Herman II, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde ( – 27 December 1247) was a member of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

. He ruled the

County of Weimar-Orlamünde A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

from 1206 until his death.

Life

He was the youngest son of Count Siegfried III ( – 1206) and his wife Sophie (1159 – ), a daughter of King

Valdemar I of Denmark Valdemar I (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great ( da, Valdemar den Store), was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zen ...

. After his father died in 1206, Hermann II ruled Weimar-Orlamünde jointly with his brother Albert II. He came increasingly into conflict with Landgrave

Herman I Herman I may refer to: * Herman I (Archbishop of Cologne) (died in 924) * Herman I, Duke of Swabia (died in 949) * Herman I, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (died in 996) * Herman I, Margrave of Meissen (died in 1038) * Herman I, Margrave of Baden (c ...

of Thuringia, who occupied Schauenforst Castle between Orlamünde and Rudolstadt. In 1214, Herman of Thuringia took Herman of Weimar-Orlamünde prisoner at Weimar Castle. Landgrave Louis IV of Thuringia also fought against the brothers Herman and Albert. Despite the continuing troubles with Thuringia, Herman II managed to expand his territorial sovereignty. He founded the city of

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

and a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery at Oberweimar. In the conflict between the Houses of

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

and

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

, he sided with the Hohenstaufen. His never-ending

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

s eventually caused the downfall of his dynasty. The areas around the two main towns remained separate territories and so it was logical that around 1265 his sons Herman III and Otto III divided the county into two almost independent counties of Weimar and Orlamünde.

Marriage and issue

Herman II married Princess Beatrix of Andechs-Merania, the daughter of Duke

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...

of Merania. She was the heir to the Lordship of

Plassenburg Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs (later ...

, including

Kulmbach Kulmbach () is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its sausages, or ''Bratwürste''. Geography Location Ku ...

and Mittleberg, and to the Lordship of Berneck, including

Goldkronach Goldkronach (East Franconian: ''Gronich'') is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated near the Fichtelgebirge, 12 km northeast of Bayreuth. History On 25 June 1836, at 22:15, residents awoke to a man yell ...

, meinau, Wirsberg, Pretzendorf, Zwernitz Castle and

Trebgast Trebgast is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and th ...

. Herman II and Beatrix had the following children: * Herman "the Elder", was a clergyman * Herman III (), inherited Orlamünde * Otto III "the Magnificent" ( – 13 May 1285), married Agnes of Leiningen ( – ), inherited Weimar, Rudolstadt and Plassenburg *

Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...

, married in 1259 to Count Henry VIII of Weida ( – 17 September 1280) * Otto "the Younger", canon at

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

from 1265 to 1308

References

Sources

External links

Entry at genealogie-mittelalter.de

Entry for Beatrix of Andechs-Merania in genealogy database by Herbert Stoyan
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herman 02 Weimar Orlamunde House of Ascania Counts of Weimar-Orlamünde 12th-century births Year of birth uncertain 1247 deaths

Life

Marriage and issue

References

Sources

Further reading

External links