Landmeister of Prussia was a high office in the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. The Landmeister administered the land of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

of the Teutonic Order. It was in existence as a separate office from 1230 to 1309, later being held in union with the office of Grand Master until 1525.

History

The office was created at the same time as the beginning of the conquest and the forcible Christianization of the Prussians in the summer of 1230. The first Landmeister,

Hermann von Balk Hermann Balk (died March 5, 1239, Würzburg), also known as Hermann von Balk or Hermann Balke, was a Knight-Brother of the Teutonic Order and its first '' Landmeister'', or Provincial Master, in both Prussia and Livonia. From 1219 to 1227, he serv ...

, received the Kulmer Land from the Duke

Konrad I of Masovia Konrad I of Masovia (ca. 1187/88 – 31 August 1247), from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia from 1194 until his death as well as High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and again from 1241 to 1243. Life Konrad wa ...

as the nucleus of the

s in Prussia and started advancing north along the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

river. His successors completed the conquest of the country under considerable setbacks and established the protection of the districts and the defeat of rebellious Prussians in

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. United States In the United States, historically a fortified house was often calle ...

s, the forerunners of the later brick fortresses known as

Ordensburg ''Ordensburg'' (plural ''Ordensburgen'') is a German term meaning "castles/fortresses of (military) orders", and is used specifically for such fortified structures built by crusading German military orders during the Middle Ages. Medieval Or ...

s. The last Landmeister of Prussia residing in Elbing was

Heinrich von Plötzke Heinrich von Plötzke ( 1264 – 27 July 1320 in Medininkai, Lithuania) was an officer of the Teutonic Order during the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Heinrich was the Komtur of Altenburg in 1286 and of Halle in 1287, after which he was tr ...

. In 1309, after the death of Plötzke, the office became held in

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

with that of the Grand Master (held by

Siegfried von Feuchtwangen Siegfried von Feuchtwangen (died 1311) was the 15th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1303 to 1311. Von Feuchtwangen was born in Feuchtwangen in Middle Franconia, and was a relative of the earlier Grand Master Konrad von Feuc ...

residing in

Marburg Castle The Marburger Schloss (or ''Marburg castle''), also known as Landgrafenschloss Marburg, is a castle in Marburg, Hesse, Germany, located on top of Schlossberg (287 m NAP). Built in the 11th century as a fort, it became the first residence o ...

at the time) and continued as such until 1525. Wolfgang Sonthofen: '' The Teutonic Order ''; P. 83

References

Literature

* Theodor Hirsch, Max Toeppen, Ernst Strehlke: '' Scriptores rerum Prussicarum. The historical sources of Prussian prehistory until the downfall of religious rule ''; Volumes 1-5, Leipzig 1861-1874. * Series '' Sources and Studies on the History of the Teutonic Order ''; so far 56 volumes, publishing house Elwert N.G. *

Hartmut Boockmann Hartmut Boockmann (August 22, 1934 – June 15, 1998) was a German historian, specializing in medieval history. Boockmann was born in Marienburg, East Prussia, Germany, after 1945 Malbork Poland. He received his Ph.D. in 1965. Boockmann was profes ...

: '' The German Order 12 chapters from its history ''; Beck, Munich 1999, * German Order, Ed .: '' The Order's Book: The Rules and Statutes of the Order of the Brothers and Sisters of the German House of St. Mary in Jerusalem ''; 2nd ed., Verlag der Deutschen Orden, Vienna 2001 * Erich Maschke: '' The German Order - Forms of its great masters ''; Hamburg-Wandsbek 1935/1942, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt AG * Jürgen Sarnowsky: '' The German Order ''; Beck, Munich 2007. * Hermann Schreiber: '' Prussia and Baltic under the Crusaders. The History of the Teutonic Order ''; Casimir Katz publishing house, Gernsbach 2003, * Wolfgang Sonthofen: '' The German Order ''; Weltbild, Augsburg 1995, * Uwe Ziegler: '' Cross and sword. The History of the Teutonic Order ''; Böhlau, Cologne 2003, * Dieter Zimmerling: '' The German Order of Knights ''; Dusseldorf, Vienna, New York 1988 (ECON), {{ISBN, 3-430-19959-X Teutonic Order West Prussia

History

See also

References

Literature