Otto I, Duke of Merania
| Otto I | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Merania | |
 Otto I of Andechs, Hedwig Codex, 1353 | |
| Spouse(s) | Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy |
| Noble family | House of Andechs |
| Father | Berthold, Duke of Merania |
| Mother | Agnes of Rochlitz |
| Born | c. 1180 |
| Died |
7 May 1234 Besançon, County of Burgundy |
| Buried | Langheim Abbey |
Otto I (c. 1180 – 7 May 1234), a member of the House of Andechs, was Duke of Merania from 1204 until his death. He was also Count of Burgundy (as Otto II) from 1208 to 1231, by his marriage to Countess Beatrice II, and Margrave of Istria and Carniola from 1228 until his death.
Life
He was born about 1180 the eldest son of Duke Berthold of Merania and his wife Agnes of Rochlitz. On the death of his father in 1204, he succeeded him as Duke of Merania, while the margravial titles in Istria and Carniola were inherited by his younger brother Henry II.
On 21 June 1208, Otto married Beatrice of Hohenstaufen, daughter of late Count Otto I of Burgundy. At the wedding ceremony in Bamberg, the Hohenstaufen king Philip of Swabia was murdered, whereafter Otto approached to his Welf rival Otto IV. However, the position of the Andechs dynasty was significantly weakened. Otto's brother Henry II was accused to have been involved in Philip's assassination and his estates were seized by Duke Louis I of Bavaria.
Otto assumed the rule in the County of Burgundy was contested by the local Counts of Auxonne and in the long-time struggle, Otto even had to give the Burgundian lands in pawn to Count Theobald IV of Champagne. On Beatrice's death in 1231, he ceased to be Count and was succeeded by his son Otto III.
In 1213 Otto had joined the Babenberg duke Leopold VI of Austria and his brother-in-law King Andrew II of Hungary in the Fifth Crusade.[1] In 1228 he inherited the Marches of Istria and Carniola, which his brother Henry II had regained shortly before.
On his death in 1234, he was further succeeded by his son Otto II as Duke of Merania.
Marriage and children
Otto's first marriage with Beatrice of Hohenstaufen produced the following children:
- Otto II, (c. 1226 – 19 June 1248), succeeded his mother as Count of Burgundy (as Otto III) in 1231 and his father as Duke of Merania as well as Margrave of Istria and Carniola in 1234, married Elizabeth, daughter of Albert IV of Tyrol. With his death, the House of Andechs became extinct in the male line.
- Agnes (d. 1260/63), married Duke Frederick II of Austria, divorced, married secondly Duke Ulrich III of Carinthia
- Beatrix (d. after 1265), married Count Herman II of Weimar-Orlamünde
- Margaret (d. 1271), married Přemysl of Moravia, a younger son of King Ottokar I of Bohemia, married secondly Count Frederick of Truhendingen
- Adelaide (d. 1279), heiress of the County of Burgundy upon her brother's death in 1248, married Count Hugh of Salins, married secondly Philip I of Savoy
- Elisabeth, married Burgrave Frederick III of Hohenzollern, Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1261
After Beatrice's death in 1231, Otto secondly married Sophia, daughter of Count Henry I of Anhalt. This marriage remained childless.
| Otto I, Duke of Merania House of Andechs Born: c. 1180 Died: 7 May 1234 | ||
| Preceded by Berthold |
Duke of Merania 1204–1234 |
Succeeded by Otto II |
| Preceded by Beatrice II |
Count of Burgundy (co-ruler) 1208–1231 | |
| Preceded by Henry II |
Margrave of Istria and Carniola 1228–1234 | |
References
- Lechner, Karl (1976). Die Babenberger: Markgrafen und Herzoge von Österreich 976–1246. Vienna: Böhlau. ISBN 978-3205085089.
- ↑ Lechner 1974, pp.198
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