The Ludovingians or Ludowingians were the ruling dynasty of Thuringia and Hesse during the 11th to 13th centuries.
Information board at the ruins of the Ludovingian family castle, the Schauenburg near Friedrichroda
The Duchy of Thuringia was an eastern frontier march of the Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia, established about 631 by King Dagobert I after his troops had been defeated by the forces of the Slavic confederation of Samo at the Battle of Wogastisburg. It was recreated in the Carolingian Empire and its dukes were appointed by the king until it was absorbed by the Saxon dukes in 908. From about 1111/12 the territory was ruled by the Landgraves of Thuringia as Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. When Frederick IV, the last independent ruler of Thuringia died in 1440, the territory passed to his nephew, the Saxon elector Frederick II.
Francia about 486, with Thuringian realm in the east
Wartburg Castle
Coat of arms of the Landgraviates of Hesse and Thuringia, Codex Ingeram, c. 1459