Otto I, Margrave of Brandenburg
| Otto I | |
|---|---|
| Margrave of Brandenburg | |
Monument in Berlin to Otto I
|
|
| Margrave of Brandenburg | |
| Reign | 1170–1184 |
| Predecessor | Albert the Bear |
| Successor | Otto II |
| Born | c. 1128 |
| Died | July 8, 1184 |
| Burial | Lehnin Abbey |
| Spouse |
Judith of Poland Ada of Holland |
| Issue |
Otto II, Margrave of Brandenburg Henry, Count of Tangermünde and Gardelegen Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg |
| House | House of Ascania |
| Father | Albert the Bear |
| Mother | Sophie of Winzenburg |
Otto I (c. 1128 – July 8, 1184) was the second Margrave of Brandenburg, from 1170 until his death.
Otto I was born into the House of Ascania as the eldest son of Albert I ("Albert the Bear"), who founded the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1157, and his wife Sophie of Winzenburg. He had three sisters and six brothers, the best known of whom were Prince-Archbishop Siegfried of Bremen, and Count Bernhard of Anhalt, later Duke of Saxony.
Otto's year of birth is traditionally recorded as 1128, but recent historians have cast some doubts on the date. Pribislav of the Havolanes is known to have served as Otto's godfather and given the lands of Zauche bordering the Ascanian possessions as a gift upon the occasion; Partenheimer (2003) dates that event to 1123 or 1125.
Around 1148, Otto married Judith of the Piast dynasty, sister of the Dukes of Poland Boleslaw IV and Mieszko III. Arrangements for the marriage were agreed upon during the Wendic Crusade (one of the Northern Crusades) in a meeting of January 6, 1148, in which Archbishop Friedrich of Wettin participated besides Otto and the two Polish dukes. According to Partenheimer (2003), the marriage was contracted in connection with the Ascanian efforts to support the Piast dynasty in opposition to King Conrad, who supported Wladyslaw II as legal ruler of Poland. After Judith's death in 1175, Otto married Ada of Holland in 1176, daughter of Floris III, Count of Holland.
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