Stadt Uelzen

Amt Oldenstadt

Amt Bodenteich

A convent (later converted to a monastery) calling itself Uelzen was founded on the east bank of the Ilmenau River in the 10th century and began exercising secular authority. In the mid-13th century, some residents relocated to the west bank of the river under the jurisdiction of the Count of Schwerin. They called it Neu-Uelzen, while the site of the monastery besame Alt-Uelzen, which eventually morphed into Oldenstadt. The Welfs acquired the territory and granted city rights to Uelzen (under the short-lived name of Löwenwalde) in 1270. The secular authority of the Oldenstadt monastery was transferred to an Amt in 1529.

 

The territory surrounding Uelzen and Oldenstadt was originally part of the Lordship of Bodendieke. In the mid-14th century, it was acquired by the Welfs and became an Amt. The Amt consisted of eight subdivisions—three characterized as Vogteien and five characterized as Feeste.

 

When Welfian territory was partitioned in 1409, Bodenteich, Uelzen, and Oldenstadt were all assigned to the Principality of Lüneburg. None were ever included in a spin-off principality.