Christian Louis (; 25 February 1622 – 15 March 1665) was
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
. A member of the
House of Welf
The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...
, from 1641 until 1648, he ruled the
Principality of Calenberg
The Principality of Calenberg was a dynastic division of the House of Welf, Welf Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg established in 1432. Calenberg was ruled by the House of Hanover (from the Principality of Lüneburg) from 1635 onwards; the princes re ...
, a subdivision of the duchy, and, from 1648 until his death, the
Principality of Lüneburg
The Principality of Lüneburg (later also referred to as Celle) was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory ...
.
Early life and marriage
Christian Louis was born in
Herzberg am Harz
Herzberg am Harz (Esperanto: ) is a town in the Göttingen (district), Göttingen district of Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
Herzberg is situated on the southwestern rim of the Harz mountain range and the Harz National Park. Natural monument ...
on 25 February 1622. In 1641, he inherited the Principality of Calenberg from his father, Duke
George of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who had suddenly died. Like his father, he resided at the
Leineschloss in
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
.
When in 1648, he also inherited the Principality of Lüneburg from his uncle,
Frederick IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, both subdivisions were ruled in personal union. However, Christian Louis gave Calenberg to his younger brother
George William, and instead ruled the larger territory of Lüneburg at
Celle Castle.
In 1642, Christian Louis became a member of the
Fruitbearing Society
The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''Societas Fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it ...
. He married
Sophia Dorothea, daughter of Duke Philipp of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, on 9 October 1653.
Death
He died childless at
Celle on 15 March 1665 and was succeeded by his brother George William, who, on this occasion, gave the Calenberg territory to his younger brother
John Frederick. Both territories finally merged after George William's death in 1705 to the
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Hanover ( or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an Prince-elector, electorate of the Holy Roman Empire located in northwestern Germany that arose from the Principality of Calenberg. Although formally known as the Electorate of Brun ...
under John Frederick's nephew
George I Louis, Prince of Calenberg. Christian Louis' widow remarried and became Electress of Brandenburg as the second wife of the
Great Elector.
Ancestry
See also
*
List of the rulers of Lüneburg
References
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 4, p. 163-164
1622 births
1665 deaths
People from Herzberg am Harz
People from Grubenhagen
New House of Lüneburg
17th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire
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