Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Albrecht I the Great, Duke of Brunswick -Lüneburg (* 1236, † August 15, 1279, Albrecht Lange called ) from the house of Welf, together with his brother John I, second Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg was up to the division the duchy in 1269 and then until his death first ruler of the newly created Duchy of Brunswick- Wolfenbüttel.

Life

After the death of his father Otto, the first Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Albrecht took over in 1252, the government of the Duchy and the guardianship of his younger brother Johann. First, both brothers ruled the Duchy together. In 1267, they took then, since none of the brothers came out as the Duke, the division of the Duchy ago. Albrecht shared ownership, Johann was given the right to select a part. Johann himself chose the Lüneburg country with the city of Hannover as a duchy. Albrecht received the lands around Braunschweig and Wolfenbüttel with areas in Calenberg and around Göttingen. He thus founded the so-called "Elderly House of Brunswick ," his brother the "Older Luneburg ". The division was finally effective for 1269. Albert I died in 1279 and was buried in Brunswick Cathedral.

Progeny

Duke Albert married in 1254 Elisabeth of Brabant ( † 1261 ), daughter of Duke Henry II of Brabant and Sophie of Thuringia, granddaughter of Saint Elizabeth and sister of Henry I., the first Landgrave of Hesse; this marriage remained childless. In a second marriage, he married Adelaide of Montferrat, daughter of the Marquis Boniface II of Montferrat († 1253/55 ), and of Margaret of Savoy. From this marriage a daughter and six sons were born, of whom entered the three eldest sons in the succession and the youngest Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was:

• Heinrich (1267-1322)
• Albert the Fat (1268-1318)
• Wilhelm (1270-1292)
• Otto ( † around 1346 )
• Luther (or Lothar ) ( 1275-1335 ) was from 1331 to 1335 Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
• Mechthild (1276-1318), ∞ 1310/12 Henry III. , Duke of Glogau and Sagan
• Conrad ( † around 1303)