Albert I of Brunswick
| Albert I the Tall | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg | |
Albert I, lithograph, 1840
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| Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | |
| Reign | 1269 – 15 August 1279 |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth of Brabant Adelheid of Montferrat |
| Issue | |
| Noble family | House of Welf |
| Father | Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Mother | Matilda of Brandenburg |
| Born | 1236 |
| Died | 15 August 1279 |
| Buried | Brunswick Cathedral |
Albert the Tall (Latin: Albertus Longus, German: Albrecht der Große; 1236 – 15 August 1279), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1252 and the first ruler of the newly created Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1269 until his death.
Albert was the oldest surviving son of the first Brunswick duke Otto the Child and his wife, Matilda of Brandenburg. When his father died in 1252, he took over the rule of the duchy; later his younger brother John joined him.
Albert's rule was initially troubled by several armed conflicts as the Welf dukes still had to cope with the followers of the extinct Hohenstaufen dynasty within their dominions. In 1260/61 Albert's troops fought against the Danish duke Eric I of Schleswig on behalf of Queen Margaret Sambiria and her minor son King Eric V of Denmark. In 1263 the duke quite luckless interfered in the War of the Thuringian Succession to support the claims raised by his mother-in-law Sophie of Brabant.
On 31 May 1267, the brothers agreed to divide the Welf lands, which happened in 1269. Albert partitioned the territory while John obtained the right to choose his part. He took the northern half including the region of Lüneburg, Celle and the city of Hanover, while Albert received the southern part around the cities of Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel, stretching from the area around the Calenberg hill to the town of Helmstedt, the Harz mountain range, and Göttingen. The Brunswick residence itself was to remain common property of the brothers.
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