Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Harburg

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

Contents

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 1527 Meta von Campe (died 1580) and they had 7 children:

Ancestry

Sources

External links

Otto, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg
Cadet branch of the House of Este
Born: 24 August 1495 Died: 11 August 1549 in Harburg upon Elbe
German nobility
Preceded by
Henry the Middle
Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg
Princes of Lunenburg

as Otto VI with his brother Ernest

1520–1527
Succeeded by
Ernest the Confessor
New title
Partition of the Lordship of Harburg
Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg
Lord of Harburg

as Otto I

1527–1549
Succeeded by
Otto II