Christian Louis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Christian Louis
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Christian Louis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, engraving, about 1645
Spouse(s)	Sophia Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Noble family	Hanover
Father	George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Mother	Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt
Born	25 February 1622 Herzberg am Harz
Died	15 March 1665 (aged 43) Celle

Christian Louis (German: Christian Ludwig; 25 February 1622 in Herzberg am Harz – 15 March 1665 in Celle) was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. A member of the House of Welf, from 1641 until 1648 he ruled the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, and, from 1648 until his death, the Principality of Lüneburg.

In 1641, Christian Louis inherited the Principality of Calenberg from his father, Duke George of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who had suddenly died. Like his father he resided at the Leineschloss in Hanover.

When in 1648 he also inherited the Principality of Lüneburg from his uncle, Frederick IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, both subdivisions were ruled in personal union. However, Christian Louis gave Calenberg to his younger brother George William, and instead ruled the larger territory of Lüneburg at Celle Castle.

In 1642 Christian Louis became a member of the Fruitbearing Society. He married Sophia Dorothea, daughter of Duke Philipp of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg on October 9, 1653.

He died childless in 1665 and was succeeded by his brother George William, who on this occasion gave the Calenberg territory to his younger brother John Frederick. Both territories finally merged after George William's death in 1705 to the Electorate of Hanover under John Frederick's nephew George I Louis, Prince of Calenberg. Christian Louis's widow remarried and became Electress of Brandenburg as the second wife of the The Great Elector.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Christian Louis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

16. Henry I of Lüneburg               8. Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                       17. Margaret of Saxony               4. William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                             18. Henry V, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin               9. Sophia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin                       19. Ursula of Brandenburg               2. George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                   20. Frederick I of Denmark               10. Christian III of Denmark                       21. Anna of Brandenburg               5. Dorothea of Denmark                             22. Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg               11. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg                       23. Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel               1. Christian Louis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                         24. Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse               12. George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                       25. Christine of Saxony               6. Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                             26. Bernhard VIII, Count of Lippe               13. Magdalene of Lippe                       27. Catherine of Waldeck-Eisenberg               3. Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt                                   28. Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg               14. John George, Elector of Brandenburg                       29. Magdalena of Saxony               7. Magdalena von Brandenburg                             30. Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt               15. Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst                       31. Agnes of Barby-Mühlingen

See also

• List of the rulers of Lüneburg

References

• Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 4, p. 163-164
• At the House of Welf site