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The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg (''Mark Brandenburg''), it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out of the Northern March founded in the territory of the Slavic Wends. Its ruling margraves were established as prestigious prince-electors in the Golden Bull of 1356, allowing them to vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. The state thus became additionally known as Electoral Brandenburg or the Electorate of Brandenburg (''Kurfürstentum Brandenburg'' or ''Kurbrandenburg''). The House of Hohenzollern came to the throne of Brandenburg in 1415. Under Hohenzollern leadership, Brandenburg grew rapidly in power during the 17th century and inherited the Duchy of Prussia. The resulting Brandenburg-Prussia was the predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia, which became a leading German state during the 18th century. Although the electors' highest title was "King in/of Prussia", their power base remained in Brandenburg and its capital Berlin. Although the Margraviate of Brandenburg ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, it was replaced with the Prussian Province of Brandenburg in 1815. Despite its meager beginnings in the "sandbox" of the Holy Roman Empire, the Hohenzollern Kingdom of Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the creation of the German Empire in 1871. The "Mark Brandenburg" is still used informally today to refer to the federal state of Brandenburg in the Federal Republic of Germany. == Geography == The territory of the former margraviate, commonly known as the ''Mark Brandenburg'', lies in present-day eastern Germany and western Poland. Geographically it encompassed the majority of the present-day German states Brandenburg and Berlin, the Altmark (the northern third of Saxony-Anhalt), and the Neumark (now divided between Poland's Lubusz and West Pomeranian Voivodeships). Parts of the present-day federal state Brandenburg, such as Lower Lusatia and territory which had been Saxon until 1815, were not parts of the Mark. Colloquially but not accurately, the federal state Brandenburg is sometimes identified as the Mark or Mark Brandenburg. The region was formed during the ice age and characterized by moraines, glacial valleys, and numerous lakes. The territory is known as a ''Mark'' or march because it was a border county of the Holy Roman Empire (see also Margraviate of Meissen). The Mark is defined by two uplands and two depressions. The depressions are taken up by rivers and chains of lakes with marsh and boggy soil along the shores; once used for peat collection, the riverbanks are now mostly drained and dry. The Northern or Baltic Uplands of the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau have only minor extensions into Brandenburg. The approximately 230 km-long range of hills in the Mark's south begins in the Lusatian Highlands (near Żary (Sorau)) and continues past Trzebiel (Triebel) and Spremberg, then to the northwest through Calau, and ends in the bare and dry Fläming. The southern depression is generally to the north of this ridge and appears strikingly in the Spreewald (between Baruth/Mark and Plaue an der Havel). The northern depression, lying almost directly south of the Baltic uplands, is defined by the lowlands of the Noteć and Warta Rivers, the Oderbruch, the valley of the Finow, the Havelland moor, and the Oder River. Between these two depressions is a low plateau that extends from the Poznań area westward to Brandenburg through Torzym (Sternberg), the Spree plateau, and the Mittelmark. From southeast to northwest, this plateau is intersected by the lowland of the Leniwa Obra and the Oder River below the confluence of the Lusatian Neisse, the lower Spree Valley, and the Havel Valley. Between these valleys rise a series of hills and plateaus, such as the Barnim, the Teltow (region), the Semmelberg near Bad Freienwalde (157 m), the Müggelberge in Köpenick (115 m), the Havelberge (97 m), and the Rauen Hills near Fürstenwalde (112 to 152 m). The region is predominantly marked by dry, sandy soil, wide stretches of which have pine trees and erica plants, or heath. However, the soil is loamy in the uplands and plateaus and, when farmed appropriately, can be agriculturally productive. Mark Brandenburg has a cool, continental climate, with temperatures averaging near in January and February and near in July and August. Precipitation averages between 500 mm and 600 mm annually, with a modest summer maximum. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Margraviate of Brandenburg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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