Conrad II, Margrave of Lusatia

FatherDedi III, Margrave of LusatiaMotherMatilda of Heinsberg

Margrave Conrad II of Lusatia, also known as Margrave Konrad II of Landsberg (before 1159 – 6 May 1210), was a member of the House of Wettin. He was Count of Eilenburg and Margrave of Lusatia from 1190 until his death. From 1207, he was also Count of Groitz and Count of Sommerschenburg. He was a son of Margrave Dedi III and his wife, Matilda of Heinsberg, the heiress of Sommerschenburg.

Life

Conrad inherited the March of Lusatia and the County of Eilenburg when his father died in 1190. In 1207, he inherited the Counties of Groitz and Sommerschenburg from his brother Dietrich.

In 1195, Emperor Henry VI dissolved the March of Meissen after the death of Margrave Albert I. This made Conrad the highest-ranking nobleman in the area, and the most senior member of the House of Wettin.^[1]

In 1196, Conrad travelled via Italy to the Holy Land to participate in the Crusade of Emperor Henry VI. In 1198, he returned home, again via Italy. In 1207, he organized a Landtag at Delitzsch Castle.

Conrad died on 6 May 1210 and was buried in the Wechselburg Priory. His wife Elisabeth was buried in Dobrilugk Abbey. Since he had no male heirs, his territory passed to his cousin Theodoric I, who had been appointed Margrave of Meissen when the March of Meissen was reinstated by Emperor Otto IV in 1198. After 1210, there no longer was a separate Margrave of Lusatia. Instead, Lusatia was held by the Margraves of Meissen, then the Margraves of Landsberg, then divided between Bohemia and Brandenburg.

Marriage and issue

He married Elisabeth (Elżbieta) of Poland (c. 1152 – 2 April 1209), who was a daughter of Mieszko III the Old, the High Duke of Poland, and widow of Soběslav II, Duke of Bohemia (d. 1180). He had three children with her:^[2]

• Conrad (documented as alive in 1207; died before 6 May 1210)
• Matilda (died in 1255 in Salzwedel, buried in Lehnin Abbey), married in August 1205 Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg (d. 25 February 1220).
• Agnes (d. 1266), founder of Wienhausen Abbey and buried there; married in 1211 to Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (d. 28 April 1227)

Ancestors

References

• Heinrich Theodor Flathe (1882), "Konrad von Landsberg", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 16, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 587–588
• Holger Kunde: Das Zisterzienserkloster Pforte — Die Urkundenfälschungen und die frühe Geschichte bis 1236, in the series Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte Sachsen-Anhalts, vol. 4, Böhlau, Cologne, 2003, ISBN 3-412-14601-3, p. 99
• Ferdinand Wachter: Geschichte Sachsens bis auf die neuesten Zeiten, part 2, August Lehnhold, Leipzig, 1830, p. 225

Footnotes

Conrad II, Margrave of Lusatia House of Wettin Born: before 1159 Died: 6 May 1210
Preceded by Dedi III	Margrave of Lusatia 1190-1210	Succeeded by Theodoric I