List of the rulers of the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
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 .