Henry I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark

Who was Henry I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark?

Henry I, called the Elder, count of Eilenburg and son of Count Dedo II of Wettin and his second wife Adela of Brabant, inherited in 1075 the marches of Lusatia and Ostmark.

In 1089, following the deposition of the anti-king Egbert II of Meissen, he was granted Meissen by the Emperor Henry IV. He was the first of the House of Wettin to govern that margraviate. It had previously been held by Vratislaus II of Bohemia, but he had never been confirmed in his possession.

He was married to Gertrud of Braunschweig, daughter of the margrave Egbert I of Meissen, from which marriage he had only a son, his successor Henry.