Duchy of Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick Herzogtum Braunschweig (German) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1815–1918 | |||||||||
Eastphalian | |||||||||
Religion | Evangelical Lutheran State Church in Brunswick | ||||||||
Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||||||
Duke | |||||||||
• 1813–1815 | Frederick William (first) | ||||||||
• 1913–1918 | Ernest Augustus (last) | ||||||||
Legislature | German Revolution | 8 November 1918 | |||||||
Area | |||||||||
1910[1] | 3,672 km2 (1,418 sq mi) | ||||||||
Population | |||||||||
• 1910[1] | 494,339 | ||||||||
Currency | Goldmark 1873–1914 1914–1918Papiermark | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | Germany |
The Duchy of Brunswick (German: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick (Braunschweig). It was established as the
History
Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
The title "
After several early divisions, Brunswick-Lüneburg re-unified under Duke
Duchy of Brunswick
Formal sovereignty confirmed
The territory of Wolfenbüttel was recognized as a sovereign state by the
The Wolfenbüttel principality had for the period from 1807 to 1813 been held as part of the Kingdom of Westphalia. The Congress turned it into an independent country under the name Duchy of Brunswick.
Charles II (1815–1830)
The underage Duke
First, the young duke had a 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.[2]
In the aftermath of the July Revolution in 1830, Charles had to leave the country. His absolutist governing style had alienated the nobility and bourgeoisie, while the lower classes were disaffected by the bad economic situation. During the night of 7–8 September 1830, the ducal palace in Braunschweig was stormed by an angry mob, set on fire and destroyed completely. Charles fled the country, but without abdicating.[3]
William VIII (1830–1884)
When Charles' brother
William left most government business to his ministers, and spent most of his time outside of his state at his possessions in
While William joined the Prussian-led North German Confederation in 1866, his relationship to Prussia was strained, since Prussia refused to recognize Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover, 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 the 1870s, it became obvious that the then senior branch of the ruling House of Welf would die with Duke William. By house law, the House of Hanover would have ascended the ducal throne. However, the Hanoverians still refused to accept the Prussian annexation of their kingdom. As a result, Prussia was unwilling to let George V of Hanover or his son, Ernest Augustus, succeed to Brunswick. Berlin would only agree to the Hanoverians becoming dukes of Brunswick under severe conditions, including swearing allegiance to the German constitution and renouncing all claim to Hanover.
By a law of 1879, the Duchy of Brunswick established a temporary council of regency to take over at the Duke's death. If Ernest Augustus–who had been created the Duke of Cumberland in the British peerage–were unable to succeed, the council would also be empowered to appoint a regent. With William's death in 1884, the Wolfenbüttel line came to an end. The Duke of Cumberland then proclaimed himself Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick. However, since he still claimed to be the rightful King of Hanover, the
Regency (1884–1913)
Two regents were appointed: first,
Ernest Augustus (1913–1918)
The need for a Regent ended in 1913. The Duke of Cumberland's eldest son having died in 1912, the elderly Duke renounced Brunswick in favor of his youngest son,
In the midst of the
Dukes and Regents of Brunswick
House of Brunswick-Dannenberg
- 1815–1830: Charles II, son of Frederick William. Forced to flee Brunswick in 1830 and succeeded by his brother.
- 1830–1884: William VIII. Brother of Charles II. Last of the Brunswick line, following which the legal succession passed to the Hanoverian royal family, which had been dispossessed by Prussia following the Austro-Prussian Warof 1866.
Regency
- 1885–1906: Albert, Prince of Prussia, regent. The German government prevented the succession of the Hanoverian Duke of Cumberlandto the throne of Brunswick and substituted a Prussian regent for the Duke.
- 1907–1913: Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg, regent
House of Hanover
- 1913–1918: Ernest Augustus
For further information on the governments of Brunswick from 1918 on, see Free State of Brunswick.
-
Charles II
-
Prince Albert of Prussia
-
John Albert of Mecklenburg
-
Brunonia, the national personification of Brunswick
Geography
The Duchy of Brunswick consisted of several non-connected parts - three larger and seven smaller ones. The biggest and most populous of those was the area surrounding the cities of
The western part of the Duchy lay in the Weser Uplands, the central and southern parts in the northern Harz Foreland and the Harz mountains. The northern part was located on the border between the North German Plain and the Central Uplands of Germany. The Duchy's highest peak was the Wurmberg at 971 metres (3,186 ft). The major rivers that ran through Brunswick were the Weser, Aller, Leine, Oker, Bode and Innerste.
Main parts and exclaves of Brunswick by size
Region or exclave[6] | Area in square kilometers |
Shared borders with |
---|---|---|
Main part with Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttel, Helmstedt | 1808 | Province of Hanover, Province of Saxony |
Western part with Holzminden, Seesen, Gandersheim | 1107 | Province of Hanover, Province of Westphalia, Waldeck |
Lower Harz with Blankenburg, Braunlage | 475 | Province of Hanover, Province of Saxony, Anhalt |
Harzburg | 125 | Province of Hanover |
Calvörde | 102 | Province of Saxony |
Thedinghausen | 56 | Province of Hanover |
Bodenburg and Östrum | 10 | Province of Hanover |
Ostharingen | 4 | Province of Hanover |
Ölsburg | 3 | Province of Hanover |
Districts
The Duchy of Brunswick was subdivided into six districts (Kreise) in 1833. The districts were further subdivided into cities or towns (Städte) and more rural townships (Ämter).
District | Area in square kilometers (1 Dec 1910)[1] |
Population (1 Dec 1910)[1] |
Cities and Ämter[7]
|
---|---|---|---|
District of Blankenburg | 474,67 | 35,989 | Blankenburg, Hasselfelde and Walkenried |
District of Braunschweig | 543,87 | 191,112 | Braunschweig, Riddagshausen, Thedinghausen (since 1850) and Vechelde |
District of Gandersheim | 533,92 | 50,435 | Gandersheim, Seesen, Lutter am Barenberge and Greene |
District of Helmstedt | 799,56 | 78,514 | Helmstedt, Schöningen, Königslutter, Vorsfelde and Calvörde |
District of Holzminden | 584,11 | 51,756 | Holzminden, Stadtoldendorf, Eschershausen, Ottenstein and Thedinghausen (until 1850) |
District of Wolfenbüttel | 735,92 | 86,533 | Wolfenbüttel, Salder, Schöppenstedt and Harzburg |
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1831 | 245,798 | — |
1836 | 258,309 | +5.1% |
1843 | 267,563 | +3.6% |
1849 | 270,085 | +0.9% |
1855 | 269,213 | −0.3% |
1858 | 273,394 | +1.6% |
1861 | 281,708 | +3.0% |
1864 | 292,708 | +3.9% |
1867 | 302,801 | +3.4% |
1871 | 311,764 | +3.0% |
1875 | 327,493 | +5.0% |
1885 | 372,452 | +13.7% |
1890 | 403,773 | +8.4% |
1900 | 464,333 | +15.0% |
1905 | 485,958 | +4.7% |
1910 | 494,339 | +1.7% |
In 1910, the Duchy of Brunswick had a population of 494,339 people.
According to the 1885 census, 84.90% (316,208 people) of the Duchy's inhabitants held citizenship of Brunswick, while 54,738 people (14.70%) were citizens of other German states. 1506 people (0.40%) were foreign nationals, among those 785 came from Austria-Hungary, 133 from the United Kingdom, 112 from the United States, 91 from Italy, 83 from the Russian Empire, and 81 from Switzerland.[8]
Religion
In 1905, 450,760 people or 92.5% of the population adhered to the
Largest municipalities by population
City or town | Population (1 Dec 1910)[1] |
---|---|
Braunschweig | 143,552 |
Wolfenbüttel | 18,934 |
Helmstedt | 16,421 |
Blankenburg am Harz | 11,487 |
Holzminden | 10,249 |
Schöningen | 9,773 |
Seesen | 5,381 |
Harzburg | 4,728 |
Oker | 3,984 |
Stadtoldendorf | 3,728 |
Langelsheim | 3,611 |
Schöppenstedt | 3,226 |
Königslutter | 3,126 |
Bündheim | 2,982 |
Braunlage | 2,811 |
Gandersheim | 2,711 |
Hasselfelde | 2,649 |
Economy
In 1905, out of 1,000 residents 455 were working in the
Transport
The Duchy of Brunswick State Railway was the first state railway in Germany. The first section of its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line connecting Braunschweig and Wolfenbüttel opened on 1 December 1838, as the first railway line in Northern Germany.[10] In the 1870s, the Duchy of Brunswick State Railway merged with the Royal Prussian State Railways. Some other railways of secondary importance were operated by the Brunswick State Railway Company, founded in 1884.
Sports
In 1847, MTV Braunschweig was founded as the first sports club in Brunswick.[11]
Brunswick also played a pioneering role in the history of association football in Germany: Konrad Koch, a school teacher from Braunschweig, was the first to write down a German version of the rules of football, and, together with August Hermann, also arguably organized the first football match in Germany between pupils from his school Martino-Katharineum in 1874.[12][13]
The Duchy of Brunswick Football Association (German: Fußballbund für das Herzogtum Braunschweig) was founded in May 1904.[14] Eintracht Braunschweig, founded in 1895, quickly became one of the leading football clubs in Northern Germany. To this day, the team plays in the colours blue and yellow, derived from the flag of Brunswick.
Coat of arms
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg was formed out of the possessions of senior branch of the House of Brunswick. The House of Brunswick originated from the Italian House of Este. This family acquired the inheritance of the Guelph family by marriage — around the year 1000 — of Azzo II with Kunigunde of Altdorf, daughter of Welf II. Again important possessions were gained in (Lower) Saxony by the marriage of Henry the Black to Wulfhilde of Saxony (d 1126), daughter of the last member of the House of Billung, who had been Dukes of Saxony for five generations. They were made Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1235. In 1269 the house of Brunswick-Lüneburg divided into the branches of Lüneburg and Brunswick (later Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the later Duchy of Brunswick). In 1432 the Principality of Calenberg, the later Electorate of Hanover, split from Brunswick(-Wolfenbüttel), and in 1705 acquired the territory of Lüneburg.
Both branches used in their arms the two lions of Brunswick, the blue lion of Lüneburg and the
The white steed was said to be the emblem of the eighth century Saxon duke Widukind, who according to legend rode a black horse before his baptism and a white horse afterwards. In truth, the use of the horse as a symbol for Saxony only goes back to the 14th century, when the House of Guelph, after the ducal title of Saxony had fallen to the House of Ascania, adopted the fictional "ancient" symbol to represent themselves as the true descendants of the old Saxon dukes.[18] Due to the legend associated with it, the white horse became a very popular symbol among the population of Brunswick, even more so than the lions.[19]
Over time, the arms of smaller territories that had been acquired by the Dukes of Brunswick were added to the coat of arms. The coat of arms of the Duchy of Brunswick eventually consisted of a crown and shield, supported by two wild men, on which the blue lion of Lüneburg, the two golden lions of Brunswick, the Saxon steed and the arms of various counties were displayed. The lesser coat of arms of the Duchy of Brunswick showed a crowned shield with the white horse on a red background. The Saxon steed was dropped from the coat of arms during the reign of William VIII.[20] The greater coat of arms of the Duchy of Brunswick, as adopted in 1834, shows a shield with a ducal crown on top and surrounded by the insignia of the Order of Henry the Lion. Displayed on the shield are, from left to right, the blue lion of Lüneburg, the two lions of Brunswick, and the arms of the Counts of Eberstein, Homburg, Diepholz (upper half), Lauterberg, Hoya and Bruchhausen, Diepholz (lower half), Honstein, Regenstein, Klettenberg and Blankenburg.[21] The new lesser coat of arms introduced under William VIII was a return to the arms of Brunswick-Lüneburg, displayed on a crowned shield supported by two lions. The Latin inscriptions read IMMOTA FIDES ("unswerving faithfulness") and NEC ASPERA TERRENT ("they are not afraid of difficulties").
The flag of the Duchy of Brunswick was blue over yellow,[21] and demonstrates a remarkable similarity with the Ukrainian national colours. The standard of the dukes of Brunswick given by Siebmachers Wappenbuch, Nuremberg 1878, shows the white horse on a red cloth - this, however, is today assumed to have been in error.[22] The state flag introduced in 1912 was blue over yellow, with a crowned shield with the white horse on a red background in the center.[22]
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Coat of arms of the Duchy of Brunswick before 1834
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Lesser coat of arms of the Duchy of Brunswick
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Saxon steed on an 1860s stamp of Brunswick
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Coat of arms of Brunswick on an 1866 Vereinsthaler
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Coat of arms of Brunswick-Lüneburg
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Coat of arms of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
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Coat of arms of the Dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
See also
Bibliography
- Richard Andree: Braunschweiger Volkskunde. 2nd edition. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1901.
- F. Fuhse (ed.): Vaterländische Geschichten und Denkwürdigkeiten der Lande Braunschweig und Hannover, Band 1: Braunschweig. 3rd edition. Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 1925.
- Hermann Guthe: Die Lande Braunschweig und Hannover. Mit Rücksicht auf die Nachbargebiete geographisch dargestellt. Klindworth's Verlag, Hannover 1867.
- Otto Hohnstein: Geschichte des Herzogtums Braunschweig. F. Bartels, Braunschweig 1908.
- Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Gerhard Schildt (eds.): Die Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. Jahrtausendrückblick einer Region. 2nd edition. Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 2001, ISBN 3-930292-28-9.
- Jörg Leuschner, Karl Heinrich Kaufhold, ISBN 978-3-487-13599-1.
- Richard Moderhack (ed.): Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte im Überblick. 3rd edition, Braunschweigischer Geschichtsverein, Braunschweig 1979.
- E. Oppermann: Landeskunde des Herzogtums Braunschweig. Geschichte und Geographie. E. Appelhans, Braunschweig 1911.
- ISBN 3-487-07316-1.
- Henning Steinführer, Gerd Biegel (eds.): 1913 – Braunschweig zwischen Monarchie und Moderne. Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 2015, ISBN 978-3-944939-12-4.
References
- ^ a b c d e Gemeindeverzeichnis Deutschland 1900 - Herzogtum Braunschweig (in German)
- ^ O. Hohnstein: Geschichte des Herzogtums Braunschweig, Braunschweig 1908, pp. 465–474
- ^ Gerhard Schildt: Von der Restauration zur Reichsgründungszeit, in Horst-Rüdiger Jarck / Gerhard Schildt (eds.), Die Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. Jahrtausendrückblick einer Region, Braunschweig 2000, pp. 753–766
- ^ Schildt: Von der Restauration zur Reichsgründungszeit, pp. 772–777
- ^ "Cable News". Fielding Star. 1 June 1907. p. 2.
- ^ Wolfgang Meibeyer: Die Landesnatur. Territorium - Lage - Grenzen, in Horst-Rüdiger Jarck / Gerhard Schildt (eds.), Die Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. Jahrtausendrückblick einer Region, Braunschweig 2000, p. 23
- ^ Beiträge zur Statistik des Herzogthums Braunschweig VIII, Braunschweig 1888, pp. 74–75
- ^ Beiträge zur Statistik des Herzogthums Braunschweig VIII, Braunschweig 1888, p. 67
- ^ a b E. Oppermann: Landeskunde des Herzogtums Braunschweig. Geschichte und Geographie, Braunschweig 1911, p. 63
- ^ E. Oppermann: Landeskunde des Herzogtums Braunschweig. Geschichte und Geographie, Braunschweig 1911, p. 64
- ^ Kurt Hoffmeister: Zeitreise durch die Braunschweiger Sportgeschichte: 180 Jahre Turnen und Sport in Braunschweig, Braunschweig 2010, p. 9
- ^ "Die Wiege des Fußballs stand in Braunschweig" (PDF) (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ "Der Mann, der die "englische Krankheit" einschleppte" (in German). einestages.spiegel.de. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ^ Stefan Peters: Eintracht Braunschweig. Die Chronik, Kassel 1998, p. 22
- ^ Peter Veddeler: Landessymbole, in Horst-Rüdiger Jarck / Gerhard Schildt (eds.), Die Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. Jahrtausendrückblick einer Region, Braunschweig 2000, pp. 80–81
- ^ Veddeler: Landessymbole, p. 81
- ^ Veddeler: Landessymbole, p. 82
- ^ Veddeler: Landessymbole, p. 84
- ^ Veddeler: Landessymbole, p. 85
- ^ Veddeler: Landessymbole, p. 88–89
- ^ a b Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogtums Braunschweig für 1908, Braunschweig 1908, pp. 62–63
- ^ a b Veddeler: Landessymbole, p. 93
External links