This article lists the

margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

s of

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

, a

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

and

territorial state The term territorial state is used to refer to a state, typical of the High Middle Ages, since around 1000 AD, and "other large-scale complex organizations that attained size, stability, capacity, efficiency, and territorial reach not seen since ant ...

on the eastern border of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

History

King

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...

, on his 928-29 campaign against the Slavic

Glomacze The Glomacze, also Golomacze or Dolomici ( pl, Głomacze or ''Gołomacze'', german: Daleminzier) - were Polabian Slavs inhabiting areas in the middle Elbe (''Łaba'') valley. Other West Slavic tribes such as the Milceni settled east of them. About ...

tribes, had a fortress erected on a hill at

(''Mišno'') on the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

river. Later named ''

Albrechtsburg The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic and early Renaissance castle erected from 1471 till about 1495. It is located in the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony. It is situated on a hill above the river Elbe, adjacent to the Meissen ...

'', the castle about 965 became the seat of the Meissen margraves, installed by Emperor

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 ...

when the vast ''

Marca Geronis The ''Marca Geronis'' (march of Gero) was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar (in the 920s) and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero. On Gero's death in 965 it was divide ...

'' (

Gero Gero I ( – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great ( la, magnus),Thompson, 486. Also se was a German nobleman who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he expande ...

's march) was partitioned into five new margraviates, including Meissen, the

Saxon Eastern March The Saxon Eastern March (german: Sächsische Ostmark) was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" stems from the Latin term ''marchia Orientalis'' and originally could refer to either a march ...

, and also the Northern March which eventually became the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

. During the tenth century, the Meissen margraves temporarily extended their territory into the

Milceni The Milceni or Milzeni ( cs, Milčané; german: Milzener; pl, Milczanie) were a West Slavic tribe, who settled in the present-day Upper Lusatia region. They were first mentioned in the middle of the 9th century AD by the Bavarian Geographer, who ...

lands up to the

Kwisa The Kwisa (german: Queis, hsb, Hwizdź) is a river in south-western Poland, a left tributary of the Bóbr, which itself is a left tributary of the Oder river. It rises in the Izera Mountains, part of the Western Sudetes range, where it runs al ...

(''Queis'') river and the border with the

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

n region of the Early Polish state. The eastern lands around

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budis ...

(''Budissin''), later known as

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the ...

, were ceded to the Polish duke

Bolesław I the Brave Bolesław I the Brave ; cs, Boleslav Chrabrý; la, Boleslaus I rex Poloniae (17 June 1025), less often known as Bolesław the Great, was Duke of Poland from 992 to 1025, and the first King of Poland in 1025. He was also Duke of Bohemia betw ...

according to the 1018

Peace of Bautzen The Peace of Bautzen (; ; ) was a treaty concluded on 30 January 1018, between Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and Bolesław I of Poland which ended a series of Polish-German wars over the control of Lusatia and Upper Lusatia (''Milzenerland'' or ...

; in 1076 they passed to the

Duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

as an Imperial fief. From 1089, the Meissen margravial title became the

honor Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

of the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

House of Wettin and remained as the dynasty's possession ever since. In the 13th century the Meissen margraves acquired the former Pleissnerland territory and upon the

War of the Thuringen Succession The War of the Thuringian Succession (German: ''Thüringisch-hessischer Erbfolgekrieg'') (1247–1264) was a military conflict over a successor to the last Landgrave of Thuringia for control of the state of Thuringia (now in modern-day Germany). ...

1247–1264 also the adjacent

Landgraviate of Thuringia The Duchy of Thuringia was an eastern frontier march of the Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia, established about 631 by King Dagobert I after his troops had been defeated by the forces of the Slavic confederation of Samo at the Battle of Wogastis ...

in the west. Finally in 1423 Margrave

Frederick the Warlike Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederi ...

was enfeoffed with the Saxe–Wittenberg lands down the Elbe ('

Upper Saxony {{short description, Historic lands in Central Germany Upper Saxony (german: Obersachsen) was the name given to the majority of the German lands held by the House of Wettin, in what is now called Central Germany (''Mitteldeutschland''). Concept ...

'), an

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, ...

according to the

Golden Bull of 1356 The Golden Bull of 1356 (, , , , ) was a decree issued by the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg and Metz ( Diet of Metz, 1356/57) headed by the Emperor Charles IV which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the con ...

. While the Wettin rulers eventually moved their residence to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, the Meissen margraviate merged into their electorate and became known as the 'Cradle of Saxony'.

List

As a title in pretense

After the abolition of all German monarchies in 1918 and the death of Friedrich August III, the last king of Saxony, in 1932, further heads of the house and

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

s to the throne have used the title Margrave of Meissen. *

Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen en, Frederick Christian Albert Leopold Anno Sylvester Macarius , title = Margrave of Meissen , image = Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony.jpg , reign = 18 February 1932 – 9 August 1968 , caption = , prede ...

Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen Prince Maria Emanuel of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (31 January 1926 – 23 July 2012) was the head of the Royal House of Saxony. Life Born at Prüfening Abbey in Regensburg, Bavaria, he was the eldest child of the then Heredit ...

* Albert, Margrave of Meissen, disputed with Alexander *

Alexander, Margrave of Meissen Alexander, Prince of Saxe-Gessaphe (German: ''Alexander Prinz von Sachsen-Gessaphe''; born ''Alexander Afif'' 12 February 1954), is the adopted son and heir of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, and a businessman with Lebanese, Mexican, French ...

, disputed with Albert and Ruediger * Ruediger, Margrave of Meissen, disputed with Alexander *

Daniel, Margrave of Meissen Prince Daniel Timo of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (german: Daniel Timo Prinz von Sachsen, Herzog zu Sachsen; born 23 June 1975), politician and entrepreneur, is the oldest son and heir of Rüdiger, Margrave of Meissen, a disputed ...

, disputed with Alexander

References

External links

Margraves of Meissen and Ostmark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margraves Of Meissen Lists of monarchs

Saxon monarchs

History

List

As a title in pretense

See also

References

External links