duchy · Germany and Central Europe

Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg

1296 CE – 1876 CE · capital Ratzeburg

A small north German duchy on the lower Elbe that kept the Saxon ducal title for centuries but lost the electoral vote to its Wittenberg cousins.

Origins

When the Ascanian dukes of Saxony divided their lands, the younger line received the scattered northern territories around Lauenburg on the Elbe and Ratzeburg, formally separated from the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg in 1296. The Golden Bull of 1356 gave the Saxon electoral vote to Wittenberg rather than Lauenburg, leaving Lauenburg a minor duchy.

Rule and society

The dukes were often in debt and pledged lands, including the Vierlande and Bergedorf, to Lübeck and Hamburg. The estates of the duchy held real power, and the old salt road from Lüneburg to Lübeck crossed its territory. The duchy turned Lutheran in the 16th century. When the Ascanian line died out in 1689, the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg seized it.

Decline and legacy

Lauenburg passed with the Electorate of Hanover and in 1815 to Denmark. After the war of 1864 it went to Prussia, whose king ruled it in personal union until it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia in 1876. Bismarck later received the honorary title Duke of Lauenburg in 1890.

Lineage

Duchy of Saxony 850 CE – 1296 CEDuchy of Saxe-LauenburgKingdom of Prussia 1701 CE – 1918 CE

Connections (3)

More states of Germany and Central Europe →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saxe-lauenburg
MLA
“Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saxe-lauenburg. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saxe-lauenburg.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saxe-lauenburg (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻