Beginning in the 13th century, advocacies ("Vogteien") emerged in the Principality of Lüneburg as providers of local administration, sometimes in parallel with the existing magistracies and sometimes based on them. Little information is available about exactly how these advocacies were established. From the 16th century the term "Amt" was used, and districts subordinate to the "Ämter" were then known as "Vogteien". The process for establishing the offices ("Ämter") was basically completed in the 16th century with the emergence of the ecclesiastical "Klosterämter" after the Reformation.