In 1648 the prince-archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union by the Swedish and from 1715 on by the Hanoverian Crown. In 1807 the short-lived Kingdom of Westphalia annexed the duchy, before France annexed it in 1810. In 1813 the Duchy of Bremen was restored to the Electorate of Hanover, which - after its upgrade to the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814 - incorporated the duchy in a real union and the ducal territory, including Freiburg, became part of the Stade Region, established in 1823.
^Thus Freiburg is differentiated from Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg (officially: Freiburg im Breisgau) and Freiburg, Fribourg, also distinguished as Freiburg im Üechtland.