Augustus of Saxe-Lauenburg (

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtum Lau ...

, 17 February 1577 – 18 January 1656, Lauenburg upon Elbe) was Duke of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a '' reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme so ...

between 1619 and 1656. He was a son of Duke Francis II and his first wife Margaret of Pomerania-Wolgast, daughter of

Philip I, Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast Philip I of Pomerania (14 May 1515, in Stettin – 14 February 1560, in Wolgast) was Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast. Life Philip was the only surviving son of Duke George, from his first marriage to Amalie of the Palatinate. After his mother died, ...

. Since Augustus survived all his sons he was succeeded by his half-brother Julius Henry. On his ascension Augustus moved Saxe-Lauenburg's capital from Neuhaus, whereto Francis II had moved it after the residential castle in Lauenburg upon Elbe (started in 1180–1182 by

Bernhard, Count of Anhalt Bernhard ( – 2 February 1212), a member of the House of Ascania, was Count of Anhalt and Ballenstedt, and Lord of Bernburg through his paternal inheritance. From 1180 he was also Duke of Saxony (as Bernhard III or Bernhard I). Life Early year ...

) had burnt down in 1616, towards Ratzeburg, where it remained since. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

Augustus always remained neutral, however,

billeting A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...

and alimenting foreign troops marching through posed a heavy burden onto the ducal subjects.Cordula Bornefeld, "Die Herzöge von Sachsen-Lauenburg", in: ''Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg''

e slevigske hertuger; German E, or e, is the fifth Letter (alphabet), letter and the second vowel#Written vowels, vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worl ...

Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (ed.) on behalf of the Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, Neumünster: Wachholtz, 2008, pp. 373-389, here p. 382.

Marriages and issue

Augustus married twice. On 5 March 1621 he married in

Husum Husum (, frr, Hüsem) is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home of ...

Elisabeth Sofie of Holstein-Gottorp (12 December 1599 – 25 November 1627), daughter of

John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Johann Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (27 February 1575 – 31 March 1616) was a Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. Life He was a third son of Duke Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp and his wife Christine of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). He became the first Luthe ...

. On 4 June 1633 he married, as his second wife, Catherine of Oldenburg (20 September 1582 – 29 February 1644), daughter of

John VII, Count of Oldenburg Count John VII of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (nicknamed "the Dike Builder"; 9 September 1540 in Oldenburg – 12 November 1603 in Oldenburg) was a member of the House of Oldenburg and was the ruling Count of County of Oldenburg from 1573 until his d ...

. This marriage remained without children. His children with Elisabeth Sophia of Holstein-Gottorp were the following: * Francis Augustus (4 July 1623 – 19 April 1625) * Sophia Margaretha (Ratzeburg, 6 August 1622 – 6 March 1637) * Anna Elisabeth (23 August 1624 – 27 May 1688, Philippseck Castle in today's

Butzbach Butzbach () is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hessen, Germany. It is located approximately 16 km south of Gießen and 35 km north of Frankfurt am Main. In 2007, the town hosted the 47th Hessentag state festival from 1 to 10 June ...

), married on 2 April 1665 in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, divorced in 1672,

William Christoph, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg William Christoph of Hesse-Homburg (13 November 1625, Ober-Rosbach – 27 August 1681, then in Bingenheim, now in Echzell) was the second Landgraf of Hesse-Homburg (then known as "Landgraf of Bingenheim") during 1648–1669. He was the third ( ...

* Sibylle Hedwig (30 July 1625 – 1 August 1703, Ratzeburg), married in 1654 her half-cousin

Francis Erdmann, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg Francis Erdmann of Saxe-Lauenburg ( Theusing, 25 February 1629 – 30 July 1666, Schwarzenbek), was duke of Saxe-Lauenburg between 1665 and 1666. He was the eldest son of Duke Julius Henry and his second wife Elisabeth Sophia of Brandenburg, dau ...

* John Adolphus (22 October 1626 – 23 April 1646, Ratzeburg) * Philip Frederick (11 November 1627 – 16 November 1627)

Notes

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Augustus, Duke Of Saxe-Lauenburg 1577 births 1656 deaths People from Ratzeburg Dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg House of Ascania