Page "House of Ascania" Paragraph 5

However, Albert inherited the Margraviate of Brandenburg from its last Wendish ruler, Pribislav, in 1157, and became the first Ascanian margrave.

Albert, and his descendants of the House of Ascania, then made considerable progress in Christianizing and Germanizing the lands.

As a borderland between German and Slavic cultures, the country was known as a march.