Otto I of Hesse (c. 1272 – 17 January 1328) was Landgrave of Hesse from 1308 until his death.
Otto was born in
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
, a son of
Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse
Henry I of Hesse "the Child" (German: ''Heinrich das Kind'') (24 June 1244 – 21 December 1308) was the first Landgrave of Hesse. He was the son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Sophie of Thuringia.
Life
In 1247, as Heinrich Raspe, Lan ...
and his first wife
Adelheid of Brunswick-Lunenburg. Following the death of his father in 1308, he inherited Upper Hesse, the "Land on the
Lahn
The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km).
It has its source in t ...
", which included
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
,
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...
,
Grünberg and
Alsfeld
Alsfeld () is a town in the center of Hesse, in Germany.
Located about north of Frankfurt, Alsfeld is in the center of Hesse and part of the densely populated Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. It is well known for its well-preserved old ...
. After his half-brother
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
died in 1311, he also became landgrave of
Lower Hesse
Lower Hesse is a historic designation for an area in northern Hesse, Germany.
The term Lower Hesse originated in the Middle Ages for the so-called "lower principality" of Hesse, which was separated until 1450 from the so-called "upper principalit ...
. This included the area below the
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
History ...
,
Eder,
Schwalm,
Werra
The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the t ...
, and the upper reaches of the
Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...
, with the residence of
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
, as well as the towns of
Homberg (Efze)
Homberg () is a small town in the northern part of Hesse, a state in central Germany, with about 15,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Schwalm-Eder district. In 2008, the town hosted the 48th Hessentag state festival.
Geography
Homberg lies in ...
,
Melsungen
Melsungen () is a small climatic spa town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th ''Hessentag'' state festival.
Geography
Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highlands. The stream ...
, and
Rotenburg an der Fulda
Rotenburg an der Fulda (officially ''Rotenburg a.d. Fulda'') is a town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany lying, as the name says, on the river Fulda (river), Fulda.
Geography
Location
The town lies south of the S ...
.
After Otto inherited the whole Landgraviate, he resided alternately in Kassel and Marburg. Otto had a long conflict with the
Archbishop of Mainz
The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
,
Matthias von Bucheck. In 1324 Mainz won the battle in the Lahnberg with help from troops from
Amöneburg
Amöneburg () is a town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany. It lies on a mountain and is built around the castle of the same name, ''Burg Amöneburg''.
Geography
Location
Amöneburg lies on a basalt cone that can be seen fr ...
. In 1327, Mainz adopted
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...
with the help of troops from the
Electorate of Trier
The Electorate of Trier (german: Kurfürstentum Trier or ' or Trèves) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the end of the 9th to the early 19th century. It was the temporal possession of the prince- ...
, but the citizens of the town quickly enabled Otto to regain control. Only after Otto's victory at Wetzlar and with the mediation of King
John of Luxembourg
John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...
in 1328 was conciliation made possible.
Otto died on 17 January 1328 in
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
, and was buried in the Ahnaberg monastery.
Family and children
He was married 1297 in
Saint Elisabethkirche, Marburg to
Adelheid of Ravensberg
Adelheid is the modern Dutch and German form of the Old High German female given name Adalheidis, meaning "nobility" or "noble-ness". It may refer to the following people:
* Saint Adelheid or Adelaide of Italy, (931–999), Holy Roman Empress an ...
, daughter of Count
Otto III of Ravensberg
Otto III of Ravensberg ( – 5 March 1306) was Count of Ravensberg from 1249 until his death.
Life
Otto III was the son of Count Louis of Ravensberg and his wife Adelheid of Dassel. His younger brother Louis was bishop of Osnabrück.
Aft ...
and had the following children:
#
Henry II the Iron (d. 3 June 1376,
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
).
#
Otto
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fro ...
(1301–1361,
Wolmirstedt
Wolmirstedt () is a town in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located 14 km north of Magdeburg, on the river Ohre. The town Wolmirstedt consists of Wolmirstedt proper and the ''Ortschaften'' (municipal divisions) Elbeu, F ...
),
Archbishop of Magdeburg.
#
Louis the Junker (d. 2 February 1345). Father of
Hermann II of Hesse.
#
Herman I the Elder (d. 1368/70).
# Elisabeth (d. 30 May 1373), married before 8 May 1336 to Duke
Rudolf II of Saxony.
, -
1270s births
1328 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
People from Marburg
Landgraves of Hesse
House of Hesse
Burials at St. Elizabeth's Church, Marburg
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