The Margraves of Meissen

A Mark was a territorial state at the border of the German Reich. Particularly in the east there were many of it, so e.g. Denmark, Altmark, Steiermark. The Mark of Meissen was based in 965 by emperor Otto I. The military governor of a Mark was the Margrave.

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Henry I. of Eilenburg (* 1070, † 1103)
by king Henry IV in Regensburg he was given the Mark Meissen. He and his son Heinrich II. promoted later the east expansion of the German Reich by colonizing the Marks with Frankish and Netherlands farmers.

Henry II. of Eilenburg (* 1103, † 1123)
Heinrich II. took over the Mark of his died father. Until 1117 he stood under the guardianship of its mother. 1123 He was poisoned.

Konrad the Great (* 1098,† 15.02.1157 in Petersberg)
received his surname for his political weight and the substantial enlargement of the sphere of influence reached under his rule.
He took over the Mark Meissen 1123 from his murdered cousin Henry II.
The emperor Henry V. gave the Mark of Meissen as a len to count Wieprecht von Groitzsch, so Konrad allied with Lothar von Supplinburg, who became later king (1125) and emperor (1133) - and conquered the Mark Meissen. By his good relationship to the king Konrad achieved important enlargements of its rule area.
1156 divided Konrad the country among his five sons and spent his life in the monastery. Son Otto received the Marks of Meissen.

Otto the Rich (* 1125, † 18.02.1190)
Under Otto the colonialisation reached its maximum. 1165 Leipzig was lent the municipal law. The silver finds 1168 in the area of Freiberg put the basis for the wealth of the Mark Meissen.

Albrecht the Proud (* 1158,† 25.06.1195 in Heinrichsdorf )
in 1188 took imprisoned his father. Only after intervening the emperor he released his father. His rule begun in 1190 after the death of the father and was characterized by constant quarrels with the brother. Albrecht also placed himself openly against the emperor Henry VI. and 1195 finally died by poison.

Dietrich the Hard-Pressed (* 1162,† 17.02.1221)
Emperor Henry VI. drew in the Mark of Meissen after Albrechts death. The message of the death of the emperor 1197 reached Dietrich in the holy country, where he participated in the establishment of the Teutonic Order. He hurried home immediately and fought for the rule of Mark Meissen. He was supported thereby by the cities of the Mark and the Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia. In 1199 he got the Mark Meissen officially as a len by king Philipp of Swabia. Dietrich organized a taut administration, the development of traffic routes and founded cities. In 1221 he also died by poison.