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| Albert I | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst | |
| Reign | 1298-17 August 1316 |
| Predecessor | Siegfried I |
| Successor | Albert II and Waldemar I |
| Born | c. 1258 |
| Died | 17 August 1316 |
| Spouse | Liutgard Agnes |
| Issue | Siegfried II Henry Albert II Agnes Waldemar I Judith Matilda |
| House | Ascania |
| Father | Siegfried I |
| Mother | Catherine Birgersdotter of Bjelbo |
Albert I (born c. 1258; died 17 August 1316) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and the second ruler of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1298 until his death.
He was the eldest son of Prince Siegfried I of Anhalt-Zerbst, by his wife Catherine of Bjelbo, daughter of the Swedish regent Birger Jarl and sister of Kings Valdemar and Magnus III of Sweden. From about 1290, after Prince Siegfried abdicated to become a preaching monk, Albert ruled the Anhalt territories of his father, then comprising the towns of Dessau and Köthen. In 1295, Prince Albert was the first member of the House of Ascania who took his residence at Köthen Castle.
He participated in the 1291 siege of Harly Castle against the Welf duke Henry I of Brunswick-Grubenhagen. Together with Abbot Konrad of Nienburg and his cousin Prince Bernhard II of Anhalt-Bernburg, Albert abolished the use of Polabian (Wendish) as a court language in his domains in 1293. He later obtained a part of Zerbst still controlled by the Ascanian Margraves of Brandenburg as a fiefdom. The acquisition was accomplished about 1307.
After the murder of the Habsburg king Albert I of Germany in 1308 he was suggested by his brother-in-law Margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg to be elected the new King of the Romans, but had no success in obtaining this dignity.
Albert's first marriage was to Liutgard (b. ca. 1251 - d. aft. 28 February 1289), daughter of Count Gerhard I of Holstein-Itzehoe, and widow of Duke John of Brunswick-Lüneburg. They had two sons:
In 1300 Albert married for a second time to Agnes (d. 4 June 1330), daughter of Margrave Conrad of Brandenburg-Stendal. Through her father she was a 2nd great-granddaughter of Margrave Otto I of Brandenburg, older brother of Count Bernhard of Anhalt, Albert's great-grandfather. They had five children:
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The House of Ascania was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.
The Duchy of Anhalt was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House of Ascania, and is now part of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into the re-united Duchy of Anhalt in 1863. The capital of the state was Dessau in present-day Saxony-Anhalt.
Anhalt-Köthen was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1562, when it fell to Prince Joachim Ernest of Anhalt-Zerbst, who merged it into the reunited Principality of Anhalt.
Waldemar the Great, a member of the House of Ascania, was Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal from 1308 until his death. He became sole ruler of the Margraviate of Brandenburg upon the death of his cousin John V of Brandenburg-Salzwedel in 1317. Waldemar is known as the last in the line of Ascanian margraves starting with Albert the Bear in 1157; he was only succeeded by his minor cousin Henry II, who died one year later.
The Principality of Anhalt was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, located in Central Germany, in what is today part of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Anhalt-Zerbst was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania, with its residence at Zerbst in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision of the Principality of Anhalt from 1252 until 1396, when it was divided into the principalities of Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. Recreated in 1544, Anhalt-Zerbst finally was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau, Anhalt-Köthen, and Anhalt-Bernburg in 1796 upon the extinction of the line.
Henry I, a member of the House of Ascania, was Count of Anhalt from 1212 and the first ruling Anhalt prince from 1218 until his death.
Otto II, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben was a German prince of the House of Ascania and the last ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Aschersleben.
Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg.
Siegfried I, a member of the House of Ascania, ruled as the first Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1252 until his death.
Albert II, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst.
John II, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst.
Waldemar I, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst.
Sigismund I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst until 1396, when he became the first ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau. He was the eldest son of John II, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, by his wife Elisabeth, daughter of John I, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen.
Albert IV, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst until 1396, when he became the first ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen.
George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau. He was the second son of Sigismund I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, by his wife Judith, daughter of Gebhard XI, Count of Querfurt.
Victor Frederick of Anhalt-Bernburg, was a German prince of the House of Ascania. He was Reigning prince of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg from 1721 to 1765.
Rudolf I, a member of the House of Ascania, was Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg from 1298 until his death. By the Golden Bull of 1356 he was acknowledged as Elector of Saxony.
Catherine was Princess consort of Anhalt-Zerbst by marriage to Siegfried I, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, regent to Principality of Anhalt and a member of the House of Ascania.
