Siegfried I ( – 25 March 1298), a member of the

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

, ruled as the first Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1252 until his death.

Life

Siegfried was the youngest son of Prince

Henry I of Anhalt Henry I ( 1170 – 1252), a member of the House of Ascania, was Count of Anhalt from 1212 and the first ruling Anhalt prince from 1218 until his death. Life He was the oldest son of Count Bernhard of Anhalt probably by his first wife Judith ...

by his wife Irmgard, daughter of the Ludovingian landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia. His father had received the

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...

territory upon the death of Duke Bernhard III of Saxony in 1212 and was raised to the rank of a

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

six years later. In 1247, after the death of the Thuringian landgrave

Henry Raspe Henry Raspe (; – 16 February 1247) was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1231 until 1239 and again from 1241 until his death. In 1246, with the support of the Papacy, he was elected King of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV, but his conteste ...

, younger brother of his mother Irmgard and last male heir of the Ludovinger dynasty, Siegfried interfered in the succeeding

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). ...

. During the conflict, the young prince occupied the

County palatine In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating t ...

(German: ''Pfalzgrafschaft''), by right of his mother. Later he renounced the county in favor of the Wettin margrave Henry III of Meissen in exchange for a monetary compensation. After the death of his father in 1252, in accordance with the family law of the Ascanian dynasty, Siefgried and his elder brothers

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

and

Bernhard Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar *Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 1946 ...

divided the Anhalt lands. Siegfried received the eastern estates around

Köthen Köthen () is a town in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about north of Halle. Köthen is the location of the main campus and the administrative centre of the regional university, Anhalt Univers ...

. His style ''Count of Köthen-Dessau'' (used from 1253) likewise derived from the territories he received as his inheritance. In 1273 he even stood as a candidate in the

Imperial election The election of a Holy Roman Emperor was generally a two-stage process whereby the King of the Romans was elected by a small body of the greatest princes of the realm, the prince-electors. This was then followed shortly thereafter by his coronati ...

, though the princes eventually elected Count Rudolf of Habsburg king. In 1290 Siegfried renounced his rule to become a preaching monk (German: ''Predigermönch''). As a result, his eldest son Prince Albert I of Anhalt became the actual ruler in the Köthen and

Zerbst Zerbst () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until an administrative reform in 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the former Anhalt-Zerbst district. Geography Zerbst is sit ...

estates, although the former prince retained his rank until his death. Siegfried died at Köthen Castle in 1298.

Marriage and issue

On 17 October 1259, Siegfried married

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, who is referred to as ''filia Regis Sweonum'' ("daughter of the Swedish King") in contemporary German sources. It has been suggested that she was either a daughter of King

Erik Eriksson Erik Eriksson (; 1216 – 2 February 1250), sometimes known as Erik XI or with the epithet the Lisp and Lame (), was King of Sweden from 1222 to 1229 and again from 1234 to 1250. Being the last ruler of the House of Erik, he stood in the shado ...

of Sweden, or a daughter of the Swedish regent

Birger Jarl Birger Jarl or Birger Magnusson (21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman and regent, ''Swedish jarls, jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in consolidating Sweden after the civil wars between the House of Eri ...

.Gillingstam, Hans
"Utomnordiskt och nordiskt i de äldsta svenska dynastiska förbindelserna."
''Personhistorisk tidskrift'' 77 (1981): 17.Gillingstam, Hans
"Recensioner: Gorm den gamles ättlingar."
''Personhistorisk tidskrift'' 65 (1967): 3. They had ten children: #

Albert I, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst Albert I (born c. 1258; died 17 August 1316) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and the second ruler of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1298 until his death. Life He was the eldest son of Prince Siegfried I of Anhalt-Zerbst, by ...

(d. 17 August 1316). #Henry (d. 13 December 1340 / 28 March 1341?), Provost of

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

. #Siegfried (d. 25 February 1317), a canon in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. #Hermann (d. aft. 24 June 1328), a Teutonic knight, ''Comtur'' at

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

in 1327. #Agnes (d. aft. 17 August 1316), Abbess of Coswig. #Hedwig (d. aft. 24 February 1319), Abbess of Coswig. #Elisabeth (d. aft. 17 August 1316), a nun in Coswig. #Judith (d. aft. 17 August 1316), a nun in Coswig. #Konstanze (d. aft. 17 August 1316), a nun in Coswig. #Sophie (d. aft. 9 January 1290), married

Ludwig of Hakeborn Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig von Koopa, a character in Mario (the game) Arts and entertai ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegfried I, Prince Of Anhalt-Zerbst Princes of Anhalt-Zerbst 1230s births 1298 deaths Year of birth uncertain House of Ascania