The Duchy of Gifhorn (german: Herzogtum Gifhorn) with its residence at

Gifhorn Castle Gifhorn Castle (german: Schloss Gifhorn) is a castle in Gifhorn, Germany, built between 1525 and 1581 in the Weser Renaissance style. The castle was fortified until 1790 with moats, ramparts and bastions and was never captured. In the 16th century ...

was founded in 1539 and lasted only 10 years until the death of its ruler,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural ...

in 1549. It consisted of the '' Ämter'' of

Gifhorn Gifhorn () is a town and capital of the district of Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the more industrial and commercially important cities nearby, ...

Fallersleben Fallersleben is a part (''Ortsteil'') of the City of Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, with a population of 11,269 (as of 2010). The village of Fallersleben was first mentioned in 942 under the name of ''Valareslebo''. Fallersleben became a city ...

and

Isenhagen Abbey Isenhagen Abbey (german: Kloster Isenhagen) is a convent in Hankensbüttel in the district of Gifhorn in the German state of Lower Saxony. It was a nunnery founded by the Cistercian order but is now a Lutheran women's convent. It is managed by ...

Foundation

The

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...

was founded when Duke Francis of Brunswick-Lüneburg returned in 1536 after many years at the court of the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

. He demanded from his older brother, Duke Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg (known as ''the Confessor'' due to his espousal of Lutheran doctrine), to have his own duchy as an inheritance and pressed for a division of the state. Because his demands for the entire eastern half of the dukedom were unacceptable, not least due to the serious debt carried by the state, he was given the ''Ämter'' of Gifhorn, Fallersleben and Isenhagen Abbey, near

Hankensbüttel Hankensbüttel is a municipality in the Samtgemeinde Hankensbüttel in the district of Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Uelzen, and 30 km north of Gifhorn. The Municipality Hankensbüttel inclu ...

, in 1539. Although Francis tried to achieve full sovereignty for his domain, considerable

regalia Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereign ...

remained with the ducal house in Celle. For example, Celle was responsible for the foreign policy issues and the Gifhorn nobility remained part of the Lüneburg estate.

Expansion

The Duchy of Gifhorn was a small, easily managed lordship, in which Duke Francis could indulge freely in his noble image of himself and attend to his princely representational duties. He had been impressed by such a lifestyle during his many years at the court of the Saxon Elector in Wittenberg. In 1525 he started to expand

into his royal

Residenz Residenz () is a German word for "place of living", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, Residenzstadt, denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore carrying a similar meaning as the modern ...

. Courtly life was characterised by the ostentation of great princely courts; he served food and drink in expensive Venetian glasses, arranged knightly

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

s and royal hunts, employed a

court jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

and a court chancellor (''Hofkanzler''). At the same time he built Fallersleben Castle as his rural estate.

End

His marriage in 1547 to Clara of Saxe-Lauenburg at

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 ...

only lasted three years because the duke died at the age of 41 from a wound infection. He was interred in the chapel at Gifhorn Castle, where there is still a carved tomb figure on his

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

. His wife, the Duchess Clara, was given Fallersleben Castle as her dowager home as compensation. Because Duke Francis left no male heir, the Duchy of Gifhorn went back to 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 ...

External links

Text and picture of Duke Francis on the House of Welf website
{{coord missing, Lower Saxony

Gifhorn (district) 1539 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 16th century in the Holy Roman Empire