973), which later led to the imposition of an excommunication order on him. Amelinghausen was an advocacy or Vogtei that included 16 villages, and which was subordinated to the Großvogtei (great vogtei) of Winsen an der Luhe. Hitherto it had had a court (Gerichtsstätte) with its own jurisdiction that included a forest land court (Holzmarkengericht). From 1603 to 1616 a relative of the prince, the Dowager-Duchess Hedwig in Harburg had various witches "burned on the high hill in Moisburg following rigorous investigations and ordeal by water " These were some of the last witches' trials in what is now Lower Saxony. Two of the women who ended up at the stake in Winsen in 1611 were sisters Anneke and Barbara Stehr from Amelinghausen. How it came about and what then happened to them was reported by the chantor (Kantor), Heinrich Schulz, from Egestorf in the Lüneburger Kreiskalender. On Sunday, 7 June 1818, a fire occurred at Amelinghausen as mentioned in the second volume of the "Patriotic Archive" (Vaterländischen Archiv), a yearly chronicle. This same document also mentioned that, on 21 October 1818 in Clausthal, a powder store blew up, killing 27 people. The unfortunate fire, which was not a result of war, was a major disaster for Amelinghausen, as the entire old part of the village was burned to ashes in just two hours. The acting pastor in Amelinghausen at that time, Jacob Heinrich Grewe, left a detailed report of the tragic event. The ancient village church, built in 1501 with a round stone tower, was destroyed in this blaze. Administrative history Saxon rule Administrative divisions during Saxon times were the so-called Gaus (Gaue) with subordinate divisions known as Gohen. Amelinghausen belonged to the Bardengau, an area that cover the present day Lüneburg District and parts of Harburg, as well as Soltau and Uelzen. The Goh of Amelinghausen covered the region from the upper Luhe to the lower Lopau. Justic in the Gohen was dispensed by the so-called Gau or Goh counts (Gaugrafen or Gohgrafen). They were selected for office by the Saxon judicial parish (Gerichtsgemeinde). At the head of a Gau stood a man elected by the people from the group of free nobles (Edelinge). At the end of the 8th century the Frankish emperor, Charlemagne allowed the old Gau system to continue, but placed imperial officials in charge instead of elected leaders. This resulted in the counts getting