List of the rulers of the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel

Ducatus Brunsvicensis, 1645

The Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel was a part of the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg , whose history was characterized by numerous divisions and reunions. Various sub-dynasties of the Guelphs ruled Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in 1806. The successor state of the Duchy of Braunschweig was established by the Congress of Vienna in 1814 . The following list contains all the ruling princes of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. Not only the ruling princes but also all princes carried the title of Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg.

Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Portrait	Surname	Reign	Remarks
	Albrecht I (1236-1279)	1267-1279	Founded the old house in Braunschweig
	Heinrich I the Whimsical , Albrecht II the Fat and Wilhelm I.	1279-1291	Common rule of the three sons of Albert I .
In 1291, as a solution to the dispute between the brothers, another division of the estate takes place: Heinrich receives the principality of Grubenhagen ; Albrecht takes over the Principality of Göttingen and Wilhelm receives the areas around Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. When Wilhelm died in 1292, a dispute broke out about his inheritance, from which Heinrich finally withdrew to Grubenhagen, so that Albrecht fell to rule in Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.
Portrait	Surname	Reign	Remarks
	Wilhelm I.	1291-1292
	Albrecht II the Fat (1268-1318)	1292-1318
	Otto the Mild , Ernst and Magnus	1318-1344	After Albrecht's death, his sons split the government. After Otto died childless in 1344, the two brothers Ernst and Magnus shared the inheritance: Ernst got the land of Oberwald with Göttingen while Magnus the Pious took over the rule in Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel.
	Magnus I the Pious (1304-1369)	1344-1369
	Magnus II (Torquatus)	1369-1373	Under him the War of the Lüneburg Succession began from 1370 to 1388; it was continued by his sons Friedrich and Bernhard .
	Friedrich	1373-1400	After the murder of Friedrich bei Fritzlar in 1400, Bernhard and Heinrich joined forces
	Henry I the Meek († 1416)	1400-1409	He founded the Middle House in Braunschweig, which was initially shared by his nephews Wilhelm I and Heinrich.
	Bernhard	1400-1428	He inherits Lüneburg and establishes the House of Hanover.
	Wilhelm I († 1482)	1428-1432 and 1473-1482
	Heinrich II. († 1473)	1428-1473
	Wilhelm II. († 1503)	1482-1491
	Heinrich I the Elder (1463–1514), the Peaceful	1491-1514	Buried in Wolfenbüttel
	Henry II the Younger (1489–1568)	1514-1568	Under him the medieval castle was converted into a palace; he is a passionate opponent of the Lutherans , and the soul of the Catholic Alliance directed against the Schmalkaldic League ; the disinheritance of his third son could not be enforced.
	Julius (1528–1589)	1568-1589	A major builder in the city who turned the fortress into the first planned Renaissance city complex; he founded the library in 1572, the current name of which goes back to its most important collector, Duke August the Younger; He also founded the University in Helmstedt in 1576 and built Hesse Castle ; he had the bastions from the beginning of the 16th century reinforced to form a fortress; acquired Calenberg-Göttingen and Diepholz ; Julius was a Protestant .
	Heinrich Julius (1564-1613)	1589-1613	It was the time of Wolfenbüttel's cultural heyday; Heinrich Julius was bishop of Halberstadt , rector of the University of Helmstedt , president of the court, alchemist, hunter and writer
	Friedrich Ulrich (1591–1634)	1613-1634
The Wolfenbüttler line of the middle house in Braunschweig died out in 1634. Transition to the older branch of the House of Lüneburg (Neues Haus Braunschweig)
	August the Younger (1579–1666)	1635-1666	In 1643 he moved into the Wolfenbüttel residence and founded a baroque theater and the Bibliotheca Augusta .
	Rudolf August (1627–1704)	1666-1704	According to reports from 1677, he struck a path through the Lechlumer Holz, the "Alten Weg", the later "Barockstraße" between the pleasure palace Antoinettenruh , over the Barockschlösschen [later Sternhaus] to the Großer Weghaus Stöckheim ; In 1671 he conquered the city and fortress of Braunschweig.
	Anton Ulrich (1633-1714)	1685-1714	Anton Ulrich was a politician, art lover and poet; Founder of the museum in Braunschweig named after him; he had Salzdahlum Castle built.
	August Wilhelm (1662–1731)	1714-1731
	Ludwig Rudolph (1671–1735)	1731-1735
The Wolfenbüttel line is dying out; Transition to the Braunschweig-Bevern branch line
	Ferdinand Albrecht II (1680–1735)	1735
	Charles I (1713–1780)	1735-1780	Founding of the Collegium Carolinum in Braunschweig, the Fürstenberg porcelain factory , the fire fund; In 1753 the residence was relocated to Braunschweig.
	Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand (1735–1806)	1780-1806	He was the leader of the Prussian army; dies after the battle of Jena; Since his son, the Hereditary Prince, died early, but two other sons were unable to govern, his youngest son was affected.
	Friedrich Wilhelm (1771-1815)	1806-1807	Duke of Oels / Silesia , the "Black Duke"; When the Austro-French War broke out in 1809 in Bohemia, recruited a free corps , the " Black Crowd ", and made their way via Braunschweig to the North Sea and then on to Great Britain .
		1807-1813	occupied by the French ( Kingdom of Westphalia )
1814 re-establishment as: Duchy of Braunschweig

literature

• Wilhelm Havemann : History of the Lands Braunschweig and Lüneburg. 3 volumes. Emphasis. Hirschheydt, Hannover 1974/75, ISBN 3-7777-0843-7 (original edition: Verlag der Dietrich'schen Buchhandlung, Göttingen 1853-1857, books.google.de ).
• Hans Patze (term): History of Lower Saxony. 7 volumes. Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hanover 1977– (= publications of the Historical Commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen. 36) - ( volume overview ).
• Gudrun Pischke: The divisions of the Guelphs in the Middle Ages. Lax, Hildesheim 1987, ISBN 3-7848-3654-2 .