The Division of Chemnitz partitioned Wettin dynastic lands among five heirs, shaping the political geography of Thuringia and Meissen for generations.
Key Facts
- Date of division
- 13 November 1382
- Number of heirs
- 5
- Ruling house
- House of Wettin
- Meeting place
- Benedictine monastery, Chemnitz
- Jointly ruled city
- Freiberg
- Meissen inheritance year
- 1407
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The death of Frederick the Severe, Margrave of Meissen and Landgrave of Thuringia, left his extensive lands without a single clear successor, requiring the five surviving Wettin heirs to negotiate a formal partition of the territories.
On 13 November 1382, the five Wettin heirs met in Chemnitz, likely at the local Benedictine monastery, and divided Frederick's lands into three parts: Balthasar received most of Thuringia, William I the one-eyed received the Margraviate of Meissen, and Frederick I, William II, and George jointly received the Osterland and associated territories, with Freiberg held in common.
The partition established distinct Wettin lines governing Thuringia and Meissen separately. After William I died in 1407 without heirs, the Margraviate of Meissen passed to his nephews Frederick I the Belligerent and William II the Rich, further consolidating Wettin territorial arrangements.