Saxe-Lauenburg
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The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (German: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg), also known as the Duchy of Lauenburg, was a Reichsfrei duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and 1814–1876 in the extreme southeast region of Schleswig-Holstein. Its territorial center was in the modern district of Herzogtum Lauenburg and its name-giving capital was Lauenburg upon Elbe. From 1619 on Ratzeburg used to be the capital.
In addition to the core territories around the town of Lauenburg/Elbe, at times other territoriessouth of the river Elbe belonged to the duchy, such as the Land Hadeln (in 1731 ceded to Bremen-Verden) in the area of the Elbe estuary and the Amt Neuhaus in the district of Lüneburg.
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[edit] History
The duchy was established by partitioning of the Duchy of Saxony into the duchies of Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg. The residences of its dukes were located in the towns of Ratzeburg and Lauenburg/Elbe. The dukes of Lauenburg and Wittenberg each claimed the electoral dignity of the Duchy of Saxony; the Golden Bull of 1356 conclusively named the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg as electors.
With the extinction of the Ascanian dukes in 1689, Saxe-Lauenburg passed to the House of Welf and the House of Hanover. The duchy was occupied by French troops from 1803–05, after which it passed to the Kingdom of Prussia. With the defeat of Prussia in the Fourth Coalition, Lauenburg was integrated into the Kingdom of Westphalia, a French client state. In 1810 the former duchy was annexed into the First French Empire. The Congress of Vienna reestablished Saxe-Lauenburg as a duchy ruled in personal union by the Danish House of Oldenburg and a member state of the German Confederation. Prussia ruled the duchy through a personal union in 1864 after the Second Schleswig War. In 1871 Saxe-Lauenburg was one of the component states founding united Germany. However, in 1876 the ducal government and the estates decided to dissolved the Duchy. Its territory was then integrated into the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein as the district Herzogtum Lauenburg.
[edit] Dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg
[edit] House of Ascania (1260–1689)
- John I, 1260–85, ruling jointly with his brother Albert III of Saxe-Wittenberg until 1272
John was succeeded by his three sons, who at first ruled jointly from 1296–1305:
In 1305, the brothers divided their inheritance between them, creating the Bergedorf-Mölln and Ratzeburg-Lauenburg lines.
[edit] Bergedorf-Mölln line
- John II, 1285–1321.
- Albrecht IV, 1321–43.
- John III, 1343–56.
- Albrecht V, 1356–70.
- Erich III, 1370–1401.
In 1401, the elder branch became extinct and Lauenburg rejoined the Ratzeburg-Lauenburg line.
[edit] Ratzeburg-Lauenburg line
- Albrecht III, 1285–1308 (joint rule).
- Erich I, 1305–61 (joint rule until 1308).
- Erich II, 1361–68.
- Erich IV, 1368–1412.
In 1401, the younger branch inherited Lauenburg and other possessions of the extinct elder Bergedorf-Mölln line.
- Erich V, 1412–36 (joint rule until 1414).
- John IV, 1412–36 (joint rule)
- Bernhard III, 1436–63.
- John V, 1463–1507.
- Magnus I, 1507–43.
- Franz I, 1543–81.
- Magnus II, 1581-1603.
- Franz II, 1603–19.
- August, 1619–56.
- Julius Heinrich, 1656–65.
- Franz Erdmann, 1665–66.
- Julius Franz, 1666–89.
[edit] House of Welf (1689–1803)
[edit] House of Brunswick–Celle (1689–1705)
- Georg Wilhelm, 1689–1705, also Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and, thus, Elector of
Hanover.
[edit] House of Hanover (1705–1803)
- Georg I Ludwig, 1705–27, also Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Elector of Hanover; also
King of Great Britain from 1714. - Georg II, 1727–60; also King of Great Britain, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Elector of Hanover.
- Georg III, 1760–1803; also King of Great Britain, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Elector of Hanover (becoming King of Hanover after the Congress of Vienna).
[edit] Napoleonic Wars (1803–14)
- to the
First French Republic, 1803–04. - to the First French Empire, 1804–05.
- to the
Kingdom of Prussia, 1805–07. - to the
Kingdom of Westphalia, 1807–10. - to the First French Empire, 1810–14.
[edit] House of Oldenburg (1814–64)
For fifty years, from 1814, Saxe-Lauenburg was in personal union with the 
Kingdom of Denmark, within the 
German Confederation:
- Friedrich I, 1814–39; also King of Denmark (1808–39, as Frederick VI) and Duke of
Schleswig-Holstein; previously King of 
Norway (1808–14) and Regent of 
Denmark-Norway from 1784. - Christian I, 1839–48; also King of Denmark (as Christian VIII) and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein; previously King of Norway (1814, as Christian Frederick).
- Friedrich II, 1848–63; also King of Denmark (as Frederick VII) and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein.
- Christian II, 1863–64; also King of Denmark (1863–1906, as Christian IX) and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein.
[edit] House of Hohenzollern (1864–76)
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- in personal union with Prussia Prussia 1864–76, within the
North German Confederation (1867–71). In 1871 Saxe-Lauenburg became a component state of united Germany (German Empire).
- in personal union with
- William I of Prussia, King of Prussia (1861–88), President of the North German Confederation (1867–71) and German Emperor (1871–88).
[edit] Dependent rule (1876-today)
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- In 1876 the Duchy gave up statehood and was transformed into the
District of the Duchy of Lauenburg within Schleswig-Holstein, a province of the /
Kingdom of Prussia (1866-1918) and then of the 
Free State of Prussia (1918-1933/1947), a component state of the respective government forms of Germany. In 1946 the province assumed the rank of statehood as 
State (Land) of Schleswig-Holstein and joined the 
Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. - In 1890, Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismark was awarded the honorific title of Duke of Lauenberg, but he was never sovereign ruler of the territory, which had been incorporated into Prussia in 1876.
- In 1876 the Duchy gave up statehood and was transformed into the
[edit] External links
- Historical map of Schleswig Holstein in 1730
- Historical map of Lower Saxony in 1789
- Historical atlas of Saxe-Lauenburg
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