Wolfgang, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen

Duke Wolfgang of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1531–1595) was the Prince of Grubenhagen from 1567 to 1595.

Wolfgang of Brunswick-Grubenhagen
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Prince of Grubenhagen
Born	6 April 1531 Herzberg
Died	14 May 1595 (aged 64) Herzberg
Spouse	Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg
House	House of Welf
Father	Philip I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen
Mother	Catherine of Mansfeld

Wolfgang was born on 6 April 1531 in Herzberg, the fifth son of Duke Philip I of Brunswick-Grubenhagen and his second wife, Catherine of Mansfeld. He succeeded his brother, Ernest as Duke in 1567, governing the tiny Principality of Grubenhagen. Like most of his predecessors, he had financial problems, so he was often forced to sell or pledge major parts of his possession and he had to demand high taxes.

In 1581 he gave the citizens of Herzberg the right to provide for their own fuel and timber as well as leaves for fertilizing their fields. He attempted to improve the educational level in his country by establishing a court school in Herzberg. In 1593 he dissolved the county of Lauterberg-Scharzfeld as a fief, to counter the demands of the Counts of Stolberg. In the same year, he confirmed the Harz mining regulations of 1554 and gave Herzberg citizens the right to brew beer and a licence to trade wine.

He created a pleasure garden for his wife Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (born 11 March 1543; died 5 April 1586; daughter of Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg) below Herzberg Castle.

Wolfgang died on 14 May 1595 in Herzberg and was buried next to his parents, brothers and wife in the crypt of the St. Giles Church in Osterode am Harz.

He had no children. His younger brother Philip II inherited the principality. On Philip II's death, the Grubenhagen line of the House of Welf died out.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Wolfgang, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen

16. Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen 8. Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen 17. Agnes of Brunswick-Lüneburg 4. Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen 18. Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Göttingen 9. Elisabeth of Brunswick-Göttingen 19. Margarethe of Jülich-Berg 2. Philip I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen 20. Henry VII, Count of Waldeck 10. Wolrad I, Count of Waldeck 21. Margaret of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein 5. Elisabeth of Waldeck 22. Michael I, Count of Wertheim 11. Barbara of Wertheim 23. Sophie of Henneberg 1.Wolfgang, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen 24. Günther II of Mansfeld-Querfurt 12. Albert V, Count of Mansfeld-Vorderort 25. Anna of Honstein 6. Ernest II, Count of Mansfeld-Vorderort 26. Conrad VII of Bickenbach 13. Susanna of Bickenbach 27. Agnes of Nassau-Wiesbaden 3. Catherine of Mansfeld-Vorderort 28. Bruno V of Querfurt 14. Bruno VI of Querfurt 29. Anna of Gleichen 7. Barbara of Querfurt 30. Henry XIX of Stolberg 15. Brigitte of Stolberg 31. Margaret of Mansfeld

References

• Paul Zimmerman: The House of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Grubenhagen, 1911

External links

• information about Wolfgang on www.welfen.de