Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Who was Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg?

Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1613 until his death.

Frederick Ulrich was a son of Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He studied at the universities of Helmstedt and Tübingen, and became ruling duke after the death of his father in 1613. In 1615, Frederick Ulrich got involved in a war with the City of Brunswick, which was reluctant to recognize his overlordship.

Between 1616 and 1622, he was de facto deposed by his mother, Elizabeth, with the help of her brother, King Christian IV of Denmark, because of his alcoholism; government business was led by Anton von Streithorst, who nearly ruined the state by minting coins from cheap metals and thus causing inflation. Because of the bad situation of the state, Christian had Frederick Ulrich take control of the government again. With the help of the states' nobility, he managed to regain control; the members of the Streithorst government fled the state.

Because of Frederick Ulrich's indecision and weakness, Brunswick was heavily ransacked during the Thirty Years' War — both by the Catholic forces of Tilly and Pappenheim and by the Protestant forces of Christian of Denmark and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The duke lost most of his territory during this time. He died after an accident in 1634.