Rudolph Augustus (16 May 1627 – 26 January 1704), 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 ...

, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruled as

Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

from 1666 until his death. In 1685 he made his younger brother Anthony Ulrich co-ruler.

Life

He was born in

Hitzacker Hitzacker is a town in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Elbe, approx. 8 km north of Dannenberg, and 45 km east of Lüneburg. The 2007 population of Hitzacker was 4,982, and its po ...

, then the residence of his father Duke Augustus the Younger of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his second wife Princess Dorothea of Anhalt-Zerbst. His father assumed the rule in the

Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel () was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. It had an area of 3,828 square kilometres in the mid 17th century. Va ...

, after his Welf cousin Duke Frederick Ulrich had died childless in 1634. Rudolph Augustus succeeded his father as ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1666. More interested in his studies and hunting, he soon after appointed his politically astute younger brother Anthony Ulrich governor. In 1671 both besieged and finally occupied the city of

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

, ending about 250 years of local autonomy. During his reign, Rudolph Augustus concentrated on the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

expansion of his ducal residence, including the ''Alter Weg'' ("Old Way"), a road connecting the cities of Brunswick and

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

. He died in 1704 at the Hedwigsburg hunting lodge.

Marriage and issue

In 1650 Rudolph Augustus married Christine Elizabeth (1634–1681), daughter of Count Albert Frederick of Barby and Mühlingen. They had three daughters: * Dorothea Sophia (2 April 1653 – 21 March 1722), married Duke John Adolphus of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön * Christine Sophia (2 April 1654 – 26 April 1695), married her cousin Duke Augustus William of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the son of Duke Anthony Ulrich who succeeded his father as Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1714. * Eleonore Sophia (26 November 1655– 29 September 1656), died in infancy. Upon the death of his first wife, Rudolph Augustus entered into a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

with Rosine Elisabeth Menthe (1663–1701), which remained childless.

Ancestry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg 1627 births 1704 deaths People from Hitzacker Princes of Wolfenbüttel New House of Brunswick Burials at Brunswick Cathedral