George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (17 February 1582, in
Celle (German Georg)– 12 April 1641, in
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...
), ruled as
Prince of Calenberg from 1635. He was a member of the
House of Welf, a prominent German noble family. George was part of a cadet branch of the family known as the
Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which held territories in what is now
Lower Saxony in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
George was the sixth son of
William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1535–1592) and
Dorothea of Denmark (1546–1617). His mother was the daughter to King
Christian III of Denmark and
Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. She acted as a regent during the early years of his reign, keeping power from the Councillors who had mismanaged the estates during his father's fits of insanity.
In the 1635 re-division of the territories of the
House of Welf, after the death of
Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, he received the
Principality of Calenberg, which included the former
Principality of Göttingen, since 1495, while his elder brother,
Augustus the Elder, retained the
Principality of Lüneburg. George was the first duke to move his residence to
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 ...
, where he built the
Leineschloss as his residence in 1636, a palace situated by the river
Leine. After his death, he was succeeded by his son,
Christian Louis.
Children
George married
Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of
Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and
Magdalene of Brandenburg, in 1617. They had the following known children:
*
Christian Louis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1622–1665),
Prince of Calenberg from 1641-1648, and
Prince of Lüneburg from 1648-1665.
*
George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1624–1705), Prince of Calenberg from 1648-1665, and Prince of Lüneburg from 1665-1705. He was the father of
Sophia Dorothea of Celle, wife of the future King
George I of Great Britain.
*
John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1625–1679), Prince of Calenberg from 1665-1679.
*
Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1628–1685), who married King
Frederick III of Denmark.
*
Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover (1629–1698), Prince of Calenberg from 1679-1698, husband of
Electress Sophia, and father of King George I of Great Britain.
Descendants
See
List of members of the House of Hanover.
Popular culture
He is a character in the
Eric Flint series of science fiction novels, ''
The Ring of Fire'' as the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a moderate conservative member of the Crown Loyalist faction, and commander of a division in the Army of the United States of Europe.
External links
References
*
At the House of Welf site
{{DEFAULTSORT:George of Brunswick-Luneburg, Duke
1582 births
1641 deaths
New House of Lüneburg
Princes of Calenberg
People from Celle
Protestant monarchs
People of the Kalmar War
People from the Holy Roman Empire