Otto II | |
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Margrave of Meissen | |
17th century depiction
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Reign | 1156–1190 |
Predecessor | Conrad |
Successor | Albert I |
Born | 1125 |
Died | 18 February 1190 |
Buried | Altzella Abbey |
Spouse(s) | Hedwig of Brandenburg |
Issue | |
Father | Conrad, Margrave of Meissen |
Mother | Liutgard of Ravenstein-Elchingen |
Otto II, the Rich (German: Otto der Reiche; 1125 – 18 February 1190), a member of the House of Wettin, was Margrave of Meissen from 1156 until his death.
He was the eldest surviving son of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen, margrave of Meissen and Lusatia. When his father, under pressure from Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, retired and entered the Augustinian convent of Lauterberg in 1156, Otto succeeded him in Meissen while his younger brothers Theodoric and Dedi received the March of Lusatia and the County of Groitzsch with Rochlitz.
The partition meant a weakening of the Wettin rule, and Otto's Imperial politics remained rather ineffective. He had to stand by and watch the emperor's extension of power in the Pleissnerland territory around Altenburg, Chemnitz and Zwickau; moreover he picked an unsuccessful quarrel with the rising burgraves of Dohna in the Eastern Ore Mountains. Together with Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg he joined Emperor Frederick's expedition against the rebellious Saxon duke Henry the Lion in 1179, however, he failed to benefit from his downfall.