Georg Wilhelm (Braunschweig-Lüneburg)

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Georg Wilhelm von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (around 1690)
Duke Georg Wilhelm of Braunschweig-Lüneburg
Georg Wilhelm's coat of arms in the courtyard of Celle Castle
Death thaler Georg Wilhelm 1705: bust / biographical data in 11 lines (Welter 1586) Death thaler Georg Wilhelm 1705: bust / biographical data in 11 lines (Welter 1586)
Death thaler Georg Wilhelm 1705: bust / biographical data in 11 lines ( Welter 1586)

Georg Wilhelm , Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (born January 26, 1624 in Herzberg Castle in the Harz Mountains; † August 28, 1705 in his hunting lodge in Wienhausen near Celle) was Prince of the Principality of Calenberg from 1648 to 1665 and ruler from 1665 until his death Prince of the Principality of Lüneburg .

Life

Georg Wilhelm was born as the second son of Duke Georg of Braunschweig and Lüneburg-Calenberg (1582–1641). He studied in Utrecht and made extensive trips, especially to Venice .

After his father's death in 1641, the eldest son Christian Ludwig succeeded him as regent in the Principality of Calenberg , where the Lüneburg line of the Guelphs had assumed rule with the father in 1636. When Uncle Friedrich , Prince of Lüneburg, died in 1648, Christian Ludwig took over the rule there and left the Principality of Calenberg with the residence in Hanover to his brother Georg Wilhelm . Georg Wilhelm ruled there from 1648 to 1665. After Christian Ludwig's death in 1665, he took over the principality of Lüneburg, while he passed Calenberg on to the next younger brother, Johann Friedrich , who had initially seized Lüneburg. Under imperial law, the partial principalities all remained part of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the changing internal divisions of the Welfenhaus did not affect the undivided imperial fiefdom as such.

Several buildings in the city of Hanover and improvements to the city fortifications go back to Georg Wilhelm. In 1652 he also had the kitchen garden laid out in Linden near Hanover. In 1656 he got engaged at the urging of the estates, the chosen one was Sophie von der Pfalz (* 1630, later Electress of Hanover), whom he and his youngest brother Ernst August (* 1629) met on a trip to Heidelberg in autumn 1656. Then, like every winter, the brothers went to the Venice Carnival . After his return, however, Georg Wilhelm postponed the planned wedding indefinitely, much to the annoyance of Sophie and her brother, Elector Karl Ludwig von der Pfalz . The reason was that Georg Wilhelm had contracted a venereal infection on his bachelor party in Venice. By persuading his brother Ernst August to take the bride in his place, he tried to save the honor of the house. At the same time, Georg Wilhelm made a promise to renounce his marriage, so that the Principality of Lüneburg would later fall to Ernst August and that this would become a match for the princess. Ernst August was elected Protestant Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück in 1662 and, after the death of Johann Friedrich, took over the rule in the Principality of Calenberg in 1692, which was upgraded to an electorate in 1692.

Since 1665 Georg Wilhelm lived as "Heideherzog" at Celle Castle , which he had further expanded. In the Swedish-Brandenburg War he took part in the campaign against Bremen-Verden from 1675 to 1676 as commander-in-chief on the Allied side against the Swedes.

In 1676, contrary to his promise to renounce his marriage, he married Eleonore d'Olbreuse (1639–1722), a Huguenot of the lower nobility. Under the influence of his wife, he issued an edict on August 7, 1684, which promised the expected Reformed religious refugees from France in the Principality of Lüneburg acceptance and promotion. The Celler Hof thus became a large Huguenot colony, whose members, mostly from Poitou , quickly rose to management positions at the court.

The couple had a daughter, Sophie Dorothea (1666–1726). She became known as the "Princess of Ahlden ". In 1682 she was married to her cousin Georg Ludwig against her will , so that after Georg Wilhelm's death the Principality of Lüneburg could be united with the Principality of Hanover.

Georg Wilhelm was buried in the royal crypt in the town church of St. Mary in Celle.

Illegitimate descendants

The Duke had a son in Venice, the Greek Zenobia Bucconlini (Zendria Buccoloni). This was educated in Venice and as Lucas von Bucco (w) († 1727) colonel of a dragoon regiment. He was married to the daughter of head chef Barro . His son Georg Wilhelm von Bucco († July 6, 1740, buried in the Nikolai Church in Höxter ) had been married to a daughter of the Brigadier Croix de Frechapelle since 1704 . His son Adolf Nikolaus († May 8, 1764) became governor of Transylvania.

Catafalk for Duke Georg Wilhelm, 1705, in the Celle town church

literature

Web links

Commons : George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dirk von der Cruysse, Madame sein ist ein ellendes Handwerck, Liselotte von der Pfalz , 14th edition 2015, p. 57ff.
  2. ^ Renate du Vinage: An excellent woman. The fate of Eleonore d'Olbreuse, the last Duchess of Braunschweig-Lüneburg-Celle . 2nd Edition. Otto Meissners, Berlin 2010, pp. 41, 43
  3. ↑ Andreas Flick: The Celler Hof is completely lost - Huguenots and French Catholics at the court and in the military, Duke Georg Wilhelms of Braunschweig-Lüneburg In: Huguenots Volume 72 No. 3/2008 (digital copy ) (PDF; 2.3 MB)
  4. ↑ NN : The princely crypt and the grave slabs of the dukes of Braunschweig-Lüneburg in the city church of St. Marien Celle. Illustrated leaflet with photos by Dietrich Klatt, Friedrich Kremzow and Ralf Pfeiffer , designed in A5 format (4 pages) by Heide Kremzow, after: Dietrich Klatt: Kleiner Kunstführer Schnell & Steiner No. 1986. 2008.
  5. ^ Knerger.de: The grave of Georg Wilhelm
predecessor Office successor
Christian Ludwig Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg,
Prince of Calenberg
1648–1665 		Johann Friedrich
Johann Friedrich Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg,
Prince of Lüneburg
1665–1705 		---
personal data
SURNAME Georg Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince of the Principality of Calenberg and Prince of Lüneburg
DATE OF BIRTH January 26, 1624
PLACE OF BIRTH Herzberg (Harz)
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 1705
Place of death Wienhausen , Celle