Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg

Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg
Spouse(s)	Meta von Campe
Noble family	House of Welf
Father	Henry the Middle, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Mother	Margarete of Saxony
Born	24 August 1495
Died	11 August 1549 (aged 53) Harburg

Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (24 August 1495 – 11 August 1549) was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1520 to 1527 and Baron of Harburg from 1527 to 1549.

Life

Otto was born on 24 August 1495 as the eldest son of Henry the Middle and his wife, Margarete of Saxony. Like his brothers, Ernest and Francis he studied at Wittenberg and was affected early on by the reformatory ideas of Martin Luther and was later a driving force behind the introduction of the Reformation in the Principality of Lüneburg. When his father had to leave the state in 1520 as a result of his role in the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud and go into exile in France, Otto took over the reins of power in the principality jointly with his brother Ernest. Because the principality was seriously in debt - all the Vogteis being enfeoffed with the exception of the Schlossvogtei of Celle - a major priority during his reign was sorting out the duchy’s finances. In 1527 Otto married Meta von Campe, a woman who was below his station, and was compensated with his own domain, the Barony of Harburg. He died on 11 August 1549.

Family

Otto married in 1527 to Meta von Campe (died 1580) and they had 7 children:

• Anne (1526–1527)
• Otto (1527)
• Ernest (1527–1540)
• Otto II (1528–1603)
• Frederick (1530–1533)
• Margarete (1532–1539)
• Susanna (1536–1581)

Ancestry

Ancestors of Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Harburg

16. Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg               8. Frederick II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                       17. Margaret of Saxony               4. Otto V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                             18. Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg               9. Magdalene of Brandenburg                       19. Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut               2. Henry the Middle, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                   20. Engelbert I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg               10. John IV, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg                       21. Johanna of Wassenaer               5. Anna, Countess of Nassau-Dillenburg                             22. John II, Count of Loen and Heinsberg               11. Maria van Loen-Heinsberg                       23. Anna of Solms-Braunfels               1. Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                         24. Frederick I, Elector of Saxony               12. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony                       25. Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg               6. Ernest, Elector of Saxony                             26. Ernest, Duke of Austria               13. Margaret of Austria                       27. Cymburgis of Masovia               3. Margaret of Saxony                                   28. Ernest, Duke of Bavaria-Munich               14. Albert III, Duke of Bavaria-Munich                       29. Elisabetta Visconti               7. Elisabeth of Bavaria                             30. Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen               15. Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck                       31. Elisabeth of Brunswick-Göttingen

Sources

• Geckler, Christa (1986). Die Celler Herzöge: Leben und Wirken 1371–1705. Celle: Georg Ströher. ISBN 3-921744-05-8. OCLC 255990175.

External links

• House of Welf