Stadt and Amt Lauenburg

Stadt Lauenburg was founded in the 11th century and was awarded city rights in 1260. The Vorstädte (suburbs) of Oberbrücke and Unterberg arose shortly thereafter. A third Vorstadt (Hohlenweg) arose in the mid 1500s. Each of the Vorstädte was self-governing, but I have grouped them together as a quasi-Vogtei because they were routinely referenced in 19th-century sources as a group. They were not incorporated into Stadt Lauenburg until 1872.

 

Lauenburg also served as the seat of an Amt of the same name, although it was not part of that Amt. Outside of the Vorstädte, the Amt was divided into four Vogteien. Two were located north of the Elbe—Franzhagen to the north of the city and Geest to the west. The corresponding territory remains part of Kreis Herzogtum Lauenburg to this day. The other two Vogteien—Obermasch and Untermasch—were located south of the Elbe. (Some sources render their names as Obermarsch and Untermarsch, which makes sense because they are located on marshland. However, contemporary sources tended to use the “masch” spelling rather than “marsch” and I follow their lead.) Both of those Vogteien were awarded to the Kingdom of Hanover after the Napoleonic Wars.