February 2: Pope John XII crowned Otto I as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, in 962.

Replica of the Magdeburger Reiter, equestrian monument traditionally regarded as portrait of Otto I  (Magdeburg original c. 1240)

In 954, Otto I, King of the East Franks, faced an invasion of the Magyar (Hungary) people who were totally defeated at the Battle of Lechfeld (Bavaria). The prestige of Otto I began to expand.

Otto Magnus. Otto "The Great"

In 961, King Berengar II of Italy invaded the Papal States and attacked Rome. Pope John XII requested King Otto’s help to defend the Church. Otto crossed the Alps with his army and went into Italy to defend the Papal States and Catholicism. Once he defeated the invaders and eventually reached Rome on January 31, 962.

                  Imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire

In 962, Pope John XII appointed Otto I as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, in recognition of the support that Otto gave the Pope against the attacks of the Magyars and other German barbarians to the Papal States. The Magyars were a population whose ethnicity has many mixtures that include up to the Mongols. They were located in present Hungary and were barbarians who attacked the Papal States.

           Berengar bows to King Otto, Manuscriptum Mediolanense, c. 1200

As a result, the first Germanic kingdom known as the First Reich (kingdom in German) was born, which included Austria, the Netherlands, West Germany, Switzerland, Poland and French Eastern provinces.

                                        Otto´s Reich

Otto I ruled the first German "Reich" from 954-973, 19 years. Otto became known as Otto "The Great" for his achievements and magnificence.