TheMargraviate of Brandenburg (German:Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a majorprincipality of theHoly Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting theDuchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came to play a pivotal role in thehistory of Germany and that ofCentral Europe as core of thePrussian kingdom.
Brandenburg developed out of theNorthern March founded in the territory of theSlavicWends. It derived one of its names from this inheritance, theMarch of Brandenburg (Mark Brandenburg). Its rulingmargraves were established as prestigiousprince-electors in theGolden Bull of 1356, allowing them to vote in the election of theHoly Roman Emperor. The state thus became additionally known asElectoral Brandenburg or theElectorate of Brandenburg (Kurbrandenburg orKurfürstentum Brandenburg).
TheHouse of Hohenzollern came to the throne of Brandenburg in 1415. In 1417,Frederick I moved its capital fromBrandenburg an der Havel toBerlin. By 1535, the electorate had an area of some 10,000 square miles (26,000 km2) and a population of 400,000.[3] Under Hohenzollern leadership, Brandenburg grew rapidly in power during the 17th century and inherited the Duchy of Prussia. The resultingBrandenburg-Prussia was the predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia, which became a leading German state during the 18th century. Although the electors' highest title was "King in/of Prussia", their power base remained in Brandenburg and its capital Berlin.
The territory of the former margraviate, commonly known as theMark Brandenburg,[citation needed] lies in present-day eastern Germany and western Poland. Geographically it encompassed the majority of the present-dayGerman states ofBrandenburg and Berlin, theAltmark (the northern third ofSaxony-Anhalt), and theNeumark (now divided between Poland'sLubusz andWest Pomeranian Voivodeships). Parts of the present-day federal state Brandenburg, such asLower Lusatia and territory which had beenSaxon until 1815, were not parts of the Mark. Colloquially but not accurately, the federal state Brandenburg is sometimes identified as the Mark or Mark Brandenburg.
The region was formed during theice age, and characterized bymoraines, glacial valleys, and numerous lakes. The territory is known as aMark ormarch because it was a border county of theHoly Roman Empire (see alsoMargraviate of Meissen).
The Mark is defined by two uplands and two depressions. The depressions are taken up by rivers and chains of lakes with marsh and boggy soil along the shores; once used forpeat collection, the riverbanks are now mostly drained and dry.[citation needed]
Between these two depressions is a low plateau that extends from thePoznań area westward to Brandenburg throughTorzym (Sternberg), theSpree plateau, and theMittelmark. From southeast to northwest, this plateau is intersected by the lowland of theLeniwa Obra and theOder River below the confluence of theLusatian Neisse, the lower Spree Valley, and the Havel Valley. Between these valleys rise a series of hills and plateaus, such as theBarnim, theTeltow, the Semmelberg nearBad Freienwalde (157 m, 515 ft), the Müggelberge inKöpenick (115 m, 377 ft), the Havelberge (97 m, 318 ft), and the Rauen Hills nearFürstenwalde (112 to 152 m, 367 to 499 ft).
The region is predominantly marked by dry,sandy soil, wide stretches of which havepine trees anderica plants, or heath. However, the soil isloamy in the uplands and plateaus and, when farmed appropriately, can be agriculturally productive.[citation needed]
Mark Brandenburg has a cool, continental climate, with temperatures averaging near 0 °C (32 °F) in January and February and near 18 °C (64 °F) in July and August. Precipitation averages between 500 mm and 600 mm annually, with a modest summer maximum.
By the eighth century,SlavicWends, such as theSprewane andHevelli (Havolane or Stodorans), started to move into the Brandenburg area. They intermarried with Saxons and Bohemians.
KingHenry the Fowler started governing in the region in 928–929, allowing EmperorOtto I to establish theNorthern March under MargraveGero in 936 during the GermanOstsiedlung. However, the march and the bishoprics were overthrown by aSlavic rebellion in 983; until the collapse of theLiutizian alliance in the middle of the 11th century, theHoly Roman Empire government through bishoprics and marches came nearly to a standstill for approximately 150 years,[5] even though the bishopric was retained.
PrincePribislav of the Hevelli came to power at the castle of Brenna (Brandenburg an der Havel) in 1127. During Pribislav's reign, in which he cultivated close connections with theGerman nobility, Germans succeeded in binding to the Holy Roman Empire the Havolane region fromBrandenburg an der Havel toSpandau. The disputed eastern border continued between the Hevelli and the Sprewane, recognized as the Havel-Nuthe line. PrinceJaxa of Köpenick (Jaxa de Copnic) of the Sprewane lived in Köpenick east of the dividing line.
During the second phase of the GermanOstsiedlung,Albert the Bear began the expansionary eastern policy of theAscanians. From 1123 to 1125 Albert developed contacts with Pribislav, who served as the godfather for the Ascanian's first son,Otto, and gave the boy the Zauche region as a christening present in 1134. In the same year, EmperorLothair III named Albert margrave of theNorthern March and raised Pribislav to the status of king, although that was later rescinded. Also in 1134, Albert succeeded in securing for the Ascanians the inheritance of the childless Pribislav. After the latter's death in 1150, Albert received the Havolane residence of Brenna. The Ascanians also began to build thecastle ofSpandau.
In contrast to their leaders who had accepted Christianity, the Havolane population still worshipped old Slavic deities and opposed Albert's assumption of power.Jaxa of Köpenick, a possible relative of Pribislav and a claim-holder to Brandenburg, controlled Brandenburg withPolish help, and ruled the land of the Stodorans. Older historical research dates this conquest to 1153, although there are no definite sources for the date. More recent researchers (such as Lutz Partenheimer) date it to spring 1157, as it is doubtful that Albert would not have responded to Jaxa's actions for four years.
With bloody victories on 11 June 1157, Albert the Bear was able to reconquer Brandenburg, exile Jaxa, and found a new lordship. Because he already held the title of margrave, Albert styled himself asMargrave of Brandenburg (Adelbertus Dei gratia marchio in Brandenborch) on 3 October 1157, thereby beginning the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
19th-century map of the 13th-centuryDuchy of Greater Poland of then-fragmented Poland. Territories annexed by Brandenburg from Poland marked in yellow (Lubusz Land) and green (northwesternGreater Poland)
The territorial limits of the original margraviate differed from the area of the current BundeslandBrandenburg, consisting merely of the Havelland and Zauche regions. In the following 150 years the Ascanians succeeded in winning theUckermark,Teltow, andBarnim regions east of the Havel and Nuthe, thereby extending the Mark to theOder River. TheNeumark ("New March") east of the Oder was acquired gradually through purchases, marriages, and aid to thePiast dynasty ofPoland.[6]
Because of the sandy soil prevalent in Brandenburg, the agriculturally meager principality was denigrated as "thesandbox of theHoly Roman Empire".[6] Albertinvited colonists to settle the new territory, many of whom came from theAltmark ("Old March", a later name for the original Northern March), theHarz, Flanders (hence theFläming region), and theRhineland. After the capture of territory along the Elbe and Havel Rivers in the 1160s,Flemish andDutch settlers from flooded regions inHolland used their expertise to builddikes in Brandenburg. Initially, the Ascanians protected the country by settlingknights in villages;castles fortified with knights were mostly located in the border region of the Neumark. After a 14th-century decline in imperial power, however, knights began constructing castles throughout the principality, granting them more independence.[6]
Brandenburg until the extinction of the Ascanian dynasty in 1320
After Albert's death in 1170, his son succeeded him asOtto I, Margrave of Brandenburg. The Ascanians pursued a policy of expanding to the east and the northeast with the goal of connecting their territories throughPomerania to theBaltic Sea. This policy brought them into conflict with the Kingdom of Denmark. After theBattle of Bornhöved (1227), MargraveJohn I staked his claim to Pomerania, receiving it as a fief from EmperorFrederick II in 1231. The middle of the 13th century was a time of important developments for the Ascanian House, as it wonStettin (Szczecin) and theUckermark (1250), although the former was later lost to theDuchy of Pomerania.[5] Also around 1250 it took overLubusz Land from then-fragmented Poland and subsequently conquered northwestern parts of theDuchy of Greater Poland in the late 13th century, moving the border east of theOder river.Henry II, the last Ascanian margrave, died in 1320.
The death ofMargrave Waldemar in 1319 sparked a conflict between the neighbouring principalities ofBrunswick-Lüneburg,Mecklenburg,Saxe-Wittenberg,Pomerania-Wolgast,Jawor andŻagań, for control of different parts of the Margraviate. The war was periodically fought between various factions due to the alliances formed, such as the Jawor-Pomeranian and Mecklenburg-Saxe-Wittenberg alliances, and kings of Bohemia, Poland and Denmark also entered alliances with various parties. In 1319,Wartislaw IV of Pomerania took control of theNew March withTorzym Land, theMiędzyrzecz castellany, annexed from Greater Poland by Brandenburg in 1297, and northernLubusz Land, in the north-east,Henry II of Mecklenburg capturedPrignitz in the north-west andUckermark in the north,Rudolf I of Saxe-Wittenberg captured theMittelmark,Teltow andBarnim, i.e. the central part,Otto the Mild of Brunswick-Lüneburg captured theOld March in the west.[7] In 1320, a large portion of the Lubusz Land passed to DukeHenry I of Jawor, who tried to reclaim it as a region lost by his grandfatherBolesław II the Horned, and afterwards its western outskirts and a portion of the Uckermark were occupied by Rudolf I of Saxe-Wittenberg.[8] In 1320 the allied forces of Pomerania and Jawor clashed with Mecklenburg in the Uckermark, and war between Pomerania and Mecklenburg continued in 1321–1322 on the Oder River and in Mecklenburg.[8] By February 1322, eastern outskirts of the Lubusz Land with Torzym andSulęcin and the Międzyrzecz castellany were controlled by DukeHenry IV the Faithful of Żagań.[9] After heavy fights between Pomerania and Saxe-Wittenberg aroundKostrzyn nad Odrą in 1322–1323, a peace between the two parties was signed in December 1323.[9]
Having defeated theHabsburgs, theWittelsbach EmperorLouis IV, an uncle of Henry II, formally granted Brandenburg to his oldest son,Louis I (the "Brandenburger") in 1323, although various portions of the margraviate were still controlled by various neighbouring principalities. The emergence of a new powerful rival prompted the previously warring parties to make peace with each other and cooperate.[10] Bavarian forces soon entered the region, but in October 1323Pope John XXII called Louis IV to annul the grant of Brandenburg to Louis V, declaring it unlawful.[11] As a consequence of the murder of Provost Nikolaus von Bernau in 1325, Brandenburg was punished with a papalinterdict. Bavarian forces gradually seized the margraviate. KingWładysław I Łokietek of Poland actively joined the ongoing war, invadingFrankfurt (Oder) in 1326, and the Międzyrzecz castellany was ultimately reintegrated with Poland.[12] From 1328 onwards, Louis was in war against Pomerania which he claimed as a fiefdom and the conflict did not end before 1333. The rule of Margrave Louis I was rejected by the domestic nobility of Brandenburg, and, after the death of Emperor Louis IV in 1347, the margrave was confronted with theFalse Waldemar, animposter of the deceased MargraveWaldemar. The pretender was recognized as Margrave of Brandenburg on 2 October 1348 by the new emperor,Charles IV ofLuxembourg, but was exposed as a fraud after a peace between the Wittelsbachs and Luxembourgs atEltville. In 1351 Louis gave the Mark to his younger half-brothersLouis II (the "Roman") andOtto V in exchange for the sole rule overUpper Bavaria.
Louis the Roman forced the False Waldemar to renounce his claims to Brandenburg and succeeded in establishing the Margraves of Brandenburg asprince-electors in theGolden Bull of 1356. Brandenburg therefore became aKurfürstentum (literally "electoral principality" or "electorate") of the Holy Roman Empire and had a vote in the election of theHoly Roman Emperor. The Margrave of Brandenburg also held the ceremonial title ofArch-Chamberlain of the Empire (Latin:Archi-Camerarius Imperii). When Louis the Roman died in 1365, Otto took over the rule of Brandenburg, although he quickly neglected the march. He soldLower Lusatia, which he had already pledged to theWettin dynasty, to Emperor Charles IV in 1367. A year later he lost the townDeutsch Krone (Wałcz), annexed from Greater Poland by Brandenburg in 1296, to Polish KingCasimir the Great.
After the middle of the 14th century, Emperor Charles IV attempted to secure Brandenburg for theHouse of Luxembourg. Control over the electoral vote of Brandenburg would help assure the Luxembourgs of election to the imperial throne, as they already held the vote ofBohemia. Charles succeeded in purchasing Brandenburg from Margrave Otto for 500,000guilders in 1373 and, at aLandtag inGuben, he attached (but did not incorporate) Brandenburg to theCrown of Bohemia. TheLandbuch ("land book", i.e. estate register) of Charles IV, a source for the history of medieval settlement in Brandenburg, originated during this time. Charles chose the castle ofTangermünde to be the electoral residence.
The power of the Luxembourgs in Brandenburg declined during the reign of Charles's nephewJobst of Moravia. In 1402, the Luxembourgs reached an agreement withPoland, by which Poland was to purchase and reincorporate theNew March,[13] which it previously lost to Brandenburg in the 13th century, however in the same year the Luxembourgs pawned the region to theTeutonic Knights, who neglected the border region. Under the Wittelsbach and Luxembourg margraves, Brandenburg fell increasingly under the control of the local nobility as central authority declined.[14]
In return for supportingSigismund as Holy Roman Emperor atFrankfurt in 1410,Frederick VI of Nuremberg, aburgrave of theHouse of Hohenzollern, was granted hereditary control over Brandenburg in 1411. Rebelliouslanded nobility such as theQuitzow family opposed his appointment, but Frederick overpowered these knights withartillery. Some nobles had their property confiscated, and the Brandenburg estates gave allegiance atTangermünde on 20 March 1414.[15] Frederick was officially recognized as Margrave and Prince-elector Frederick I of Brandenburg at theCouncil of Constance in 1415. Frederick's formal investiture with theKurmark, or electoral march, and his appointment as Archchamberlain of the Holy Roman Empire occurred on 18 April 1417, also during the Council of Constance.
Frederick made Berlin his residence, although he retired to hisFranconian possessions in 1425. He granted governance of Brandenburg to his eldest sonJohn the Alchemist, while retaining the electoral dignity for himself. The next elector,Frederick II, forced the submission of Berlin andCölln, setting an example for the other towns of Brandenburg.[16] He reacquired the Neumark from theTeutonic Knights by theTreaties of Cölln and Mewe and began its rebuilding.
Brandenburg accepted theProtestant Reformation in 1539. The population has remained largelyLutheran since, although some later electors converted toCalvinism.
The Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg sought to expand their power base from their relatively meager possessions, although this brought them into conflict with neighboring states.John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg died childless in 1609. His eldest niece,Anna, Duchess of Prussia, was the wife ofJohn Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, who promptly claimed the inheritance and sent troops to take hold of some of John William's holdings in theRhineland. Unfortunately for John Sigismund, this effort became tied up with theThirty Years' War and the disputed succession of Jülich. At the end of the war in 1648, Brandenburg was recognized as the possessor of approximately half the inheritance, comprising theDuchy of Cleves in theRhineland and the Counties ofMark andRavensberg inWestphalia. These territories, which were more than 100 kilometers from the borders of Brandenburg, formed the nucleus of the laterPrussian Rhineland.
WhenAlbert Frederick, Duke of Prussia, died without a son in 1618, his son-in-law John Sigismund inherited theDuchy of Prussia. He then ruled both territories in apersonal union which came to be known asBrandenburg-Prussia. In this way, the fortuitous marriage of John Sigismund to Anna of Prussia, and the deaths of her maternal uncle in 1609 and her father in 1618 without immediate male heirs, proved to be the key events by which Brandenburg acquired territory both in the Rhineland and on the Baltic coast. Prussia lay outside the Holy Roman Empire and the electors of Brandenburg held it as a fief of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, to which the electors paid homage.
The electors of Brandenburg spent the next two centuries attempting to gain lands to unite their separate territories (the Mark Brandenburg, the territories in the Rhineland and Westphalia, and Ducal Prussia) to form one geographically contiguous domain. In thePeace of Westphalia ending theThirty Years' War in 1648, Brandenburg-Prussia acquiredFarther Pomerania and made it theProvince of Pomerania by theTreaty of Stettin (1653). In the second half of the 17th century,Frederick William, the "Great Elector", developed Brandenburg-Prussia into a major power. The state constructed Brandenburg'sfirst navy (Kurbrandenburgische Marine), leading to short-lived colonies atArguin, theBrandenburger Gold Coast, andSaint Thomas. The electors succeeded in acquiring full sovereignty over Prussia in thetreaties of Wehlau and Bromberg in 1657. The territories of the Hohenzollerns were opened to immigration byHuguenot refugees by theEdict of Potsdam in 1685.
In return for aiding EmperorLeopold I during theWar of the Spanish Succession, Frederick William's son,Frederick III, was allowed to elevate Prussia to the status of a kingdom. On 18 January 1701, Frederick crowned himself Frederick I,King in Prussia. Prussia, unlike Brandenburg, lay outside the Holy Roman Empire, within which only the emperor and the ruler of Bohemia could call themselves king. As king was a more prestigious title thanprince-elector, the territories of the Hohenzollerns became known as theKingdom of Prussia, although their power base remained in Brandenburg. Legally, Brandenburg was still part of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Hohenzollerns in personal union with the Prussian kingdom over which they were fully sovereign. For this reason, the Hohenzollerns continued to use the additional title of Elector of Brandenburg for the remainder of the empire's run. However, by this time the emperor's authority over the empire had become merely nominal. The various territories of the empire acted more or less asde facto sovereign states, and only acknowledged the emperor's overlordship over them in a formal way. Thus, Brandenburg came to be treated asde facto part of the Prussian kingdom rather than a separate entity.
From 1701 to 1946, Brandenburg's history was largely that of the state of Prussia, which established itself as a major power in Europe during the 18th century. KingFrederick William I of Prussia, the "Soldier-King", modernized thePrussian Army, while his sonFrederick the Great achieved glory and infamy with theSilesian Wars andPartitions of Poland. The feudal designation of the Margraviate of Brandenburg ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, which made the Hohenzollernsde jure as well asde facto sovereigns over it. It was replaced with theProvince of Brandenburg in 1815 following theNapoleonic Wars. The Prussian kings, however, continued to use the title "Margrave of Brandenburg" in their formal style.
The state of Prussia wasde jure abolished in 1947 after the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II; the Gau March of Brandenburg was replaced with theLand Brandenburg.
This division of Brandenburg continued until theGerman reunification in 1990. The GDR districts were dissolved and replaced with the state ofBrandenburg with its capital in Potsdam. The 850th anniversary of the foundation of the March of Brandenburg was celebrated officially on 11 June 2007, with preliminary celebrations at the Knights' Academy ofBrandenburg an der Havel on 23 June 2006.
^Rogalski, Leon (1846).Dzieje Krzyżaków oraz ich stosunki z Polską, Litwą i Prussami, poprzedzone rysem dziejów wojen krzyżowych. Tom II (in Polish). Warszawa. pp. 59–60.
H.W. Koch (1978).A History of Prussia. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. p. 326.ISBN0-88029-158-3.
Rymar, Edward (1979). "Rywalizacja o ziemię lubuską i kasztelanię międzyrzecką w latach 1319–1326, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem stosunków pomorsko-śląskch".Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka (in Polish).XXXIV (4). Wrocław:Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, WydawnictwoPolskiej Akademii Nauk.
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