Brunswick Cathedral – The final resting place of an exiled Queen




Brunswick Cathedral
Photo by Moniek Bloks

Brunswick Cathedral was established by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, as a collegiate church between 1173 and 1195. He and his wife, Matilda of England, were both buried in the church while it was still unfinished.

Their tomb was made between 1230 and 1240, and the church was eventually consecrated in 1226. The Cathedral is now the final resting place of many more royal women, such as Caroline of Brunswick, the estranged wife of King George IV of the United Kingdom. The crypt underneath the cathedral can be visited, though I was quite lucky to be allowed through the gates for a closer look.

Tomb of Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen and her husband Louis Rudolph I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

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Epitaph of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and his wife Mathilda of England

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Marker for Beatrix of Swabia and her husband Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Photo by Moniek Bloks

Entrance to the crypt

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The first two tombs belong to Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern and his wife, Christine of Hesse-Eschwege. 

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Tombs of Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his wife, Antoinette Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

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Tombs of Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern and his wife, Christine of Hesse-Eschwege

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Tomb of Ferdinand Christian of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern

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Tomb of Frederick George of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern

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Tomb of Henry Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern

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Tomb of August Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern

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Tombs of William, Duke of Brunswick and his aunt Caroline of Brunswick, Queen of the United Kingdom

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Caroline of Brunswick was unhappily married to the future King George IV of the United Kingdom and was the mother of Princess Charlotte of Wales. After being famously turned away from her husband’s coronation, Caroline died a mere three weeks later, and her body was returned to Brunswick.

Tomb of Albert of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

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Tombs of Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick

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Tombs of Eleonore Charlotte Kettler (daughter of Frederick Casimir Kettler, Duke of Courland and Semigallia) and her husband Ernest Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern

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Shared tomb of Gertrude of Brunswick the elder, Margravine of Meissen (d.1077), her grandson Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen and his sister Gertrude of Brunswick the younger, Margravine of Meissen (d.1117)

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Tombs of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and his wife Mathilda of England

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Tombs of Leopold of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Antoinette Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. The heart urn contains the heart of Philippine Charlotte of Prussia, wife of Charles I.

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Tomb of one-year-old Frederick William of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, son of Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Antoinette Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

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Tombs of brothers Ludwig Ernest of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Frederick Francis of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

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The so-called Welfentumba

This contains the bones of those buried in the nave before 1707. Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick, had his ancestors exhumed and buried together in this tomb. In this tomb is, among others, Beatrice of Swabia. Her original tomb is commemorated with a plaque, as you have seen above.

Photo by Moniek Bloks






About Moniek Bloks 2680 Articles
My name is Moniek and I am from the Netherlands. I began this website in 2013 because I wanted to share these women's amazing stories.

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