duchy · Germany and Central Europe

Duchy of Merania

1152 CE – 1248 CE · capital Andechs

A title duchy of the Andechs counts on the Adriatic coast, whose family married into the royal houses of France, Hungary and Poland before dying out in 1248.

Origins

In 1152 Frederick Barbarossa gave Count Conrad of Dachau the title Duke of Merania, a coastal area on the Kvarner Gulf of Croatia and Istria. After the Dachau line died out, the Andechs counts of Bavaria took the title in 1180, holding lands in Bavaria, Franconia, Tyrol, Istria and Burgundy.

Rule and society

The duchy was more a title than a territory, but the Andechs-Merania dukes were among the leading princes of the Empire. Berthold IV's daughters married widely: Agnes became Queen of France, Gertrude Queen of Hungary and mother of Saint Elizabeth, and Hedwig Duchess of Silesia, later Saint Hedwig.

Decline and legacy

The family lost lands after allegedly being involved in the murder of King Philip of Swabia in 1208. The last duke, Otto II, died in 1248, and the lands were divided among the Wittelsbachs, the counts of Tyrol and others. Andechs became a monastery.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Merania. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-merania
MLA
“Duchy of Merania.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-merania. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Merania.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-merania.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Merania’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-merania (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻