principality of Calenberg, which had been elevated in 1692 into the Electorate
, son of Albert of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
. The state lay ran from the northern part of the Solling hills and the River Leine near Einbeck and north of the Eichsfeld on and in the southwestern Harz. After being split in the course of the years into smaller and smaller principalities it Grubenhagen finally returned in 1596 to Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
, Harburg
, Gifhorn
, Bevern
, Osterode, Herzberg, Salzderhelden and Einbeck.
While a total of about a dozen subdivisions that existed, some were only dynastic and not recognised as states of the Empire, which at one time had over 1500 such legally recognized entities. In the List of Reichstag participants (1792), the following four subdivisions of Brunswick-Lüneburg had recognized representation:
By 1705 only two Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg survived, one ruling Calenberg, Lüneburg and other possessions, and the other ruling Wolfenbüttel.
, who in 1635 acquired Calenberg for George
, a junior member of the family who set up residence in the city of Hanover
. His son Christian Louis
and his brothers inherited Celle in 1648 and thereafter shared it and Calenberg between themselves; a closely related branch of the family ruled separately in Wolfenbüttel.
As a latter day development, what became the Electorate of Hanover was initially called the Elector of Brunswick-Lunenberg when the Holy Roman Emperor appointed Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lunenberg an Elector in 1696 (two years before his death) in a somewhat controversial move to increase the number of Protestant electors—thereby offending the entrenched interests of the extant prince-elector
s who would no longer be so few. As with most matters in Europe during these times, this was part of the centuries-long religious unrest accompanied by outright warfare (see Thirty Years' War
) triggered by the zealous advocates on either side of the Protestant Reformation
and the Catholic Counter-Reformation
.
The territories of Calenberg and Lüneburg-Celle were made an Electorate
by the Emperor Leopold I
in 1692 in expectation of the imminent inheritance of Celle by the Duke of Calenberg, though the actual dynastic union of the territories did not occur until 1705 under his son George I Louis, and the Electorate
was not officially approved by the Imperial Diet until 1708.
The resulting state was known under many different names (Brunswick-Lüneburg, Calenberg, Calenberg-Celle; its ruler was often known as the "Elector of Hanover
". Coincidentally, in 1701 the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg found himself in the line of succession for the British crown, later confirmed in 1707 by the Act of Union
, which he subsequently inherited, thereby creating a personal union
of the two crowns on 20 October 1714.
After a little over a decade, the matter of the disputed electorate was settled upon the heir, and the new Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (acceded as duke on 23 January 1698), George I Louis was able to style himself the Elector of Brunswick and Lüneburg from 1708. It was not just happenstance but similar religious driven politics that brought about the circumstance that he was also put into the line of succession for the British crown by the Settlement Act of 1701— which was written to ensure a Protestant succession to the thrones of Scotland and England at a time when anti-Catholic sentiment ran high in much of Northern Europe and much of Great Britain
. In the event, George I succeeded his second cousin Queen Anne of Great Britain
— the last reigning member of the House of Stuart
, and subsequently formed a personal union
from 1 August of 1714 between the British crown and the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (electorate of Hanover) which would last until well after the end of the Napoleonic wars
more than a century later—including even through the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the rise of a new successor kingdom. In that manner, the "Electorate of Hanover" (the core duchy) was enlarged with the addition of other lands and became the kingdom of Hanover
in 1814 at the peace conferences (Congress of Vienna
) settling the future shape of Europe in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars
.
King of England, George I of Great Britain
was the reigning Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and was finally made an official and recognized prince-elector
of the Holy Roman Empire in 1708. His possessions were enlarged in 1706 when the hereditary lands of the Calenberg branch of the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg merged with the lands of the Lüneburg-Celle branch to form the state of Hanover. Subsequently, George I was referred to as Elector of Hanover.
In 1700 and 1701, when the English Parliament had addressed the question of an orderly succession, with a particular religious bias toward a Protestant ruler, from the childless ruling Queen Anne (House of Stuart
), it passed by the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701
to Sophia of Hanover
, granddaughter of James I. Sophia predeceased Queen Anne by a few weeks, but her son and heir, George I, succeeded as King of Great Britain when Anne, his second cousin, died in August of 1714. Great Britain and Hanover remained united in personal union
until the accession of Queen Victoria
in 1837.
George I was followed by his son George II
and great-grandson George III. The last mentioned retained the position of elector even after the Holy Roman Empire was abolished by its last emperor in 1806. George III contested the validity of the dissolution of the Empire and maintained separate consular offices and staff for the Electorate of Hanover until the peace conferences
at the war's end. After the fall of Napoleon, George III
regained his lands plus lands from Prussia as King of Hanover, whilst giving up some other smaller scattered territories.
ending the Napoleonic war being born anew under the name of Kingdom of Hanover
(including Brunswick-Lüneburg). During the first half of the nineteenth century, the Kingdom of Hanover was ruled as personal union
by the British
crown from its creation under George III of the United Kingdom
, the last elector of Hanover
until the death of William IV in 1837. At that point, the crown of Hanover went to William's younger brother, Ernest, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale
under the Salic law
s requiring the next male heir to inherit, whereas the British throne was inherited by an elder brother's only daughter, Queen Victoria
.
Subsequently, the kingdom was lost in 1866 by his son George V of Hanover
during the Austro-Prussian War
when it was annexed by Prussia
, and became the Prussian province of Hanover.
. The Congress of Vienna
of 1815 turned it into an independent state under the name Duchy of Brunswick
. The Duchy remained independent and joined first the North German Confederation
and in 1871 then the German Empire
.
When the main line of descent became extinct in 1885, the German Emperor withheld the rightful heir, the Crown Prince of Hanover, from taking control, instead installing a regent. Decades later, the families were reconciled by the marriage of the Crown Prince's son to the Emperor's only daughter
, and the Emperor allowed his son-in-law to assume rule (his father having renounced his own right).
All the Welf lines continued to bear the title of "Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg" from the division of the dukedom in 1269 to the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. This was in addition to their actual territorial lordship e.g. as the "Prince of Lüneburg".
Duchy
A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...
from the late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
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...
, in what is now northern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The dukedom emerged in 1235 from the allodial lands of the House of Welf in Saxony
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
and was granted as an imperial fief to Otto the Child, a grandson of Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
. Its name came from the two largest towns in the territory: Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
and Lüneburg
Lüneburg
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
. The duchy was divided several times during the High Middle Ages amongst various lines of the House of Welf, but the rulers all continued to be styled as the "Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg" in addition to their particular title as "Prince of Lüneburg" or "Prince of Wolfenbüttel", etc. The individual principalities making up the duchy continued to exist until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Following the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
in 1814/15, the territories became part of the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
and Duchy of Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
.
History
When the imperial ban was placed on Henry the LionHenry the Lion
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
in 1180, he lost his titles as Duke of Saxony
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
and Duke of Bavaria
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria was the only one of the stem duchies from the earliest days of East Francia and the Kingdom of Germany to preserve both its name and most of its territorial extent....
. He went into exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
for several years, but was then allowed to stay on the (allodial) estates inherited from his mother's side until the end of his life. In 1235, as part of the reconcialiation between the Hohenstaufen and Welf families, Henry's grandson, Otto the Child, transferred his estates to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
and was and enfeoffed in return with the newly created Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which was formed from the estates transferred to the Emperor as well as other large areas of the imperial fisc
Fisc
Under the Merovingians and Carolingians, the fisc applied to the royal demesne which paid taxes, entirely in kind, from which the royal household was meant to be supported, though it rarely was...
. After his death in 1252, he was succeeded by his sons, Albert the Tall and John, who ruled the dukedom jointly. In 1269 the duchy was divided, Albert receiving the southern part of the state around Brunswick and John the northern territories in the area of Lüneburg. The towns of Lüneburg
Lüneburg
Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
and Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
remained in the overall possession of the House of Welf until 1512 and 1671 respectively.
In 1571 the Amt of Calvörde
Calvörde
Calvörde is a municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km northwest from Haldensleben between the Ohre river and the Midland Canal...
became an exclave of the Duchy.
The various parts of the duchy were further divided and re-united over the centuries, all of them being ruled by the Welf or Guelph dynasty, who maintained close relations with one another—not infrequently by marrying cousins— a practice far more common than is the case today, even among the peasantry of the Holy Roman Empire, for the salic inheritance laws
Salic law
Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
in effect, encouraged the practice of retaining control of lands and benefits. The seats of power moved in the meantime from Brunswick and Lüneburg to Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
and Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Oker river about 13 kilometres south of Brunswick. It is the seat of the District of Wolfenbüttel and of the bishop of the Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick...
as the towns asserted their independence.
History of the subordinate principalities
The subsequent history of the dukedom and its subordinate principalities was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. The subordinate states that were repeatedly created, and which had the legal status of principalities, were generally named after the residence of their rulers. The estates of the different dynastic lines could be inherited by a side line when a particular family died out. For example, over the course of the centuries there were the Old, Middle and New Houses (or Lines) of Brunswick, and the Old, Middle and New Houses of Lüneburg. The number of simultaneously reigning dynastic lines varied from two to five.Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
In 1269 the Principality of Brunswick was formed following the first division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In 1432, as a result of increasing tensions with the townsfolk of BrunswickBraunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
, the Brunswick Line moved their Residence
Residence
The term residence may refer to:* House* Home* Nursing home* Residence in English family law, pertaining to where children should live in the case of disputes* Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status of refugees, and child abduction...
to Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Oker river about 13 kilometres south of Brunswick. It is the seat of the District of Wolfenbüttel and of the bishop of the Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick...
into a water castle, which was expanded into a Schloss
Schloss
Schloss is a German word for a building similar to a château, palace or manor house; or what in the British Isles would be known as a stately home...
, whilst the town was developed into a royal seat. The name Wolfenbüttel was given to this principality. Not until 1753/1754 was the Residence moved back to Brunswick, into the newly built Brunswick Palace
Brunswick Palace
Brunswick Palace on the Bohlweg in the centre of the city of Brunswick , was the residence of the Brunswick dukes from 1753 to 8 November 1918....
. In 1814 the principality became the Duchy of Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
.
Principality of Calenberg - later Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg
In 1432 the estates gained by the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel between the DeisterDeister
The Deister is a chain of hills in the German state of Lower Saxony, about 15 mi southwest of the city of Hanover. It runs in a north-westerly direction from Springe in the south to Rodenberg in the north. The next the chain of hills that attaches in the south is called Small Deister...
and Leine split away as the Principality of Calenberg.
To the north this new state bordered on the County of Hoya near Nienburg and extended from there in a narrow, winding strip southwards up the River Leine through Wunstorf and Hanover where it reached the Principality of Wolfenbüttel. In 1495 it was expanded around Göttingen and in 1584 went back to the Wolfenbüttel Line. In 1634, as a result of inheritance distributions, it went to the House of Lüneburg, before becoming an independent principality again in 1635, when it was given to George
George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ruled as Prince of Calenberg from 1635.He was a son of William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Dorothea of Denmark . His mother was daughter to Christian III of Denmark and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg...
, younger brother of Prince Ernest II of Lüneburg, who chose Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
as his Residenz. New territory was added in 1665 in the vicinity of Grubenhagen and in 1705 around the Principality of Lüneburg. In 1692 Duke Ernest Augustus from the Calenberg Line acquired the right to be a prince-elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
as the Prince-Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Colloquially the Electorate was also known as the Electorate of Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
or as Kurhannover. In 1814 it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
.
Principality of Lüneburg
The Principality of Lüneburg emerged alongside the Principality of Brunswick in 1269 when the inheritance of the Duchy was divided. After the death of Duke George William of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1705, King George IGeorge I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
inherited the state of Lüneburg with his wife, the Duke's daughter, Sophie Dorothea, later known as the "Princess of Ahlden". It was united with the Principality of Calenberg, which had been elevated in 1692 into the Electorate
Principality of Göttingen
The southernmost principality in the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg stretched from Münden in the south down the River Weser to Holzminden. In the east it ran through Göttingen along the River Leine via Northeim to Einbeck. It emerged in 1345 as the result of a division of the Principality of Brunswick and was united in 1495 with Calenberg.Principality of Grubenhagen
From 1291 to 1596 Grubenhagen was an independent principality, its first ruler being Henry the AdmirableHenry I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Henry , Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, called the Admirable , was the first ruler of the Principality of Grubenhagen....
, son of Albert of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Albert the Tall , of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1252 to 1269 and the first ruler of the newly created Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1269 until his death.-Life:...
. The state lay ran from the northern part of the Solling hills and the River Leine near Einbeck and north of the Eichsfeld on and in the southwestern Harz. After being split in the course of the years into smaller and smaller principalities it Grubenhagen finally returned in 1596 to Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
Other branches
Other branches that did not have full sovereignty existed in the DannenbergPrincipality 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...
, Harburg
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...
, Gifhorn
Duchy of Gifhorn
The Duchy of Gifhorn with its residence at Gifhorn Castle was founded in 1539 and lasted only 10 years until the death of its ruler, Duke Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1549...
, Bevern
Brunswick-Bevern
Brunswick-Bevern is an extinct German dynasty. It is a branch of the Younger House of Brunswick, a branch of the House of Welf. Its first member was Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who received Bevern Palace as part of his inheritance in 1666...
, Osterode, Herzberg, Salzderhelden and Einbeck.
While a total of about a dozen subdivisions that existed, some were only dynastic and not recognised as states of the Empire, which at one time had over 1500 such legally recognized entities. In the List of Reichstag participants (1792), the following four subdivisions of Brunswick-Lüneburg had recognized representation:
- The Principality of LüneburgPrincipality of LüneburgThe 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...
. - The Principality of Calenberg-GöttingenPrincipality of GöttingenThe Principality of Göttingen was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire with Göttingen as its capital. It was split off from the principality of Brunswick in 1286 in the course of an estate division among members of the House of Welf...
, merged under Eric I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1495. - The Principality of Grubenhagen.
- The Principality of Brunswick-WolfenbüttelPrincipality of Brunswick-WolfenbüttelThe Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. Various dynastic lines of the House of Welf ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806...
.
By 1705 only two Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg survived, one ruling Calenberg, Lüneburg and other possessions, and the other ruling Wolfenbüttel.
From Lüneburg to Hanover
One of the dynastic lines was that of the princes of LüneburgPrincipality 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...
, who in 1635 acquired Calenberg for George
George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ruled as Prince of Calenberg from 1635.He was a son of William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Dorothea of Denmark . His mother was daughter to Christian III of Denmark and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg...
, a junior member of the family who set up residence in the city of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. His son 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....
and his brothers inherited Celle in 1648 and thereafter shared it and Calenberg between themselves; a closely related branch of the family ruled separately in Wolfenbüttel.
As a latter day development, what became the Electorate of Hanover was initially called the Elector of Brunswick-Lunenberg when the Holy Roman Emperor appointed Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lunenberg an Elector in 1696 (two years before his death) in a somewhat controversial move to increase the number of Protestant electors—thereby offending the entrenched interests of the extant prince-elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
s who would no longer be so few. As with most matters in Europe during these times, this was part of the centuries-long religious unrest accompanied by outright warfare (see Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
) triggered by the zealous advocates on either side of the Protestant 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...
and the Catholic Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
.
The territories of Calenberg and Lüneburg-Celle were made an Electorate
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
by the Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
in 1692 in expectation of the imminent inheritance of Celle by the Duke of Calenberg, though the actual dynastic union of the territories did not occur until 1705 under his son George I Louis, and the Electorate
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
was not officially approved by the Imperial Diet until 1708.
The resulting state was known under many different names (Brunswick-Lüneburg, Calenberg, Calenberg-Celle; its ruler was often known as the "Elector of Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
". Coincidentally, in 1701 the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg found himself in the line of succession for the British crown, later confirmed in 1707 by the Act of Union
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
, which he subsequently inherited, thereby creating a personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
of the two crowns on 20 October 1714.
After a little over a decade, the matter of the disputed electorate was settled upon the heir, and the new Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (acceded as duke on 23 January 1698), George I Louis was able to style himself the Elector of Brunswick and Lüneburg from 1708. It was not just happenstance but similar religious driven politics that brought about the circumstance that he was also put into the line of succession for the British crown by the Settlement Act of 1701— which was written to ensure a Protestant succession to the thrones of Scotland and England at a time when anti-Catholic sentiment ran high in much of Northern Europe and much of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. In the event, George I succeeded his second cousin Queen Anne of Great Britain
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
— the last reigning member of the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
, and subsequently formed a personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
from 1 August of 1714 between the British crown and the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (electorate of Hanover) which would last until well after the end of the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
more than a century later—including even through the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the rise of a new successor kingdom. In that manner, the "Electorate of Hanover" (the core duchy) was enlarged with the addition of other lands and became the kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
in 1814 at the peace conferences (Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
) settling the future shape of Europe in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
History of the relationship to the British crown
The first HanoverianHouse of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
King of England, George I of Great Britain
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
was the reigning Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and was finally made an official and recognized prince-elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
of the Holy Roman Empire in 1708. His possessions were enlarged in 1706 when the hereditary lands of the Calenberg branch of the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg merged with the lands of the Lüneburg-Celle branch to form the state of Hanover. Subsequently, George I was referred to as Elector of Hanover.
In 1700 and 1701, when the English Parliament had addressed the question of an orderly succession, with a particular religious bias toward a Protestant ruler, from the childless ruling Queen Anne (House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
), it passed by the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701
Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
to Sophia of Hanover
Sophia of Hanover
Sophia of the Palatinate was an heiress to the crowns of England and Ireland and later the crown of Great Britain. She was declared heiress presumptive by the Act of Settlement 1701...
, granddaughter of James I. Sophia predeceased Queen Anne by a few weeks, but her son and heir, George I, succeeded as King of Great Britain when Anne, his second cousin, died in August of 1714. Great Britain and Hanover remained united in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
until the accession of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
in 1837.
George I was followed by his son George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
and great-grandson George III. The last mentioned retained the position of elector even after the Holy Roman Empire was abolished by its last emperor in 1806. George III contested the validity of the dissolution of the Empire and maintained separate consular offices and staff for the Electorate of Hanover until the peace conferences
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
at the war's end. After the fall of Napoleon, George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
regained his lands plus lands from Prussia as King of Hanover, whilst giving up some other smaller scattered territories.
After the Congress of Vienna
After the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Calenberg-Celle and its possessions were added to by the Congress of ViennaCongress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
ending the Napoleonic war being born anew under the name of Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
(including Brunswick-Lüneburg). During the first half of the nineteenth century, the Kingdom of Hanover was ruled as personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
by the British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
crown from its creation under George III of the United Kingdom
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, the last elector of Hanover
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
until the death of William IV in 1837. At that point, the crown of Hanover went to William's younger brother, Ernest, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale
Ernest Augustus I of Hanover
Ernest Augustus I was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death. He was the fifth son and eighth child of George III, who reigned in both the United Kingdom and Hanover...
under the Salic law
Salic law
Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
s requiring the next male heir to inherit, whereas the British throne was inherited by an elder brother's only daughter, Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
.
Subsequently, the kingdom was lost in 1866 by his son George V of Hanover
George V of Hanover
George V was King of Hanover, the only child of Ernest Augustus I, and a grandchild of King George III of the United Kingdom. In the peerage of Great Britain, he was 2nd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, 2nd Earl of Armagh...
during the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
when it was annexed by Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, and became the Prussian province of Hanover.
Duchy of Brunswick
The Wolfenbüttel Line retained its independence, except from 1807 to 1813, when it and Hanover were merged into the Napoleonic Kingdom of WestphaliaKingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of 2.6 million Germans that existed from 1807-1813. It included of territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte...
. The Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
of 1815 turned it into an independent state under the name Duchy of Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
. The Duchy remained independent and joined first the North German Confederation
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation 1866–71, was a federation of 22 independent states of northern Germany. It was formed by a constitution accepted by the member states in 1867 and controlled military and foreign policy. It included the new Reichstag, a parliament elected by universal manhood...
and in 1871 then the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
.
When the main line of descent became extinct in 1885, the German Emperor withheld the rightful heir, the Crown Prince of Hanover, from taking control, instead installing a regent. Decades later, the families were reconciled by the marriage of the Crown Prince's son to the Emperor's only daughter
Princess Viktoria of Prussia
Princess Viktoria of Prussia was the second daughter of Frederick III, German Emperor and his wife Victoria, Princess Royal, a daughter of Queen Victoria...
, and the Emperor allowed his son-in-law to assume rule (his father having renounced his own right).
Dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg
The following dukes ruled the entire duchy before it was sub-divided:| Name | Rule | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Otto the Child, (1204–1252) | 1235–1252 | Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| John, (1242–1277) | 1252–1269 | Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Ruled jointly with Albert. |
| Albert the Tall, (1236–1279) | 1252–1269 | Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Ruled jointly with John. |
All the Welf lines continued to bear the title of "Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg" from the division of the dukedom in 1269 to the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. This was in addition to their actual territorial lordship e.g. as the "Prince of Lüneburg".
Chronology of Brunswick-Lüneburg
| Duchy of Saxony Duchy of Saxony The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein... 7th century - 1180 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg 1235 - 1269 | ||||
| Principality of Brunswick Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. Various dynastic lines of the House of Welf ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806... 1269 - 1291 |
Principality of Lüneburg 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... 1269 - 1705 |
|||
| Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. Various dynastic lines of the House of Welf ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806... 1291 - 1813 |
Principality of Göttingen Principality of Göttingen The Principality of Göttingen was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire with Göttingen as its capital. It was split off from the principality of Brunswick in 1286 in the course of an estate division among members of the House of Welf... 1291 - 1495 |
Principality of Grubenhagen1291 - 1617 | ~~~ | |
| ~~~ | Principality of Calenberg1432 - 1495 | ~~~ | ~~~ | ~~~ |
| ~~~ | Principality of Calenberg-Göttingen 1495 - 1692 | went to Lüneburg 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... in 1617,then to Calenberg in 1665 |
went to the Electorate in 1705 | |
| ~ | Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg 1692 - 1814 | |||
| Duchy of Brunswick Duchy of Brunswick Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815... 1814 - 1918 |
Kingdom of Hanover Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German... 1814 - 1866Province of Hanover Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946.During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, along with some other member states of the German Confederation... 1866 - 1946 |
|||
| Free State of Brunswick Free State of Brunswick The Free State of Brunswick was the republic formed after the abolition of the Duchy of Brunswick in the course of the German Revolution of 1918–19. It was a state of the German Reich in the time of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany.-History:... 1918 - 1945 |
Province of Hanover 1866 - 1946State of Hanover State of Hanover The State of Hanover was a state in Northwest Germany. It existed between the dissolution of the former State of Prussia and the foundation of Lower Saxony in 1946 and saw itself in the tradition of the Kingdom of Hanover, annexed in 1866 by Prussia, as is clear from the state emblems... 1946 |
|||
| 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... 1946–present |
||||
See also
- Electorate of HanoverElectorate of HanoverThe Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
- Duchy of BrunswickDuchy of BrunswickBrunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
- Duchy of GifhornDuchy of GifhornThe Duchy of Gifhorn with its residence at Gifhorn Castle was founded in 1539 and lasted only 10 years until the death of its ruler, Duke Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1549...
- Principality of Brunswick-WolfenbüttelPrincipality of Brunswick-WolfenbüttelThe Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. Various dynastic lines of the House of Welf ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806...
- Principality of Calenberg
- Principality of Grubenhagen
- Principality of GöttingenPrincipality of GöttingenThe Principality of Göttingen was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire with Göttingen as its capital. It was split off from the principality of Brunswick in 1286 in the course of an estate division among members of the House of Welf...
- Principality of LüneburgPrincipality of LüneburgThe 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...
- Brunswick-BevernBrunswick-BevernBrunswick-Bevern is an extinct German dynasty. It is a branch of the Younger House of Brunswick, a branch of the House of Welf. Its first member was Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who received Bevern Palace as part of his inheritance in 1666...
- House of HanoverHouse of HanoverThe House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
- House of Welf