Margrave Conrad II of Lusatia, also known as ''Margrave Konrad II of Landsberg'' (before 1159 – 6 May 1210), was a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

. He was Count of

Eilenburg Eilenburg (; hsb, Jiłow) is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Nordsachsen in Saxony, approximately 20 km northeast of the city of Leipzig. Geography Eilenburg lies at the banks of the river Mulde at the southwestern edge o ...

and Margrave of

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

from 1190 until his death. From 1207, he was also Count of Groitz and Count of Sommerschenburg. He was a son of Margrave Dedi III and his wife, Matilda of

Heinsberg Heinsberg (; li, Hinsberg ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the Heinsberg (district), district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 20 km north-east of Si ...

, the heiress of Sommerschenburg.

Life

Conrad inherited the

March of Lusatia The March or Margraviate of Lusatia (german: Mark(grafschaft) Lausitz) was as an eastern border march of the Holy Roman Empire in the lands settled by Polabian Slavs. It arose in 965 in the course of the partition of the vast ''Marca Geronis''. R ...

and the County of

when his father died in 1190. In 1207, he inherited the Counties of Groitz and Sommerschenburg from his brother Dietrich. In 1195, Emperor Henry VI dissolved the

March of Meissen The Margravate of Meissen (german: Markgrafschaft Meißen) was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' (Saxon ...

after the death of Margrave Albert I. This made Conrad the highest-ranking nobleman in the area, and the most senior member of the House of Wettin. In 1196, Conrad travelled via

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

to participate in the Crusade of Emperor Henry VI. In 1198, he returned home, again via Italy. In 1207, he organized a

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

Delitzsch Castle Delitzsch (; Slavic: ''delč'' or ''delcz'' for hill) is a town in Saxony in Germany, 20 km north of Leipzig and 30 km east of Halle (Saale). With 24,850 inhabitants at the end of 2015, it is the largest town in the district of Nordsach ...

. Conrad died on 6 May 1210 and was buried in the

Wechselburg Priory Wechselburg Priory, formerly Wechselburg Abbey (Kloster Wechselburg) is a Benedictine priory in Wechselburg in Saxony, dissolved in the 16th century and re-founded in 1993. First foundation Dedo V of Wettin founded the monastery, dedicated in ...

. His wife Elisabeth was buried in

Dobrilugk Abbey Dobrilugk Abbey (Kloster Dobrilugk) was a Cistercian monastery in Lower Lusatia in the territory of the present town of Doberlug-Kirchhain, Brandenburg, Germany. History The abbey was legally founded on 1 May 1165 by charter of Margrave Dietric ...

. Since he had no male heirs, his territory passed to his cousin

Theodoric I Theodoric I ( got, Þiudarīks; la, Theodericus; 390 or 393 – 20 or 24 June 451) was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. Theodoric is famous for his part in stopping Attila (the Hun) at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, wher ...

, who had been appointed Margrave of Meissen when the March of Meissen was reinstated by Emperor

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

in 1198. After 1210, there no longer was a separate Margrave of Lusatia. Instead, Lusatia was held by the Margraves of Meissen, then the Margraves of Landsberg, then divided between Bohemia and Brandenburg.

Marriage and issue

He married Elisabeth (''Elżbieta'') of Poland ( – 2 April 1209), who was a daughter of

Mieszko III the Old Mieszko III the Old (c. 1126/27 – 13 March 1202), of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death. He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław I ...

, the High Duke of Poland, and widow of

Soběslav II, Duke of Bohemia Soběslav II (also Sobeslaus II), called ''Prince of the Peasants'' or ''King of the Peasants'' (c. 1128 – 9 or 29 January 1180), was the Duke of Bohemia from 1173 to 1178. He was the second son of Soběslav I. Supported by neither nobles nor ...

(d. 1180). He had three children with her:The yearbook of Lower Saxon History, vol. 43-44, Hildesheim, 1971, p. 167, disagrees. It mentions only Matilda and Agnes. * Conrad (documented as alive in 1207; died before 6 May 1210) * Matilda (died in 1255 in

Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; Low German: ''Soltwedel'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwe ...

, buried in

Lehnin Abbey Lehnin Abbey (german: Kloster Lehnin) is a former Cistercian monastery in Lehnin in Brandenburg, Germany. Founded in 1180 and secularized during the Protestant Reformation in 1542, it has accommodated the ''Luise-Henrietten-Stift'', a Protestant de ...

), married in August 1205

Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg Albert II ( – 25 February 1220) was a member of the House of Ascania who ruled as the margrave of Brandenburg from 1205 until his death in 1220. Life Albert II was the youngest son of Otto I and his second wife Ada of Holland. His father ...

(d. 25 February 1220). * Agnes (d. 1266), founder of

Wienhausen Abbey Wienhausen Abbey or Convent (german: Kloster Wienhausen) near Celle in Lower Saxony, Germany, is a community of Evangelical Lutheran women, which until the Protestant Reformation, Reformation was a Cistercians, Cistercian Catholic nunnery. The ab ...

and buried there; married in 1211 to

Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine Henry V, the Elder of Brunswick (german: Heinrich der Ältere von Braunschweig; – 28 April 1227), a member of the House of Welf, was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1195 until 1212. Life Henry was the eldest son of Henry the Lion, Duke of S ...

(d. 28 April 1227)

Ancestors

References

* * Holger Kunde: ''Das Zisterzienserkloster Pforte — Die Urkundenfälschungen und die frühe Geschichte bis 1236'', in the series ''Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte Sachsen-Anhalts'', vol. 4, Böhlau, Cologne, 2003, , p. 99 * Ferdinand Wachter: ''Geschichte Sachsens bis auf die neuesten Zeiten'', part 2, August Lehnhold, Leipzig, 1830, p. 225

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad II, Margrave of Lusatia Margraves of Lusatia House of Wettin People from Eilenburg Christians of the Crusade of 1197 12th-century births 1210 deaths Year of birth unknown 12th-century German nobility