The Division of Altenburg triggered the Saxon Fratricidal War between the Wettin brothers, reshaping control of the Meissen lands for decades.
Key Facts
- Agreement date
- 16 July 1445
- Parties involved
- Frederick II of Saxony and William III (Wettin brothers)
- War triggered
- Saxon Fratricidal War, beginning 1446
- War duration
- Five years (1446–1451)
- Conflict resolved by
- Peace of Naumburg (1451)
- Subsequent treaty
- Treaty of Eger, 1459
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Elector Frederick II of Saxony and his brother William III held competing claims over the Meissen lands and could not achieve lasting reconciliation despite attempts, creating deep hostility between the two Wettin brothers.
On 16 July 1445 in Altenburg, Frederick II and William III agreed upon a formal plan to divide the Meissen lands. This Division of Altenburg was intended to resolve their dispute but instead formalized irreconcilable differences between the brothers.
The division precipitated the Saxon Fratricidal War in 1446, which lasted five years until the Peace of Naumburg in 1451. After the subsequent Treaty of Eger in 1459 and the deaths of both brothers, Frederick II's two sons ultimately consolidated control over the lands of both their father and William III.