Following the extinction of the House of Ascania in 1320, Brandenburg – and therefore Berlin – came under the control of the Wittelsbach and Luxembourg Dynasties. In 1323, the King of Germany, Louis IV of the House of Wittelsbach, granted the territory to his eldest son, Louis V, “The Brandenburger.” After the King’s death, The Brandenburger gave the margraviate to his two half-brothers, Louis VI, “The Roman” and Otto V, “The Bavarian,” in exchange for the sole rule over Upper Bavaria. The brothers succeeded in establishing Brandenburg as an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire. Thereafter, they ruled as Kurfuersten – Prince-electors – of Brandenburg. Following the death of “The Roman” in 1365, his brother Otto neglected government and pawned part of the margraviate to a crusading military order, the Teutonic Knights.

Tomb of Louis IV of the House of Wittelsbach
Frauenkirche, Munich

Fifty years later, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV, forced Otto V to abdicate and installed his own son, Wenceslaus, from the House of Luxembourg. Subsequently, The Margraviate of Brandenburg became the object of a long and fierce feud between the Wittelsbach and Luxembourg Dynasties. The effects of these disputes devastated the region. Finally, the people of Berlin-Coelln appealed to the Holy Roman Emperor for assistance. He, in turn, appointed Friedrich V von Hohenzollern as their special protector.

When Wenceslaus was elected King of Germany and Bohemia, his brother, Sigismund, took control of Brandenburg. Sigismund eventually gave the territory to his cousin Jobst as security for a substantial loan. But Sigismund later regained control and was elected King of Germany. In 1415 the Electorate of Brandenburg was officially handed to the House of Hohenzollern, which would rule until World Word I – for almost five hundred years.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.