Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg (German) | |||||||||
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 Flag of the 19th century .svg) Coat of arms(1507–1671) | |||||||||
Attributed arms of the Saxe-Lauenburg | |||||||||
 The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg in 1848 (map inDutch) | |||||||||
| Status |
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| Capital | Lauenburg/Elbe Ratzeburg (from 1619) | ||||||||
| Religion | Earlier:Roman Catholic Later:Lutheran | ||||||||
| Government | Duchy | ||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||
• 1296–1303 | Eric I(first) | ||||||||
• 1865–1876 | William(last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Partitioned fromDuchy of Saxony | 1296 | ||||||||
• Partitioned intoSaxe-Mölln-Bergedorf andSaxe-Ratzeburg | 1303–1401 | ||||||||
• Personal union withLüneburg-Celle | 1689–1705 | ||||||||
• Personal union withHanover | 1705–1803 | ||||||||
• Dissolved duringNapoleonic Wars | 1803–1814 | ||||||||
• Personal union withDenmark | 1814–1864 | ||||||||
• Personal union withPrussia | 1865–1876 | ||||||||
• Merged intoPrussia | 1876 | ||||||||
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| Today part of |  Germany | ||||||||
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TheDuchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (German:Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg,Danish:Hertugdømmet Sachsen-Lauenborg), was areichsfreiduchy that existed from 1296 to 1803 and again from 1814 to 1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is nowSchleswig-Holstein. Its territorial centre was in the modern district ofHerzogtum Lauenburg and originally its eponymous capital wasLauenburg upon Elbe, though the capital moved toRatzeburg in 1619.
In addition to the core territories in the modern district of Lauenburg, other territories, mostly south of the riverElbe, occasionally belonged to the duchy:
In 1203, KingValdemar II of Denmark conquered the area later composing Saxe-Lauenburg, but it reverted toAlbert I, Duke of Saxony in 1227.[2] In 1260, Albert I's sonsAlbert II andJohn I succeeded their father.[2] In 1269, 1272 and 1282, the brothers gradually divided their governing competences within the three territorially unconnected Saxon areas along the Elbe river (one calledLand of Hadeln, another around Lauenburg upon Elbe and the third aroundWittenberg upon Elbe), thus preparing a partition.
After John I's resignation, Albert II ruled with his minor nephewsAlbert III,Eric I andJohn II, who by 1296 definitely partitionedSaxony, providing Saxe-Lauenburg for the brothers andSaxe-Wittenberg for their uncle Albert II. The last document mentioning the brothers and their uncle Albert II as Saxon fellow dukes dates back to 1295.[3] A deed of 20 September 1296 mentions the Vierlande, Sadelbande (Land of Lauenburg), the Land of Ratzeburg, the Land of Darzing (later Amt Neuhaus), and the Land of Hadeln as the separate territory of the brothers.[3]
By 1303, the three jointly ruling brothers had partitioned Saxe-Lauenburg into three shares; however, Albert III died in 1308, and the surviving brothers established, in a territorial realignment in 1321, the Lauenburg Elder Line, with John II ruling Saxe-Bergedorf-Mölln, seated inBergedorf, and the Lauenburg Younger Line, with Eric I ruling Saxe-Ratzeburg-Lauenburg, seated in Lauenburg upon Elbe. John II, the eldest brother, wielded the electoral privilege for the Lauenburg Ascanians, but was rivalled by their cousinRudolph I of Saxe-Wittenberg.
In 1314, the dispute escalated into the election of two hostileGerman kings, theHabsburgFrederick III,the Fair, and hisWittelsbach cousinLouis IV,the Bavarian. Louis received five of the seven votes, to wit John II, Archbishop-ElectorBaldwin ofTrier, the legitimate King-ElectorJohn of Bohemia, Duke John II of Saxe-Lauenburg using his claim as the Saxon prince-elector, Archbishop-ElectorPeter ofMainz, and Prince-ElectorWaldemar of Brandenburg.
Frederickthe Fair received four of the seven votes in the same election, with the deposed King-ElectorHenry of Bohemia illegitimately assuming electoral power, Archbishop-ElectorHenry II ofCologne, Louis's brother Prince-ElectorRudolph I of theElectorate of the Palatinate, and Duke Rudolph I of Saxe-Wittenberg, claiming the Saxon prince-electoral power. However, only Louis the Bavarian finally asserted himself as emperor of theHoly Roman Empire. TheGolden Bull of 1356, however, conclusively named the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg as electors.
In 1370, John II's fourth successorEric III of Saxe-Bergedorf-Mölln pawned theHerrschaft ofBergedorf, theVierlande, half theSaxon Wood, andGeesthacht toLübeck in return for a credit of 16,262.5 Lübeckmarks.[4] This acquisition included much of the trade route betweenHamburg and Lübeck, thus providing a safe passage for freight between the cities. Eric III only retained a life tenancy.
The city of Lübeck and Eric III had stipulated that, upon his death, Lübeck would be entitled to take possession of the pawned areas until his successors repaid the credit and simultaneously exercised the repurchase of Mölln (contracted in 1359), altogether amounting to the then enormous sum of 26,000 Lübeck Marks.[5]
In 1401, Eric III died without issue. The Lauenburg Elder Line was thus extinct in the male line and Eric III was succeeded by his second cousinEric IV of Saxe-Ratzeburg-Lauenburg of the Younger Line. In the same year, Eric IV, supported by his sonsEric (later ruling as Eric V) andJohn, forcefully captured the pawned areas, without making any repayment, before Lübeck could take possession of them. Lübeck acquiesced for the time being.[6]
In 1420, Eric V attacked Prince-ElectorFrederick I of Brandenburg, and Lübeck allied with Hamburg in support ofBrandenburg. Armies of both cities opened a second front and conquered Bergedorf, Riepenburg castle and the Esslingen river toll station (today'sZollenspieker Ferry). This forced Eric V to agree withHamburg's burgomasterHein Hoyer andBurgomaster Jordan Pleskow of Lübeck to theTreaty of Perleberg on 23 August 1420, which stipulated that all the pawned areas, which Eric IV, Eric V and John IV had violently taken in 1401, were to be irrevocably ceded to the cities of Hamburg and Lübeck, becoming their bi-urban condominium ofBergedorf (Beiderstädtischer Besitz).
From the 14th century, Saxe-Lauenburg termed itself asLower Saxony (German:Niedersachsen).[7] However,Saxony as a naming for the area comprising the olderDuchy of Saxony in its borders before 1180 still prevailed. So, when the Holy Roman Empire established theImperial Circles in 1500 as tax levying and army recruitment districts, the circle comprising Saxe-Lauenburg and all its neighbours became designated asSaxon Circle, while theWettin-ruled Saxon electorate and duchies at that time formed theUpper Saxon Circle. The naming ofLower Saxony became more colloquial and theSaxon Circle was later renamed theLower Saxon Circle. In 1659, DukeJulius Henry decreed in hisgeneral disposition (guidelines for his government) "to also esteem the woodlands as heart and dwell [of revenues] of the Principality of Lower Saxony."[8]
The people of Hadeln, represented by their estates of the realm, adopted theLutheranReformation in 1525 and DukeMagnus I confirmed Hadeln'sLutheran Church Order in 1526, establishing Hadeln's separate ecclesiastical body existing until 1885.[9] Magnus did not promote the spreading of Lutheranism in the rest of his duchy.[10] Lutheran preachers, most likely from the southerly adjacentPrincipality of Lunenburg (Lutheran since 1529), held the first Lutheran preaches; at the northern entrance of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Lauenburg upon Elbe, one is recalled forSaint John's Eve in 1531.[10] Tacitly, the congregations appointed Lutheran preachers so that the visitations of 1564 and 1566, ordered byDuke Francis I, Magnus I's son, on the instigation of the Ritter-und-Landschaft, saw Lutheran preachers in many parishes.[11] In 1566, Francis I appointed theSuperintendent Franciscus Baringius as the first spiritual leader of the church in the duchy, not including Hadeln.[12]
Francis I conducted a thrifty reign and resigned in favour of his eldest sonMagnus II once having exploited all his means in 1571. Magnus II promised to redeem the pawned ducal demesnes with funds he gained as a Swedish military commander and by his marriage toPrincess Sophia of Sweden. However, Magnus did not redeem pawns but further alienated ducal possessions, which ignited a conflict between Magnus and his father and brothersFrancis (II) andMaurice as well as theestates of the duchy, further escalating due to Magnus' violent temperament.
In 1573, Francis I deposed Magnus and reascended to the throne while Magnus fled toSweden. The following year, Magnus hired troops in order to retake Saxe-Lauenburg via force. Francis II, an experienced military commander in imperial service, and DukeAdolphus of Schleswig and Holstein at Gottorp, thenLower SaxonCircle Colonel (Kreisobrist), helped Francis I to defeat Magnus. In return Saxe-Lauenburg ceded the bailiwick ofSteinhorst to Gottorp in 1575. Francis II again helped his father to inhibit Magnus' second military attempt to overthrow his father in 1578.[13] Francis I then made Francis II his vicegerent actually governing the duchy.
Shortly before his death in 1581 (and after consultations with his son Prince-ArchbishopHenry of Bremen andEmperor Rudolph II, but unconcerted with his other sons Magnus and Maurice), Francis I made his third son, Francis II, whom he considered the ablest, his sole successor, violating the rules ofprimogeniture.[14] This severed the already difficult relations with the estates of the duchy, which fought the ducal practice of growing indebtedness.[14]
The general church visitation of 1581, prompted by Francis II, showed poor results as to the knowledge, practice and behaviour of many pastors.[15] Baringius was held responsible for these grievances and replaced by Gerhard Sagittarius in 1582.[16] Finally in 1585, after consultations with his brother Prince-Archbishop Henry, Francis II decreed a constitution (NiedersächsischeKirchenordnung; Lower Saxon Church Order), authored by Lübeck's Superintendent Andreas Pouchenius the Elder, for the Lutheran church of Saxe-Lauenburg.[17] It constituted the Lutheran state church of Saxe-Lauenburg, with a general superintendent (as of 1592) andconsistory seated in the city of Lauenburg, which merged into that of Schleswig-Holstein in 1877. Francis II's attempts in 1585 and 1586 to merge Hadeln's Lutheran church body with that in the rest of the duchy were unanimously rejected by Hadeln's clergy and estates.[18]
The violation of the primogeniture, however, gave grounds for the estates to perceive the upcoming duke Francis II as illegitimate. This forced him into negotiations, which ended on 16 December 1585 with the constitutional act of the "Eternal Union" (German:Ewige Union) of the representatives of Saxe-Lauenburg's nobility (Ritterschaft, i.e. knighthood) and other subjects (Landschaft), mostly from the cities of Lauenburg upon Elbe and Ratzeburg, then altogether constituted as the estates of the duchy (Ritter-und-Landschaft), led by the Land Marshall, a hereditary office held by the familyvon Bülow. Francis II accepted their establishment as a permanent institution with a crucial say in government matters. In return, Ritter-und-Landschaft accepted Francis II as legitimate, and rendered him homage as duke in 1586.
The relations between Ritter-und-Landschaft and the duke improved since Francis II redeemed ducal pawns with money he had earned as imperial commander.[19] After the residential castle in Lauenburg upon Elbe (started in 1180–1182 by DukeBernard I) had burnt down in 1616, Francis II moved the capital toNeuhaus upon Elbe.[20]
In 1619, DukeAugustus moved Saxe-Lauenburg's capital from Neuhaus upon Elbe to Ratzeburg, where it remained since.[20] During theThirty Years' War (1618–1648), Augustus always remained neutral, however,billeting and alimenting foreign troops marching through posed a heavy burden onto the ducal subjects.[19] Augustus was succeeded by his elder half-brotherJulius Henry in 1656. He had converted from Lutheranism toCatholicism in expectation of becoming appointedPrince-Bishop of Osnabrück in 1615, but guaranteed to leave the Lutheran state church and the Lower Saxon Church Order untouched.[21]
He confirmed the existing privileges of the nobility and the Ritter-und-Landschaft. In 1658, he forbade hisvassals topledge or else alienatefiefs, thus fighting the integration of manor estates in Saxe-Lauenburg into the monetary economies of the neighbouring economically powerfulHanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck. He entered with bothcity-states into frontier disputes on manor estates which were in the process of evading Saxe-Lauenburgian overlordship into the competence of the city-states.
With the 1689 death of DukeJulius Francis, a son of Julius Henry, the Lauenburg line of theHouse of Ascania became extinct in the male line.[2] However, female succession was possible by the Saxe-Lauenburgian laws. So, the two surviving daughters of Julius Francis—Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg andSibylle Auguste of Saxe-Lauenburg—fought for the succession. Their weak position was abused by DukeGeorge William of the neighbouringBrunswick and LunenburgianPrincipality of Lüneburg, who invaded Saxe-Lauenburg with his troops,[2] thus inhibiting the ascension of the legal heiress to the throne, Duchess Anna Maria.
There were at least eight monarchies claiming the succession,[2] resulting in a conflict involving further the neighbouring duchies ofMecklenburg-Schwerin and of DanishHolstein, as well as the five Ascanian-ruledPrincipalities of Anhalt, theElectorate of Saxony, which had succeeded the Saxe-Wittenbergian Ascanians in 1422,Sweden, andBrandenburg.Celle and Danish Holstein were militarily engaged, which agreed on 9 October 1693 (Hamburger Vergleich), that Celle—already de facto holding most of Saxe-Lauenburg—would retain the duchy, while the fortress in Ratzeburg, fortified under Celle rule and directed against Holstein, would be razed. In return, Danish Holstein, which had invaded Ratzeburg and ruined the fortress, would withdraw its troops.
George William compensatedJohn George III, Elector of Saxony, for his claim with a substantial sum of money, since the ancestors of both these princes had made treaties of mutual succession with former dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg.[2] The Ritter-und-Landschaft then rendered homage to George William as their duke.[2] On 15 September 1702 George William confirmed the existing constitution, laws and legislative bodies of Saxe-Lauenburg.[22] On 17 May 1705, the Lutheran superintendency was moved from Lauenburg to Ratzeburg and combined with the pastorate of St. Peter's Church.[23] When he died on 28 August the same year, Saxe-Lauenburg passed to his nephew, George I Louis, elector of Hanover, afterwards king ofGreat Britain asGeorge I.[2] The Lower Saxon Lutheran Church maintained its Church Order with the consistory and General Superintendent Severin Walter Slüter (1646–1697) in Lauenburg, succeeded by incumbents titled again superintendent only.[24]
Saxe-Lauenburg (except for Hadeln) passed to theHouse of Welf and its cadet branchHouse of Hanover, while the legal heirs, Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg and Sibylle Auguste of Saxe-Lauenburg, never waiving their claim, were dispossessed and the former exiled toBohemianPloskovice.Emperor Leopold I rejected Celle's succession and thus retained Hadeln, which was out of Celle's reach, in his custody. In 1728, his son, EmperorCharles VI,enfeoffed Saxe-Lauenberg to George I's son and successorGeorge II Augustus, thus legitimizing the de facto takeover by George William in 1689 and 1693.[2] On 27 August 1729, he confirmed Saxe-Lauenburg's existing constitution, laws and the Ritter-und-Landschaft.[22] On 5 April 1757, theNiedersächsische Landschulordnung decreed the compulsory school attendance for all children in Saxe-Lauenburg.[25]George III ascended in 1760 and endorsed all the laws, the constitution and the Ritter-und-Landschaft of Saxe-Lauenburg by a writ issued inSt. James' Palace on 21 January 1765.[22] In 1794, George III donated annual rewards for the best teachers in Saxe-Lauenburg.[26]
The duchy was occupied by French troops from 1803 to 1805,[2] after which the French occupational troops left in a campaign againstAustria. British, Swedish and Russian Coalition forces would capture Saxe-Lauenburg in autumn 1805 at the beginning of theWar of the Third Coalition against France (1805–06). In December, theFirst French Empire (France's new form of government since 1804) ceded Saxe-Lauenburg, which it no longer held, to theKingdom of Prussia, which captured it early in 1806.
When Prussia (after it had turned against France as part of theFourth Coalition) was defeated in theBattle of Jena-Auerstedt (November 11, 1806), France recaptured Saxe-Lauenburg. It remained under French occupation until 1 March 1810, when most of it was annexed to theKingdom of Westphalia, a French client state. A small area with 15,000 inhabitants remained reserved for Napoléon's purposes. On 1 January 1811, most of the former duchy (except for theAmt Neuhaus and the Marschvogtei, which remained with Westphalia) was annexed to the First French Empire[2] becoming part of theBouches-de-l'Elbe department.
After theNapoleonic Wars, Saxe-Lauenburg was restored as a Hanoverian dominium in 1813.[2] TheCongress of Vienna established Saxe-Lauenburg as a member state of theGerman Confederation. In 1814 theKingdom of Hanover bartered Saxe-Lauenburg against PrussianEast Frisia. On 7 June 1815, after 14 months under its rule, Prussia granted Saxe-Lauenburg toSweden, receiving the formerSwedish Pomerania in return, however, additionally paying 2.6 millionThaler to Denmark, in order to compensate Denmark for the loss of Norway.[27] In 1815Denmark gained the portion of Lauenburg north of the Elbe, now ruled inpersonal union by the DanishHouse of Oldenburg,[2] from Sweden, which thus again compensated Danish claims to Swedish Pomerania. On 6 December 1815Frederick VI of Denmark issued hisAsseveration Act (Versicherungsacte) affirming the given laws, the constitution and the Ritter-und-Landschaft of Saxe-Lauenburg.[22] In 1816, his administration took possession of the duchy.[2]
During theFirst Schleswig War (1848–1851), the Ritter-und-Landschaft prevented a Prussian conquest by requesting Hanoverian troops as peace-keeping occupational forces on behalf of theGerman Confederation.[2] In 1851, KingFrederick VII of Denmark was restored as Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg.[2] Prussian andAustrian forces invaded the duchy during theSecond Schleswig War. By theTreaty of Vienna (1864), KingChristian IX of Denmark abdicated as duke and ceded the duchy to Prussia and Austria.[2] After receiving a £300,000 financial compensation, Austria waived its claim to Saxe-Lauenburg by theGastein Convention in August 1865.[2] The Ritter-und-Landschaft then offered the ducal throne toWilliam I of Prussia. In September of the same year, he accepted and ruled the duchy in apersonal union.[2] William appointed the thenMinister President of Prussia,Otto von Bismarck, as minister for Saxe-Lauenburg. In 1866, Saxe-Lauenburg joined theNorth German Confederation.[2] However, its vote in theBundesrat was counted along with those of Prussia.
In 1871, Saxe-Lauenburg was one of thecomponent constituent states foundingunited Germany.[2] However, in 1876, the ducal government and the Ritter-und-Landschaft decided to dissolve the Duchy with effect on 1 July 1876.[2] Its territory was then integrated into the PrussianProvince of Schleswig-Holstein as the districtHerzogtum Lauenburg, meaning the Duchy of Lauenburg.
For the further history seeHerzogtum Lauenburg.
For the Duchesses consort seeList of Saxon consorts, partially also presenting portraits. For portraits of the dukes, starting with Julius Henry, seeList of Saxon rulers.
The counting of the dukes includes the preceding Ascanian dukesBernard I, his sonAlbert I, and the latter's jointly ruling sonsJohn I andAlbert II, all of which ruled the Saxon dukedom before its partition into Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg.
In 1303 the brothers split their inheritance between them, however, only two brothers had heirs creating theBergedorf-Mölln and theRatzeburg-Lauenburg lines.
First named Saxe-Mölln, however, renamed following a territorial redeployment including parts of Albert III's share in 1321.
In 1401, the elder branch became extinct and Lauenburg rejoined the Ratzeburg-Lauenburg line.
First named Saxe-Bergedorf-Lauenburg, however, renamed following a territorial redeployment after inheriting Albert III's share.
In 1401, the younger branch inherited Lauenburg and other possessions of the extinct elder Bergedorf-Mölln line.
For 113 years, the duchy was ruled by members of the Welf dynasty. However, their rule was not legitimised until 1728, whenEmperor Charles VI enfeoffed George II Augustus with Saxe-Lauenburg.
For almost fifty years, from 1815, Saxe-Lauenburg was within theGerman Confederation, and inpersonal union with theKingdom of Denmark:
For twelve years Saxe-Lauenburg was ruled inpersonal union with Prussia, within theNorth German Confederation (1867–71). In 1871 Saxe-Lauenburg became a component state of unitedGermany (German Empire).
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1 until 1648. 2 until 1701. 3 from 1648. 4 until 1731. 5 until 1705. 6 until 1596. 7 from 1708. 8 until 1773. 9 until 1640. 10 until 1695. 11 from 1701. 12 until 1734. Circles est. 1500:Bavarian,Swabian,Upper Rhenish,Lower Rhenish–Westphalian,Franconian,(Lower) Saxon Circles est. 1512:Austrian,Burgundian,Upper Saxon,Electoral Rhenish · Unencircled territories | ||
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