Ludwig Rudolf Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel

Ludwig Rudolf was the youngest son of Duke Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Elizabeth Juliana of Schleswig-Holstein-Norburg . The younger son could not inherit the throne, so Ludwig Rudolph devoted himself to science. His interests included military science.

At age 19, Ludwig Rudolph was promoted to major general in the service of Emperor Leopold I. In 1690, at the Battle of Flerius, Ludwig Rudolf was defeated by the troops of Louis XIV and was captured.

Due to his background, Ludwig Rudolph returned home the same year. His father was so pleased with the return of his son that he gave him the county of Blankenburg in the Harz . This did not correspond to the principle of primogeniture , according to which his brother Augustus Wilhelm of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel had preemptive rights.

In 1707, the county of Blankenburg received the status of a principality, which meant the final destruction of primogeniture, since now the younger son of the ruler owned his own principality. The power of Ludwig Rudolph was limited only by the fact that his right to vote in the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire was not inherited, but was granted by Elector Braunschweig-Lüneburg (voice of Grubenhagen). Ludwig Rudolph was thus only a sovereign ruler, dependent on the elector of Hanover. Having completed his military career, Ludwig Rudolph went into a rich and glamorous courtyard.

After the death of his older, childless brother, August Wilhelm, Ludwig Rudolph took possession of the principality of Brandenburg-Wolfenbüttel, which was heavily in debt. Ludwig Rudolph dismissed the ministers of his predecessor and concentrated on improving the budget so that the princely treasury was replenished thanks to his far-sighted policy, which insisted on economical maintenance of the courtyard. Ludwig Rudolph could have achieved more, but died in 1735 .

Married to Christina Louise Ettingen , signed April 22, 1690, four daughters were born:

• Elizaveta Christina Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1691-1750) - married to the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles VI
• Charlotte Augusta (1692-1692),
• Charlotte Christina Sophia of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1694-1715) - married to Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich , son of Tsar Peter the Great , while Ludwig Rudolf became a knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (1711).
• Antoinette Amalie Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1696-1762) - married to Duke Ferdinand Albrecht II

The dynastic policy of the father of Ludwig Rudolph, Duke Anton Ulrich, crowned with success, found expression in the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth Christine Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI , who became the mother of Empress Maria Theresa . Charlotte Christina Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttelskaya married Tsarevich Alexei , son of Tsar Peter the Great , but Alexey died in 1718 before his father. Antoinette Amalie Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttelskaya married Duke Ferdinand Albrecht II , from the side line of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, who was also a cousin of Ludwig Rudolph. Since the male heirs were absent, after the death of Ludwig Rudolph, the principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel passed to him.

Ludwig Rudolph is buried in Brunswick Cathedral .

• Horst-Rüdiger Jarck (Hrsg.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon. 8. bis 18. Jahrhundert , S. 461, Braunschweig 2006
• Paul Zimmermann: Ludwig Rudolf . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie , Bd. 19, Leipzig 1884, S. 541-43