Ernst
|
 |
In 1551 duke Ernst succeeded his father, Phillip I. From the beginng he endeavored strengthen the creed introduced by his father. So in 1558 he had the Lutheran teaching introduced in Osterode. A dedicated Protestant, he nevertheless fought on the side of the Catholic emperors in the empire. He raised an army for the Catholic king of Spain in order to fight for pay against the Protestant Dutch. In doing this he always had the economic welfare of his small principality in mind. Duke Ernst was regarded by his subjects as a good ruler, one, however, who was occasionally unrully and drank a great deal. The mining regulations that were introduced by him in 1554 stimulated mining in the principality and ensured the further livelihood of many of his subjects. From his marriage with Margarete of Pomerania there cam only a daughter, who later became the wife of the duke of Schleswig-Holstein. After his death, the principality of Grubenhagen fell to his youner brother, Wolfgang.
--Adapted from the website, Die Welfen
Sources
- Schloss Herzberg und seine Welfen, Herzberg am Harz 1993