Margraviate of Meissen
Margraviate of Meissen (
German: Markgrafschaft Meißen]]) was a mediæval principality in the area of today's
Saxony.
Around
928 or
929, during a campaign against the
Slavs, King
Heinrich I built a castle on a hill on the
Elbe. This castle was named after the
Meisa, a nearby stream. The town of
Meissen soon developed at foot of the building. The
Margrave's presence was first mentioned in
968. That same year, the castle became the seat of the new
diocese of Meissen. Also, from around
1068 onwards, the area was home to a
Burggrafschaft. In time the
Meinheringer family would develop from the these
Burgraves.
The territory of the Margraviate of Meissen was extended in the
11th century up to the
Neisse and later in southern direction to the
Erzgebirge. In the next year (
983) a certain
Rikdag became the Margrave, and, from
985 on, the title was held by the
Ekkehardinger family. In
1046, the Margraviate went to the
Weimar-Orlamünder family and, in
1067, to the
Brunonens, whose representative
Ekbert II, was deposed during the
investiture controversy in
1089.
Henry of Eilenburg from the
Wettin dynasty, under whose rule the Margraviate would remain for the rest of its existence, succeeded him to the title later that year. Under following Margraves
Konrad the Great (1123-1156),
Otto the Rich (1156-1191) and
Dietrich the Hard-Pressed (1190/1197-1221), the Margraviate was expanded and developed.
In
1264,
Heinrich III the Illustrious asserted himself (in 1221-1288) in the fight over who would inherit the
Landgrave of Thuringia, where his uncle,
Heinrich Raspe, had died childless. In
1243/
1255 Heinrich III acquired
Pleisseland around
Altenburg as a security measure. The Emperor's attempt to force the Margraves of Meissen back into submission as a
fief, failed in
1307 with his defeat in the
Battle of Lucka.
In the following years there would be joint rule of the principality by multiple members of the
Wettin dynasty, and in the years
1382 and
1445, this even led to the division of the Meissen holdings. However, the family lines of these areas frequently became extinct, and the lands were then returned to the Margrave's custody. At the same time, the territory could be extended by marriage, cash payments, or military power, which is how the Margraviate gained the rights to the Burgraviate of Meissen in
1426. At the end of
15th century, the ruling area of the Wettin dynasty was spread between the
Werra and the
Oder.
In
1423,
Friedrich the Militant became the Margrave, was assigned the Duchy of
Saxony-Wittenberg. With it the Margraviate of Meissen entered into the
Electorate of
Saxony and lost its status as an independent principality. In
1485, the
Leipzig Partition divided Saxony and Thuringia between brothers
Ernest and
Albert, which marked the beginning of the permanate separation of the two states.
*
History of Saxony*
List of Margraves of Meissen*
