Editing Brandenburg (section)

===Late Middle Ages===
{{Main|Margraviate of Brandenburg}}

[[File:Bad Belzig asv2022-07 img13 Burg Eisenhardt.jpg|thumb|left|Eisenhardt Castle in [[Bad Belzig]]]]
In the early 12th century, the Slavic [[Duchy of Kopanica]] was established in the central part of present-day Brandenburg, whereas the [[Lubusz Land]] in the east remained part of medieval Poland. During the 12th century, the German kings and emperors re-established control over the Slav-inhabited lands of present-day Brandenburg, excluding Polish-controlled Lubusz Land, although some Slavs like the [[Sorbs]] in [[Lusatia]] adapted to [[Germanization]] while retaining their distinctiveness. The Roman Catholic Church brought [[bishoprics]] which, with their walled towns, afforded protection from attacks for the townspeople. With the monks and bishops, the history of the town of [[Brandenburg (town)|Brandenburg an der Havel]], which was the first center of the state of Brandenburg, began.

In 1134, in the wake of a German [[Northern Crusade|crusade]] against the [[Wends]], the German magnate, [[Albert the Bear]], was granted the [[Northern March]] by the Emperor [[Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor|Lothar III]]. He formally inherited the town of Brandenburg and the lands of the Hevelli from their last Wendish ruler, [[Pribislav of Brandenburg|Pribislav]], in 1150. After crushing a force of Sprevane who occupied the town of Brandenburg in the 1150s, Albert proclaimed himself ruler of the new [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]]. Albert, and his descendants the [[House of Ascania|Ascanians]], then made considerable progress in conquering, colonizing, Christianizing, and cultivating lands as far east as the Oder. Within this region, Slavic and German residents intermarried. During the 13th century, the Ascanians began acquiring and seizing territory around and east of the Oder from Poland ([[Lubusz Land]] and north-western [[Duchy of Greater Poland|Greater Poland]]), later known as the [[Neumark]], in contrast to the [[Altmark]], the cradle of the March of Brandenburg.

In 1320, the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end, and from 1323 up until 1415 Brandenburg was under the control of the [[Wittelsbach]]s of [[Bavaria]], followed by the [[House of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]] Dynasties. Under the Luxembourgs, the [[Margrave of Brandenburg]] gained the status of a [[prince-elector]] of the Holy Roman Empire. In the period 1373–1415, Brandenburg was a part of the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Bohemian Crown]]. In 1415, the Electorate of Brandenburg was granted by Emperor [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]] to the [[House of Hohenzollern]], which would rule until the end of World War I. The Hohenzollerns established their capital in Berlin, by then the economic center of Brandenburg.