Otto I, Margrave of Brandenburg
Encyclopedia
Otto I was the second Margrave of Brandenburg, from 1170 until his death.
in 1157, and his wife Sophie von Winzenburg. He had three sisters and six brothers, the best known of whom were Prince-Archbishop Siegfried
of Bremen, and Count Bernhard of Anhalt
, later Duke of Saxony.
Otto's year of birth is traditionally recorded as 1128, but recent historians have cast some doubts on the date. Pribislav of the Havolane
s is known to have served as Otto's godfather
and given the lands of Zauche bordering the Ascanian possessions as a gift upon the occasion; Partenheimer (2003) dates that event to 1123 or 1125.
Around 1148, Otto married Judith
of the Piast dynasty
, sister of the Dukes of Poland Boleslaw IV and Mieszko III
. Arrangements for the marriage were agreed upon during the Wendic Crusade (one of the Northern Crusades
) in a meeting of January 6, 1148, in which Archbishop Friedrich of Wettin participated besides Otto and the two Polish dukes. According to Partenheimer (2003), the marriage was contracted in connection with the Ascanian efforts to support the Piast dynasty in opposition to King Conrad
, who supported Wladyslaw II as legal ruler of Poland. After Judith's death in 1175, Otto married Ada of Holland in 1176, daughter of Floris III, Count of Holland
.
Otto had two sons from the first marriage, Otto and Heinrich, and a third son from the second marriage, Albert:
Otto was buried in the Lehnin Abbey
, which he had helped build.
. The old Margraviate was essentially only the eastern portion of Havelland
and the Zauche. In the following 150 years under the Ascanians, it would expand to include many more regions, but during Otto's years as Margrave, his main goal was to stabilize and secure the Margraviate by intensifying settlement in the regions he controlled.
, in which he would be buried four years later. This Cistercian monastery became the House monastery and burial ground of the House of Ascania, and later also of the House of Hohenzollern
. The first monks took up residence in 1183, coming from the Sittichenbach Abbey
; construction of the church and cloister
s began around 1190.
The monastery quickly developed into a wealthy abbey and strengthened the position of the Ascanians both by its great economic means and by the missionary work of its monks to the Slavs. By the time the monastery was secularized in 1542, it owned among other things 39 villages and the city of Werder
.
The abbey's founding legend is as follows. Otto fell asleep after an arduous hunt under an oak tree. In his dream, deer appeared which threatened to gore him with their antlers, and which he could not repel with his spear. In desperation Otto called Christ
's name, whereupon the dream dissolved. When Otto related the strange dream to his companions, they interpreted the deer as a symbol for the pagan Slavs, and advised him to establish a monastery in honor of the Christian God to defend against paganism. Oak and deer as a result are on the Abbey's coat of arms.
(Victory Avenue) in Tiergarten
in Berlin
, as part of the construction of a "boulevard of splendor" with monuments from the history of Brandenburg and Berlin (with the commissioning by Emperor William II
). Under the direction of Reinhold Begas
between 1895 and 1901, 27 sculptors created 32 sculptures of the rulers of Brandenburg and Prussia, each 2.75 m (9 ft) high. Each sculpture was flanked by two smaller busts
of people who played an important role in the life of that ruler. In the case Otto I, the flanking busts were of his godfather Pribislav and the first Abbot
of the Lehnin Abbey, Sibold, who according to legend was murdered.
Life
Otto I was born into the House of Ascania as the eldest son of Albert I ("Albert the Bear"), who founded the Margraviate of BrandenburgMargraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
in 1157, and his wife Sophie von Winzenburg. He had three sisters and six brothers, the best known of whom were Prince-Archbishop Siegfried
Siegfried, Count of Anhalt
Siegfried of Anhalt was born as the third son of Sophie of Winzenburg and her husband Albert the Bear, then Count of Anhalt, of the House of Ascania. He was educated as a Roman Catholic clerk. In 1168 he was elected Archbishop of Bremen, but failed to gain control of the See...
of Bremen, and Count Bernhard of Anhalt
Bernhard, Count of Anhalt
Bernhard, Count of Anhalt was a German prince of the House of Ascania, Count of Anhalt and Ballenstedt, and Lord of Bernburg through his paternal inheritance...
, later Duke of Saxony.
Otto's year of birth is traditionally recorded as 1128, but recent historians have cast some doubts on the date. Pribislav of the Havolane
Havolane
The Hevelli or Hevellians were a tribe of the Polabian Slavs, who settled around the middle Havel river in the present-day Havelland region of Brandenburg in eastern Germany from the 8th century onwards.West Slavic tribes had settled in the Germania Slavica region from the 7th...
s is known to have served as Otto's godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
and given the lands of Zauche bordering the Ascanian possessions as a gift upon the occasion; Partenheimer (2003) dates that event to 1123 or 1125.
Around 1148, Otto married Judith
Judyta
Judith of Poland , was a Polish princess member of the House of Piast and by marriage Margravine of Brandenburg.She was the daughter of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland, by his second wife Salomea, daughter of Henry, Count of Berg.-Early years:...
of the Piast dynasty
Piast dynasty
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...
, sister of the Dukes of Poland Boleslaw IV and Mieszko III
Mieszko III the Old
Mieszko III the Old , of the royal Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death....
. Arrangements for the marriage were agreed upon during the Wendic Crusade (one of the Northern Crusades
Northern Crusades
The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were crusades undertaken by the Christian kings of Denmark and Sweden, the German Livonian and Teutonic military orders, and their allies against the pagan peoples of Northern Europe around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea...
) in a meeting of January 6, 1148, in which Archbishop Friedrich of Wettin participated besides Otto and the two Polish dukes. According to Partenheimer (2003), the marriage was contracted in connection with the Ascanian efforts to support the Piast dynasty in opposition to King Conrad
Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...
, who supported Wladyslaw II as legal ruler of Poland. After Judith's death in 1175, Otto married Ada of Holland in 1176, daughter of Floris III, Count of Holland
Floris III, Count of Holland
Floris III of Holland , Count of Holland from 1157 to 1190. He was a son of Dirk VI and Sophie of Luxemburg, heiress of Bentheim.-Life:...
.
Otto had two sons from the first marriage, Otto and Heinrich, and a third son from the second marriage, Albert:
- Otto IIOtto II, Margrave of BrandenburgOtto II , called The Generous , was the third Margrave of Brandenburg from 1184 until his death.-Life:Otto II was born into the House of Ascania as the eldest son of Otto I and Judith, a daughter of the Piast Duke of Poland Bolesław III Wrymouth.After succeeding his father, he improved the defense...
became his successor as Margrave of Brandenburg at Otto I's death in 1184 - Heinrich became Count of GardelegenGardelegenGardelegen is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Milde, 20 m. W. from Stendal, on the main line of railway Berlin-Hanover....
- Albert IIAlbert II, Margrave of BrandenburgAlbert II, Margrave of Brandenburg was a member of the House of Ascania. He was Margrave of Brandenburg from 1205 until his death in 1220.- Life :...
became Margrave of Brandenburg after the death of his brother Otto II in 1205
Otto was buried in the Lehnin Abbey
Lehnin Abbey
Lehnin Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Lehnin in Brandenburg, Germany. Since 1911 it has accommodated the Luise-Henrietten-Stift, a Protestant women's community.-History:...
, which he had helped build.
Alongside his father (to 1170)
Otto governed from 1144 alongside his father Albert. He did not officially take the title Margrave of Brandenburg until his father's death in 1170, but as early as 1144 he is mentioned by that title along with Albert in a royal document, although Albert himself did not claim it until 1157. The father and son together shaped the House of Ascania's policy over several decades, together participating in meetings and decisions, and are both frequently mentioned in documents of the period. The pair were accompanied and supported in many cases by Otto's brothers, in particular the second-eldest, Hermann. Otto outlived his father, who lived to the then very old age of 70, by only 14 years.Sole ruler (1170–1184)
The Margraviate of Brandenburg, which Otto finally took over from his father in 1170, did not at the time correspond to the later territory of BrandenburgBrandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. The old Margraviate was essentially only the eastern portion of Havelland
Havelland
Havelland is a geograhical region and district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Ostprignitz-Ruppin and Oberhavel, the city-state of Berlin, the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark, the city of Brandenburg and the state of Saxony-Anhalt .-History:-Geography:Geographically...
and the Zauche. In the following 150 years under the Ascanians, it would expand to include many more regions, but during Otto's years as Margrave, his main goal was to stabilize and secure the Margraviate by intensifying settlement in the regions he controlled.
Lehnin Abbey
Founding by Otto I
In 1180, Otto founded the Lehnin Abbey in Zauche as the Margraviate's first monasteryMonastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, in which he would be buried four years later. This Cistercian monastery became the House monastery and burial ground of the House of Ascania, and later also of the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
. The first monks took up residence in 1183, coming from the Sittichenbach Abbey
Sittichenbach Abbey
Sittichenbach Abbey , sometimes also known as Sichem Abbey, is a Cistercian monastery in Sittichenbach, now part of Osterhausen near Eisleben in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.-First foundation:...
; construction of the church and cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
s began around 1190.
The monastery quickly developed into a wealthy abbey and strengthened the position of the Ascanians both by its great economic means and by the missionary work of its monks to the Slavs. By the time the monastery was secularized in 1542, it owned among other things 39 villages and the city of Werder
Werder (Havel)
Werder , is a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Havel river in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, west of the state's capital Potsdam.Werder has a long and rich history and is a nationally recognized Erholungsort – a government designation given to...
.
Founding legend
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
's name, whereupon the dream dissolved. When Otto related the strange dream to his companions, they interpreted the deer as a symbol for the pagan Slavs, and advised him to establish a monastery in honor of the Christian God to defend against paganism. Oak and deer as a result are on the Abbey's coat of arms.
Monument to Otto I in Berlin
A monument to Otto was built by the sculptor Max Unger in 1898 on the former SiegesalleeSiegesallee
The Siegesallee was a broad boulevard in Berlin, Germany. About 750 m in length, it ran northwards through the Tiergarten park from Kemperplatz , to Königsplatz, in which stood the Berlin Victory Column, in its original position in front of the Reichstag The Siegesallee (German for "Victory...
(Victory Avenue) in Tiergarten
Tiergarten
Tiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin . Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, as part of the construction of a "boulevard of splendor" with monuments from the history of Brandenburg and Berlin (with the commissioning by Emperor William II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
). Under the direction of Reinhold Begas
Reinhold Begas
Reinhold Begas was a German sculptor.Begas was born in Berlin, son of the painter Karl Begas. He received his early education studying under Christian Daniel Rauch and Ludwig Wilhelm Wichmann...
between 1895 and 1901, 27 sculptors created 32 sculptures of the rulers of Brandenburg and Prussia, each 2.75 m (9 ft) high. Each sculpture was flanked by two smaller busts
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
of people who played an important role in the life of that ruler. In the case Otto I, the flanking busts were of his godfather Pribislav and the first Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of the Lehnin Abbey, Sibold, who according to legend was murdered.