List of the burgraves of Meissen

This is a list of the burgraves of Meissen.

The Burgraviate of Meissen was first mentioned in 1068, when King Henry IV installed a burgrave in the imperial castle (Reichsburg) of Meissen. The burgraves of Meissen were royal officials appointed to document the king's claims to power. They acted as a counterbalance to the margrave and bishop of Meissen and were based at a castle on the site of the Albrechtsburg at Meißen. The lordship of the burgrave included quite a few of the villages in the surrounding area. The Vogtland was not part of the burgraviate, but the two territories had the same lord. The burgraves came from the House of Meinheringer and, from 1426, the House of Plauen. The Burgraviate of Meissen should not be confused with the Bishopric of Meissen and the Margraviate of Meissen.

List (incomplete)

Verifiable burgraves from to Life span Remarks
Frederick I of Wettin before 1009 1017 d 1017
Burchard 1076 d 1076 Murdered
Burchard II 1114 1117
Henry Haupt (Caput) 1116 Exchanged by Henry V for Wiprecht von Groitzsch, Louis of Thuringia and Burchard II.
Hoyer Recorded 1180
Burgraves
from the Meinheringer family		 from to Life span Remarks
Hermann Sterker von Wohlsbach 1170 1180 b ca. 1143; d ca. 1171 With nephew of the same name, Hermann, Count of Wolfsbach and Schaumberg (b before 1152; d after 1177)
Meinher I of Werben 1199 b before 1171; d 1217/1218
Meinher II 1214 b 1203; d after 1250 Partly with his brother, Hermann II (I)
Meinher (III) 1243 d after 1297 Son of Meinher II.
Hermann III. b before 1308; d after 1351 Grandson of Meinher (III)
Meinher IV (V) b before 1308; d 1352/1355 Grandson of Meinher (III)
Hermann IV † nach 1349 Son of Hermann III.
Meinher V (VI) b before 1308; d 1388 Founder of the Hartenstein line
Berthold I 1388 1398 d 1398 Founder of the Frauenstein line
Meinher VI 1398 after 1401 b before 1381; d after 1403 Son of Berthold I.
Henry I of Hartenstein 1388 1423 * vor 1381; d 1423 Son of Meinher V (VI)
Henry II 1423 1426 †† ⚔ 1426 Last Meinheringer, son of Henry I.
Burgraves
from the Plauen family		 from to Life span Remarks
Henry I of Plauen 1426 (1439) 1446 b 1387; d 1446/1447 Originally Henry X of Plauen
Henry II of Plauen 1446/1447 1482 b 1417; d 1482/1484 In 1466 the lordship of the Plauens over the Ämter of Plauen and Voigtsberg ended with the expulsion of Henry II. It was given to the Saxon elector, Ernest as a Bohemian enfeoffment.
Henry III of Plauen 1482 1519 b 1453; d 1519 In 1482 Henry III finally renounced his claims in favour of the House of Wettin, but still retained the right for himself and his descendants to bear the title of Burgrave of Meissen, which conferred on him a voice at the Imperial Diet. This was confirmed to him by Emperor Frederick III in a 1490 document.
Henry IV of Plauen 1519 1554 b 1510; d 1554
Henry V of Plauen 1554 1568 b 1533; d 1568
Henry VI of Plauen 1554 1572 b 1536; d 1572

With the extinction of the Older Line of the advocates (Vögte) of Plauen in 1572 the family line of the burgraves of Meißen ended. After the Plauens had never reigned as burgraves, the title now went to the prince-electors of Saxony.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the burgraves had a black saltire on a gold field. On the helmet is a gold rectangular shield board (Schirmbrett), on which is a cross, which is adorned at the corners with 5 peacock feathers. The mantle is gold and black. This coat of arms was also carried by the burgraves of Merseburg, Naumburg (Saale), Neuenburg near Freyburg (Unstrut) and Osterfeld.

Literature

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