Pribislav (Hevelli prince)

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Statue of Pribislav (rightmost figure) flanking that of Otto I (center) on the former Siegesallee (1898)
Statue of Pribislav (rightmost figure) flanking that of Otto I (center) on the former Siegesallee (1898)

Pribislav Henry (German: Pribislaw-Heinrich; c. 10751150) was a Christian prince and the last ruler of the Slavic Hevelli tribe in the Northern March of Brandenburg. During Pribislav's reign, in which he cultivated close connections with the German nobility, the Holy Roman Empire re-affirmed Christian government in the Hevelli region from Brandenburg an der Havel to Spandau, which had been destroyed in earlier heathen uprisings. The bishopric, established in the early 900s and later destroyed were re-established.

Pribislav came to power at the castle of Brenna (Brandenburg an der Havel) in 1127. He was baptized as Heinrich (Henry) and became known in literature with the double name Pribislav-Henry. Since his predecessor Meinfried had already accepted Christianity, it followed that Pribislav had already been baptized in childhood, in contrast to the ideas of medieval chroniclers that the prince had first been baptized as an adult.

Pribislav served as the godfather for Albert the Bear's first son, Otto. Emperor Lothair III raised Pribislav to the status of a king in 1134, although Albert was granted control over the Northern March. Because Pribislav was childless, Brandenburg passed to Albert after the death of the Slavic prince in Brandenburg an der Havel.

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