The Principality of Lüneburg (later also referred to as Celle) was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory lay within the modern-day state of Lower Saxony in Germany. The principality was named after its first capital, Lüneburg (also called Lunenburg in English), which was ruled jointly by all Brunswick-Lüneburg lines until 1637. From 1378, the seat of the principality was in Celle. It lost its independence in 1705 when it was annexed by the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, but retained its vote in the Reichstag as Brunswick-Celle. Territory When the Principality of Lüneburg emerged as a result of the division of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1269, the domain of the Lüneburg princes consisted of a large number of territorial rights in the region of Lüneburg. However, it could not be described as a unified state, because many rights were owned by other vassals of the imperial crown. Not until the acquisition of numerous counties and rights in the 13th and 14th centuries did the rulers of Lüneburg succeed in building a unified state. Following the division of the principalities of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Lüneburg between Bernard and Henry in 1409, the territorial development of the state was largely complete. At that time, the Principality of Lüneburg included the larger part of the Lüneburg Heath and the Wendland, and measured about . History Emergence The Principality of Lüneburg was created by the division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a state that had been formed in 1235 from the allodial lands of the Welfs in Saxony and given as an imperial fief to Otto the Child, a nephew of Henry the Lion. The name of the dukedom was drawn from the two largest towns in the territory, Lüneburg and Brunswick. Following the death of Otto, his two sons split the duchy in 1267 or 1269, into subordinate principalities; Brunswick going to Albert and Lüneburg to John. Together, the two principalities continued to form the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg which remained undivided according to imperial law, something that is clear from the fact that inter alia all the princes of the various lines carried the title of Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In addition, the two capitals, Lüneburg and Brunswick, remained in the common ownership of the House of Welf until 1512 and 1671 respectively. Old House of Lüneburg When