Name Suffix:<NSFX> Margrave Of Merseburg And Meissen The mark of Meissen was originally a district centering round the castle of Meissen or Misnia, which was built on the middle Elbe about 920 by the German king Henry I the Fowler as a defense against the Slavs. After the death of Gero, margrave of the Saxon east mark, in 965, his territory was divided into five marks, one of which was called Meissen. In 985, the emperor Otto III bestowed the office of margrave upon Ekkard I, margrave of Merseburg, and the district comprising the marks of Meissen, Merseburg and Zeitz was generally known as the marks of Meissen.