Amt Burgdorf

A castle was built at Burgdorf, northeast of Hannover, in the late 13th century under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Hildesheim. It was acquired by the Principality of Lüneburg around 1420 and was made the seat of an Vogtei (later an Amt), to which several villages from the neighboring Grafschaft Burgwedel were assigned.

 

A separate Vogtei in Dachtmissen was also established, but it had been merged back into Amt Burgdorf by 1533 and I treat it as having been part of Burgdorf from the time the data base starts in 1527. Villages in the Horst parish (Kirchspiel) were administered by Burgwedel in everything but criminal matters, but I recognize them as being in Amt Burgdorf. Villages in Kirchspiel Steinwedel remained in Hildesheim until 1523, when they became Welfian and were assigned to the Principality of Calenberg. They joined Amt Burgdorf in 1634. However, neither of those Kirchspiele constituted a formal subdivision of the Amt, which remained undivided.