This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Mark, or March, of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire. It was created in 1157 as the Margraviate of Brandenburg by Albert the Bear, Margrave of the Northern March. In 1356, by the terms of the Golden Bull of Charles IV, the Margrave of Brandenburg was given the permanent right to participate in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor with the title of Elector (German: Kurfürst).
The early rulers came from several different dynasties, but from 1415 Brandenburg and its successor states were ruled by the House of Hohenzollern for over 500 years. The titles of Margrave of Brandenburg and Elector of Brandenburg were abolished along with the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. However the Hohenzollern-ruled state based in Berlin continued under the name of the Kingdom of Prussia (the Hohenzollerns had been kings in Prussia since 1701 and Kings of Prussia since 1772.) From 1871 to 1918 the Hohenzollerns were also the German Emperors.
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| Ascanian Dynasty | |||||
| Name | Reign | Comments | |||
| Albert I | 1157–1170 | Ruler of the Nordmark from 1134. Called "Albert the Bear". | |||
| Otto I | 1170–1184 | Son of Albert I. Ruled together with his father from 1144. | |||
| Otto II | 1184–1205 | Son of preceding. | |||
| Albert II | 1205–1220 | Brother. | |||
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Co-rulers, sons of Albert II. | |||
| From 1266 to 1319, Brandenburg was held by the two lines of Brandenburg-Stendal and Brandenburg-Salzwedel, all of whom jointly shared the title of Margrave. | |||||
| Brandenburg-Stendal | Brandenburg-Salzwedel | ||||
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Co-rulers, sons of John I:
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Co-rulers, sons of Otto III:
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Co-rulers:
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Co-rulers:
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| After the extinction of the Ascanian dynasty in 1320, Brandenburg came under the control of the Emperor Louis IV of the House of Wittelsbach, who granted Brandenburg to his eldest son, Louis V of Bavaria. | |||||
| Wittelsbach Dynasty | |||||
| Name | Reign | Comments | |||
| Louis I "the Brandenburger" | 1323–51 | Cousin of Henry II, Son of Emperor Louis IV. | |||
| Louis II "the Roman". | 1351–56 | Half-brother of preceding; named Elector in 1356. | |||
| Wittelsbach Dynasty | ||||
| Image | Name | Began | Ended | Comments |
| Louis II Ludwig II |
10 January 1356 | 17 May 1365 | First Elector of Brandenburg. Called "the Roman" | |
| Otto VII | 17 May 1365 | 18 August 1373 | Brother of preceding. Co-ruler of Brandenburg with his brother from 1351, but as a minor (b. 1346) took no part in administration until his brother's death. Abdicated 1373 but retained Electoral title. Died 1379. | |
| Luxemburg Dynasty | ||||
| Image | Name | Began | Ended | Comments |
| Wenceslaus Wenzel |
2 October 1373 | 29 November 1378 | Emperor Charles IV forced the last Wittelsbach Elector to abdicate, and then installed his own son, Wenceslaus. As Wenceslaus was still a minor (b. 1361), the Emperor administered the margraviate for him. | |
| Sigismund | 29 November 1378 | 1388 | Younger brother of Wenceslaus; took control of Brandenburg on his brother's ascension as King of Germany and Bohemia. Gave up Brandenburg to his cousin Jobst as security for a substantial loan. | |
| Jobst | 1388 | 16 January 1411 | Sigismund's first cousin, nephew of Charles IV. Elected as German King in 1410 in opposition to Sigismund, but died very shortly afterwards. | |
| Sigismund | 16 January 1411 | 30 April 1415 | Following Jobst's death, Sigismund regained control of Brandenburg and was elected undisputed King of Germany. | |
| Hohenzollern Dynasty | ||||
| Image | Name | Began | Ended | Comments |
| Frederick I Friedrich I |
30 April 1415 | 20 September 1440 | Originally Burgrave of Nuremberg. Appointed by King Sigismund in 1415 and enfeoffed in 1417. His eldest son John the Alchemist administered Brandenburg as Margrave from 1425 to 1437, but Frederick retained the Electorship. | |
| Frederick II Friedrich II |
20 September 1440 | 10 February 1471 | Son of Frederick I. Called "Irontooth" (German: Eisenzahn). Administered Brandenburg from 1437 and became Elector on his father's death in 1440. | |
| Albert III Achilles Albrecht III Achilles |
10 February 1471 | 11 March 1486 | Brother. | |
| John Cicero Johann Cicero |
11 March 1486 | 9 January 1499 | Son. | |
| Joachim I Nestor | 9 January 1499 | 11 July 1535 | Son. His younger brother, Albert was co-Margrave 1499-1513, but only Joachim was Elector. | |
| Joachim II Hector | 11 July 1535 | 3 January 1571 | Son. First Protestant Elector of Brandenburg. | |
| John George Johann Georg |
3 January 1571 | 8 January 1598 | Son. | |
| Joachim Frederick Joachim Friedrich |
8 January 1598 | 28 July 1608 | Son. | |
| John Sigismund Johann Sigismund |
28 July 1608 | 3 November 1619 | Son. Duke of Prussia from 1618. | |
| George William Georg Wilhelm |
3 November 1619 | 1 December 1640 | Son. Ruled during the Thirty Years' War. Also Duke of Prussia. | |
| Frederick William Friedrich Wilhelm |
1 December 1640 | 9 May 1688 | Son. Called "the Great Elector". Also Duke of Prussia. | |
| Frederick III Friedrich III |
9 May 1688 | 25 February 1713 | Son. "King in Prussia" as Frederick I from 1701; from here the ordinals reset | |
| Frederick William I Friedrich Wilhelm I |
25 February 1713 | 31 May 1740 | Son. King in Prussia. Called "the Soldier-King". | |
| Frederick II Friedrich II |
31 May 1740 | 17 August 1786 | Son. King in Prussia to 1772; after annexations of Polish Prussian territory, "King of Prussia". Called "Frederick the Great". | |
| Frederick William II Friedrich Wilhelm II |
17 August 1786 | 16 November 1797 | Nephew. King of Prussia. | |
| Frederick William III Friedrich Wilhelm III |
16 November 1797 | 6 August 1806 | Son. King of Prussia and last Elector of Brandenburg. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, after which Frederick William ruled as independent King of Prussia (including Brandenburg) to his death in 1840. | |
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For further rulers of Brandenburg as part of Prussia, see List of rulers of Prussia.
In 1815 Brandenburg was constituted as the Prussian Province of Brandenburg without a sovereign ruler, but with Upper Presidents appointed by the central Prussian government. The upper president carried out central prerogatives on the provincial level and supervised the implementation of central policy on the lower levels of administration.
Since 1875, with the strengthening of self-rule within the provinces, the urban and rural counties elected representatives for the provincial diets (Provinziallandtage). These parliaments legislated within the competences transferred to the provinces. The provincial diet of Brandenburg elected a provincial executive body (government), the provincial committee (Provinzialausschuss), and a head of province, the land director (Landesdirektor).[1] Self-rule was abolished under the Nazi dictatorship.
History of Brandenburg and Prussia |
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| Northern March pre-12th century |
Old Prussians pre-13th century |
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| Margraviate of Brandenburg 1157–1618 (1806) |
Ordensstaat 1224–1525 |
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| Duchy of Prussia 1525–1618 |
Royal (Polish) Prussia 1466–1772 |
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| Brandenburg-Prussia 1618–1701 |
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| Kingdom in Prussia 1701–1772 |
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| Kingdom of Prussia 1772–1918 |
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| Free State of Prussia 1918–1947 |
Klaipėda Region (Lithuania) 1920-39 / 1945-present |
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| Brandenburg (Germany) 1947–1952 / 1990–present |
Recovered Territories (Poland) 1918/45-present |
Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia) 1945-present |
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After the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, Brandenburg, which had previously been merely a province of Prussia, re-emerged as a German Land.
After being abolished in a reorganization of the territories administered by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the Land Brandenburg was restored in the prelude to German unification in 1990.