Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in
Germany, established as a
duchy by the
Congress of Vienna in 1815. Its capital was
Wolfenbüttel. From 1918 to 1946 it was a
"free" or "republican" state (Freistaat).
Principality of Wolfenbüttel was recognized as a sovereign state by the congress in 1815. It had been a portion of the medieval Duchy of
Brunswick-Lüneburg. From
1705 onward, all other portions of Brunswick-Lüneburg except Wolfenbüttel had been held by
Calenberg (Hanoverian) line of the House of Welf, i.e the
Elector of Hanover, as the Wolfenbüttel line retained its independence from
Hanover.
The Wolfenbüttel principality had for the period from
1807 to
1813 been held as part of the
Kingdom of Westphalia. The
Congress of Vienna of
1815 turned it into an independent country under the name
Duchy of Brunswick, with Wolfenbüttel as its capital.
The underage Duke Charles, the eldest son of Duke
Frederick William (who had fallen in battle), was put under the guardianship of
George IV, the Prince Regent of the United Kingdom and Hanover.
First the young duke had dispute over the date of his majority. Then, in
1827, Charles declared some of the laws made during his minority invalid, which caused conflicts. After the
German Confederation intervened, Charles was forced to accept those laws. His administration was considered corrupt and misguided.
In the aftermath of the
July Revolution in 1830, Charles finally had to abdicate. The palace in Brunswick was completely destroyed.
When Charles' brother
William VIII, arrived in Brunswick on
10 September, he was received joyfully by the people. William orginally considered himself only his brother's regent, but after a year declared himself ruling duke. Charles made several desperate attempts, unsuccessfully, to depose his brother.
William left most government business to his ministers, and spent most of his time outside of his state at his possessions in
Oels.
While William joined the Prussian-led
North German Confederation in
1866, his relationship to Prussia was strained, since Prussia refused to recognize
Ernest Augustus II of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland, his nearest male-line relative, as his heir.
While the kingdom of
Hanover was annexed by
Prussia in
1866, the Duchy of Brunswick remained sovereign and independent. It joined first the
North German Confederation and in
1871 the
German Empire.
In 1870s at latest it became obvious that the then senior branch of the House of Welf (dukes of Brunswick) would go extinct. By house law, the House of Hanover would have ascended the ducal throne, but there was strong Prussian pressure against having
George V of Hanover or his son, the Duke of Cumberland, succeed to a member state of the German Empire, at least without severe conditions, including swearing allegiance to the German constitution.
By a law of 1879, the Duchy of Brunswick established a temporary council of regency to take over at the Duke's death, and if necessary appoint a regent. With the 1884 death of
Duke William, the Wolfenbüttel line came to an end.
The duchy would have passed on to the Hanover line, but since the Hanoverians refused to accept the Prussian annexation of their kingdom, they were not allowed to accede to rule in Brunswick. A constitutional crisis ensued in Brunswick. The Duke of Cumberland proclaimed himself Duke of Brunswick at the Duke's death, and lengthy negotiations ensued, but were never resolved.
Two regents were appointed:
Prince Albert of Prussia until his death in 1906, and
Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg.
This situation lasted until the accession of
Ernest Augustus, the son of the Duke of Cumberland, in
1913. The duchy was governed by regents until in
1913, when the Hanover line was reconciled with the
Hohenzollern dynasty and renounced its rights to the Kingdom of Hanover. The Duke of Cumberland's eldest son having died in 1912, the elderly Duke renounced Brunswick in favor of his youngest son who married the Kaiser's daughter, swore allegiance to the German Empire, and was allowed to ascend the throne of the duchy on November 1913.
In
1918 the Duke had to abdicate and the
Free State of Brunswick was founded as a member state of the
Weimar Republic.
In
1946, the Free State of Brunswick was made a part of the newly founded state (
Land) of
Lower Saxony. Some small parts (mainly around
Blankenburg am Harz) were joined to
Saxony-Anhalt. Inside Lower Saxony, Brunswick continued to exist for some time as the Administrative Region of
Brunswick. Brunswick had an area of 3,690 km² and 580,000 inhabitants (1939).
Dukes of Brunswick, House of Welf, Younger House of Brunswick, restored
#
1813â€"
1815:
Frederick William in Wolfenbüttel#
1815â€"
1830:
Charles II#
1830â€"
1884:
William VIIIImperial regents
#
1885â€"
1906:
Albert, Prince of Prussia, regent#
1907â€"
1913:
John Albert, Duke of Mecklenburg, regent
Dukes of Brunswick, House of Welf, House of Hanover
#
1913â€"
1918:
Ernest AugustusChairmen of the Council of People's Commissioners of the Republic of Brunswick, 1918-1919
#
1918â€"
1919:
Sepp Oerter (
USPD)#
1919â€"
1920:
Heinrich Jasper (
SPD)
Minister presidents of the Republic of Brunswick, 1919-1946
#
1919â€"
1920: Heinrich Jasper (SPD)#
1920â€"
1921: Sepp Oerter (USPD)#
1921â€"
1922:
August Junke (SPD)#
1922:
Otto Antrick (SPD)#
1922: Heinrich Jasper (SPD)#
1924â€"
1927:
Gerhard Marquordt (
DVP)#
1927â€"
1930: Heinrich Jasper (SPD)#
1930â€"
1933:
Werner Küchenthal (
DNVP)#
1933â€"
1945:
Dietrich Klagges (
NSDAP)#
1945â€"
1946:
Hubert Schlebusch (SPD) #
1946:
Alfred Kubel (SPD)
Claimants to the Duchy
*
Ernest Augustus, 3rd Duke of Cumberland (1884â€"1913), renounced
* the aforementioned
Ernest Augustus III, the deposed duke of Brunswick (1918â€"1953), son of the previous
*
Ernest Augustus the elder, Prince of Hanover (1953â€"1987)
*
Ernest Augustus the younger, Prince of Hanover (1987â€"present)
The Duchy of Brunswick was subdivided into
districts (
Kreise) in
1833. The following districts existed from 1833 to 1946:
* District of
Blankenburg* City of
Brunswick* District of
Brunswick* District of
Gandersheim* District of
Goslar (from 1942 on)
* District of
Helmstedt* District of
Holzminden (until 1942)
* City of
Watenstedt-Salzgitter (from 1942 on)
* District of
Wolfenbüttel*
Former countries in Europe after 1815*
map of the Duchy of Brunswick*
Map of Lower Saxony 1789
