The Marca Geronis or March of Gero was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was probably created for Thietmar in the 920s and passed consecutively to his two sons, Siegfried and Gero . On Gero's death in 965 it was divided into five different marches: the Nordmark , Ostmark , Meissen , Zeitz , and Merseburg .
23-581: Because Siegfried's and Gero's comital seat was Merseburg , it has sometimes been called the March of Merseburg . However, there is also a Merseburger march which grew out of it after 965. Because the central diocese in his march was Magdeburg , it is sometimes called the March of Magdeburg . Other historians prefer to call it the Saxon Eastern March or Ostmark , but these terms are also applied to another march which grew out of it in 965. Because
46-571: A miles armatus should be." The Magyars had besieged an unknown town but attempted to withdraw in the night because Henry and his army had camped in the neighborhood at Riade. Henry sent forward a small contingent of footsoldiers with a few cavalrymen as a screen for his main army. The king had learned what to expect from the preceding struggles, where the rapidity of the Magyar light cavalry and archers had brought them success. He confronted their onset with light armoured combatants at first, followed by
69-470: A massed heavy cavalry attack. According to Widukind of Corvey, the Magyar forces readily fled at the coming of Henry's horsemen and the victorious German troops declared Henry emperor on the battlefield. The exact location of the battle is unknown and several municipalities in Central Germany claim to be the site of the combat, among them Kalbsrieth , at the confluence of Unstrut and Helme , and
92-717: Is twinned with: Battle of Riade The Battle of Riade or Battle of Merseburg was fought between the troops of East Francia under King Henry I and the Magyars at an unidentified location in northern Thuringia along the river Unstrut on 15 March 933. The battle was precipitated by the decision of the Synod of Erfurt to stop paying an annual tribute to the Magyars in 932. The Magyars (Hungarians), Eurasian nomads who had originally served as mercenaries under Emperor Arnulf , after his death in 899 began to campaign in
115-865: Is part of Merseburg. Trebnitz, previously part of Kreypau , followed in 2003. Beuna was annexed on 1 January 2009. Geusa is a part of Merseburg since 1 January 2010. [REDACTED] Bishopric of Merseburg 1004-1565 [REDACTED] Electorate of Saxony 1565-1657 [REDACTED] Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg 1657-1738 [REDACTED] Poland - Saxony 1738-1763 [REDACTED] Electorate of Saxony 1763-1806 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Saxony 1806-1815 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Prussia 1815-1871 [REDACTED] German Empire 1871-1918 [REDACTED] Weimar Republic 1918-1933 [REDACTED] Nazi Germany 1933-1945 [REDACTED] Allied-occupied Germany 1945-1949 [REDACTED] East Germany 1949-1990 [REDACTED] Germany 1990-present Merseburg
138-517: Is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg . The University of Merseburg is located within the town. Merseburg has around 35,000 inhabitants. The town Merseburg consists of Merseburg proper and the following four Ortschaften or municipal divisions: Venenien was incorporated into Merseburg on 1 January 1949. The parish Kötzschen followed on 1 July 1950. Since 30 May 1994, Meuschau
161-935: The German Peasants' War and also during the Thirty Years' War . From 1657 to 1738 Merseburg was the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Merseburg , after which it fell to the Electorate of Saxony . In 1815 following the Napoleonic Wars , the town became part of the Prussian Province of Saxony . Merseburg is where the Merseburg Incantations were rediscovered in 1841. Written down in Old High German , they are hitherto
184-474: The Hunnenfeld near Riethgen . However the place of Riade rendered by Widukind denotes the army camp of King Henry, probably not identical with the battlefield. In Henry's lifetime the Magyars did not dare to make a further raid on East Francia. In 954 they again invaded Germany during a rebellion instigated by Duke Liudolf of Swabia and were finally defeated by Henry's son and successor King Otto I at
207-591: The Kingdom of Italy and East Francia. In 906 they broke up Great Moravia and one year later destroyed a Bavarian army under Margrave Luitpold at the Battle of Pressburg . In 924 a Magyar army invading the German duchy of Saxony defeated King Henry I in the field, but an Árpád prince—probably Zoltán —captured near Pfalz Werla allowed Henry to negotiate for terms. A truce of nine years, during which annual tribute
230-519: The Marca Geronis was created simultaneously with the March of Billung to the north, it is sometimes said to be the southern half of the Ostmark. Some historians even call it the "March of Meissen." Within the span of one page, James Westfall Thompson refers to it as both the " Sorben Mark " and the " Thuringian March ". Part of the complication involved in ascertaining the territoriality of
253-520: The German kingdom, though only French chronicler Flodoard of Reims records the Bavarian presence. The Thuringian contingent, though probably mounted, was described as inermes , or unarmed (though probably just poorly armed) by the contemporary chronicler Widukind of Corvey. His Saxon horsemen were described as armed warriors ( miles armatus ), but "he could not trust his horsemen, because they lacked certain skills and not enough of them were equipped as
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#1732765014007276-756: The Historical Pageant, the International Palace-Moat Concerts, Merseburg Organ Days and the Puppet Show Festival Week are events celebrated every year. Merseburg station is located on the Halle–Bebra railway . Leipzig/Halle Airport is 25 kilometers away. Merseburg is connected with the Halle (Saale) tramway network . A tram ride from Halle's city centre to Merseburg takes about 50 minutes. Merseburg
299-459: The centre of a smaller, more restricted march belonging to Gunther . On Gunther's death in 982, it was united to the March of Meissen. Merseburg Merseburg ( German: [ˈmɛʁzəbʊʁk] ) is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt , situated on the river Saale , and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig . It
322-480: The former East Germany, Merseburg has had a general decline in population since German Reunification despite annexing and merging with a number of smaller nearby villages. Population of Merseburg (from 1960, population on 31 December, unless otherwise indicated) : 1834 to 1933 1939 to 1984 1990 to 2007 from 2008 from 2016 Data source from 1990: Statistical Office of Saxony Anhalt 1 29 October 2 31 August 3 3 October 4 14 July 2008 Among
345-604: The help of the local Slavic population. The German princes accepted the sovereignty of the Polish prince in these areas. Some historians believe that since the convention in Gniezno, the Brave might have had certain rights to the German throne after Otto III, guaranteed by some succession document. Merseburg was later the site of a failed assassination attempt on Polish ruler Bolesław I Chrobry in 1002. The town suffered severely during
368-448: The march over which Gero ruled is the nature of the margravial title in tenth-century Saxony. It may have signified territorial governance, but on the other hand may have been an honorific for especially powerful counts signifying nothing more than a preeminence in providing defence of the provinces in which were found their counties. It has been suggested that marcher jurisdictions even overlapped within provinces. In 965, Merseburg became
391-662: The notable buildings of Merseburg are the Merseburg Cathedral of St John the Baptist (founded 1015, rebuilt in the 13th and 16th centuries) and the episcopal palace (15th century). The cathedral-and-palace ensemble also features a palace garden. Other sights include the Merseburg House of Trades with a cultural stage and the German Museum of Chemistry, Merseburg. The Merseburg Palace Festival with
414-563: The only preserved German documents with a heathen theme. One of them is a charm to release warriors caught during battle, and the other is a charm to heal a horse's sprained foot. At the beginning of the 20th century, Merseburg was transformed into an industrial town, largely due to the pioneering work done by Carl Bosch and Friedrich Bergius , who laid down the scientific fundamentals of the catalytic high-pressure ammonia synthesis from 1909 to 1913. The nearby Leuna works continue this tradition of chemical industry. The Merseburger Tageblatt
437-447: The other eight worked the fields. In time of invasion, all nine could man the castles. After he believed the necessary reforms had been made, Henry secured the support of the church in reneging on tribute payments in 932. Allegedly he had a dead dog thrown down in front of the Magyar negotiators, which amounted to a declaration of war. In preparation for the campaign, Henry levied mounted contingents from every region and stem duchy of
460-676: Was first mentioned in 850. King Henry the Fowler built a royal palace at Merseburg; in the 933 Battle of Riade , he gained his great victory over the Hungarians in the vicinity. Thietmar , appointed in 973, became the first bishop of the newly created bishopric of Prague in Bohemia . Prague had been part of the archbishopric of Mainz for a hundred years before that. From 968 until the Protestant Reformation , Merseburg
483-680: Was published as a local newspaper in Merseburg. Merseburg was badly damaged in World War II . In 23 air raids, 6,200 dwellings were completely or partly destroyed. The historic town centre was almost completely destroyed. Briefly part of Saxony-Anhalt after the war, it was then administered within the Bezirk Halle in East Germany . It became part of Saxony-Anhalt again after the reunification of Germany . Like many towns in
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#1732765014007506-547: Was required of the Germans, was declared in 926. During the truce, Henry reorganised the defences of his Saxonian duchy and subdued the Polabian Slavs in the east. At a 926 assembly, Henry secured the construction of new castles and the authorisation of a new form of garrison duty: the soldiery were organised into groups of nine agrarii milites (farmer-soldiers), one of which was doing guard duty at any given time while
529-636: Was the seat of the Bishop of Merseburg , and in addition to being for a time the residence of the margraves of Meissen , it was a favorite residence of the German kings during the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries. Fifteen diets were held here during the Middle Ages, during which time its fairs enjoyed the importance which was afterwards transferred to those of Leipzig . After Ekkehard's treacherous death on April 3, 1002, Bolesław I Chrobry took Merseburg and Meissen, and then Milsko with Bautzen and Strehla, with
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