Editing Principality of Calenberg (section)

=== Origins and foundation of Calenberg Castle ===
[[File:Calenberg 1.JPG|thumb|The remains of Calenberg Castle. Here, the [[battery tower]] at the main entrance]]
Originally the territory belonged to the [[Duchy of Saxony]] but in 1180, after the [[imperial ban]] had been imposed on the [[House of Welf|Welf]] prince, [[Henry the Lion]], he lost his ducal lands in Saxony and Bavaria. However, in 1235, Henry's grandson, [[Otto I of Brunswick|Otto the Child]], was promoted to the rank of prince as a result of the reconciliation between the Houses of [[House of Hohenstaufen|Hohenstaufen]] and [[House of Welf|Welf]] and was given the [[Allod|allodial estates]] of the family claimed by them in the area between [[Lüneburg]] and [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]] as the new and independent [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]. In the region west of Hanover, the Welfs had but few allodial possessions and so that area was disputed between the House of Welf and the bishops of [[Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim|Hildesheim]] and [[Prince-Bishopric of Minden|Minden]]. It was largely ruled by comital dynasties, such as the counts of [[County of Wölpe|Wölpe]] in the northwest, the counts of [[Hallermund]] in the southwest and the counts of Rhoden in the west and in Hanover.

In 1292 Duke [[Otto II of Lüneburg|Otto the Strict]] from the [[Principality of Lüneburg|Lüneburg line]] of the Welfs subjugated the region. Earlier, he had yielded to the Bishop of Hildesheim and accepted the city of Hanover as his fief. However, he shook off his allegiance and founded [[Calenberg Castle]], just 13&nbsp;km west of [[Hildesheim]], in a countermove in order to further reduce the power of the Bishop of Hildesheim in the Hanover area.

Administratively, this area was initially still called the ''[[Vogt]]ei'' of Lauenrode, after [[Lauenrode Castle]] on the outskirts of Hanover, from where, the Welfs ruled the territory. With the extinction of the Lüneburg line of the Welfs, the [[Lüneburg War of Succession]], broke out (1371–88) during which Lauenrode Castle was stormed by the citizens of Hanover and destroyed. The ''Vogtei'' was then moved to Calenberg Castle.