Brunswick-Lüneburg

Brunswick-Lüneburg was a historical state within the Holy Roman Empire. As the name implies, the main cities of this state were Brunswick and Lüneburg.

Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg

The state emerged from the inheritance of the first Saxon state of Henry the Lion in the late 12th century. Henry was deposed by the Emperor as Duke of Saxony, but retained various Lower Saxon lands which were inherited by his children as the Duchies of Brunswick and Lüneburg.

Related Topics:
Saxon - Henry the Lion

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The first duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was Otto the Child, who reigned from 1235 on. After 1267 the duchy was split into two partial states, the lines of Lüneburg and of Wolfenbüttel (which later became a multitude of partial states), but all of them were ruled by the Welfen dynasty and maintained close relations. The centres of power moved in the meantime from Brunswick and Lüneburg to Celle and Wolfenbüttel.

Related Topics:
Otto the Child - 1235 - 1267 - Lüneburg - Wolfenbüttel - Welfen - Celle

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While there is a total of about a dozen subdivisions that existed, some of them were only dynastic and were not recognized as states of the Empire. In the List of Reichstag participants (1792), the following four subdivisions of Brunswick-Lüneburg are represented:

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• Calenberg
• Grubenhagen
• Lüneburg
• Wolfenbüttel

From 1705 on, all lines except Wolfenbüttel were held by Calenberg. After the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Calenberg and its possessions continued to exist under the name of Hanover; Wolfenbüttel continued to exist under the name of Brunswick.

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