Brunswick, Duchy of (Ger. Braunschweig), a state of Northern Germany, consisting of three larger and five smaller distinct parts, with a total area of 1423 sq. m. Pop. (1875) 327,493; (1890) 403,773. Of the three larger parts, the principal one, forming the circle of Wolfenbüttel, and including the capital, lies between Prussia and Hanover; the second, extending westward from Prussia to the Weser, divides Hanover into two parts; and the third, forming the Blankenburg district, lies to the south-east, between Hanover, Anhalt, and Prussia. The smaller parts are the isolated enclaves of Calvörde in the east, Thedinghausen in the west (not far from Bremen), and some very small demesnes on the Hanoverian boundaries. Brunswick belongs mostly to the basin of the Weser, which serves as a boundary on the west. Its surface is mostly mountainous, particularly in the southern portions of the country, but it has nevertheless level tracts of considerable extent. The climate in the lowlands resembles the general climate of Northern Germany; but in the Harz district it is so much colder that harvest is generally a month later than in the plains.
The quarries and mines of Brunswick produce marble, alabaster, limestone, coal, iron, copper, lead, sulphur, alum, and salt in large quantities, with some little gold and silver. Agriculture constitutes the chief wealth of the duchy. The pasture-land is extensive, and great attention is paid to the rearing of cattle, and especially to the breeding of sheep, wool being an important article of commerce. A large number of persons are employed in the cutting and preparation of timber. The manufactures are comparatively unimportant.
The inhabitants are mostly Saxons, and with the exceptions of about 3000 Reformed, 16,000 Roman Catholics, and 1600 Jews, all adhere to the Lutheran Church. The people in the rural districts speak a very broad Low-German dialect; but good High-German is spoken by the educated classes. The government is a limited monarchy, the duke's power being restricted by the legislature. The annual revenue of Brunswick is about £700,000, and just balances the expenditure. The public debt amounts to a little over £3,000,000, mainly incurred for the formation of railways. The civil list is not comprised in the budget, being paid out of the revenues of the state domains and other funds—about £40,000 a year. The private estates of the dukedom of Brunswick are very large.
Brunswick was included as a part of Saxony under the empire of Charlemagne. In 1235, with Lüneburg, it was made a duchy under Otto, who died in 1252, and was succeeded in 1267 by his son, Albrecht, founder of the older line of Wolfenbüttel. John, another son of Otto, was the founder of the older Lüneburg line, which became extinct with William of Lüneburg in 1369. In 1569 Henry, who styled himself Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Dannenber, founded the new House of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel; and his brother William founded the new line of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and as such became ancestor of the House of Hanover (q.v.). The ancient ensign of the race is the white horse. Duke Frederick-William came to England in 1809, and with his 'Black Brunswickers' (so called from their uniform, in mourning for the losses at Auerstädt) entered the English service, fighting in the Peninsular war till 1813, when he returned to his duchy; in 1815 he died a soldier's death at Quatre Bras. At the death of the childless Duke William in 1884, the succession passed to the Duke of Cumberland, son of George V., the dethroned king of Hanover. As the heir refused to recognise the new constitution of the German empire, the imperial government declined to allow the succession to take place, and an interregnum occurred. In October 1885, Prince Albrecht, a nephew of the emperor, was elected regent of the duchy by the diet.
BRUNSWICK, the capital, stands on the Oker, in a level and fertile district, 143 miles WSW. of Berlin. It is supposed to have been founded in 861, by Bruno, Duke of Ostfalen; but Henry the Lion, in the 12th century, so greatly strengthened and beautified the city that he may be almost said to be its founder. In the 13th century Brunswick became a member of the Hanseatic League, and soon attained considerable commercial prosperity, but its importance declined with the decay of the League. The town is most irregularly built, with narrow and crooked streets, but possesses the advantage of an abundant supply of water. The cathedral (1173-1469), and the churches of St Martin, St Catharine, and St Andrew with its steeple 341 feet high, are among the principal buildings; the old Rath-haus is a fine specimen of Gothic, and a number of the older houses are interesting for their quaintly carved wooden fronts. In the museum are some notable antiquities and works of art by Jan Steen, Albert Dürer, Holbein, Rembrandt, Raphael, Guido, Ruysdael, Michael Angelo, and Benvenuto Cellini. The industry of the town consists chiefly in manufactures of jute, woollen and linen, leather, sewing-machines, chicory, beet-sugar, tobacco, papier-mâché, and lackered wares, and in publishing. The old fortifications have been demolished, and their site converted into pleasant promenades. A fine avenue of linden-trees leads to the ducal palace, which, destroyed by fire in 1830 and 1865, is now an imposing edifice of 1869. Pop. (1871) 57,833; (1891) 101,047.