Otto I (17 January 1328) was Landgrave of

Upper Hesse The term Upper Hesse () originally referred to the southern possessions of the Landgraviate of Hesse, which were initially geographically separated from the more northerly Lower Hesse by the . Later, it became the name of one of the three provinc ...

from 1308 and then Landgrave of Lower Hesse from 1311 until his death. Otto was born in

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

, a son of

Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse Henry I of Hesse "the Child" (German language, German: ''Heinrich das Kind'') (24 June 1244 – 21 December 1308) was the first Landgrave of Landgraviate of Hesse, Hesse. He was the son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant, Henry II, Duke of Duchy ...

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 States of Germany, federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). ...

", which included

Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...

, Grünberg and

Alsfeld Alsfeld () is a town in the center of Hesse, in Germany. Located about north of Frankfurt, Alsfeld is part of the densely populated Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, with nearby Lauterbach, Hesse, Lauterbach (about ...

. 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 * Second E ...

died in 1311, he also became landgrave of Lower Hesse. This included the area below the

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

, 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 to ...

, 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 o ...

, with the residence of

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

, 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 strea ...

, and

Rotenburg an der Fulda Rotenburg an der Fulda (, ; officially ''Rotenburg a.d. Fulda'') is a town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, in central Germany, situated, as the name says, on the river Fulda (river), Fulda. Geography Location The town ...

. 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

with the help of troops from the

Electorate of Trier The Electorate of Trier ( or '; ) was an Hochstift, 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-archbishop of Trier (') wh ...

, 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 of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fightin ...

in 1328 was conciliation made possible. Otto died on 17 January 1328 in

, and was buried in the Ahnaberg monastery.

Family and children

He was married 1297 in Saint Elisabethkirche, Marburg to Adelheid of Ravensberg, daughter of Count Otto III of Ravensberg and had the following children: # Henry II the Iron (d. 3 June 1376,

). #

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 fr ...

(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 ...

Archbishop of Magdeburg The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Latin Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River. Planned since 955 and established in 967, the arch ...

. # 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.

References

1270s births 1328 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from Marburg Landgraves of Hesse House of Hesse Burials at St. Elizabeth's Church, Marburg {{Germany-noble-stub