Albert III (german: Albrecht III.; – before 12 November 1422) was the last

Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

and

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

from the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

. After his death, King

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

ceded his duchy and the Saxon

electoral An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

dignity to Margrave Frederick IV of Meissen from the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

Life

Albert was probably born in the Saxon

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

residence, the younger son of Duke

Wenceslaus I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg Wenceslas I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg ( – 15 May 1388, in Celle) from the House of Ascania ruled from 1370 to 1388 and was a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire as well as Prince of Lüneburg. He was the son of Rudolf I and his 3rd wife, Agnes ...

and his wife Cecilia, daughter of

Francesco I da Carrara Francesco I da Carrara (29 September 1325, in Monza – 6 October 1393, in Padua), called il Vecchio, was Lord of Padua from 1350 to 1388. The son of the assassinated Giacomo II da Carrara, he succeeded him as lord of Padua by popular acclamation ...

, Lord of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

He first appeared in written documents in 1407. When his elder brother, Elector

Rudolf III Rudolph III or Rudolf III may refer to: *Rudolf III of Burgundy (971–1032), last king of the independent Kingdom of Arles * Rudolph III, Count of Neuchâtel (died 1272), son of Count Berthold * Rudolph III of Austria (c. 1281 – 1307), or Rud ...

was poisoned in 1419, Albert took over the rule of Saxe-Wittenberg. Also known as "Albert the Poor", he inherited a land exhausted by the

War of the Lüneburg Succession The War of the Lüneburg Succession (german: Lüneburger Erbfolgekrieg) was a conflict over the succession to the Principality of Lüneburg that broke out in 1370 in north Germany and lasted, with interruptions, for 18 years. After William II of L ...

and Rudolf's long-time feud with the

Archbishops of Magdeburg The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River. Planned since 955 and established in 968, the Roma ...

. With an empty state purse, he could scarcely afford any servants and led a very lonely life. In order to generate some income, he controversially imposed the right to charge stall taxes on markets in the town of Wittenberg in 1421. He got into such conflict with the citizens that it almost led to an armed clash, as this right had belonged to the town for generations. Finally the

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

elector Frederick of Brandenburg was called in to referee the dispute. He decided that the behaviour of the townsfolk to their lord was inappropriate, but supported their

market rights A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

on condition that an apology was tendered to Albert. In the third year of his reign the prince-elector died as a result of an accidental fire in a farmhouse on the Lochau Heath near

Annaburg Annaburg () is a small town in Wittenberg district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was the seat of the former ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' Annaburg-Prettin. Constituent communities The town Annaburg consists of the following ''Ortschaften'' or mun ...

, where he was overnighting with his wife during a hunt. The fire came so close to them that he and his wife, dressed only in nightshirts had to be rescued through a window. Several of his servants died in the flames. The prince-elector was so shocked by this incident that he died a few days later in Wittenberg. He was buried in the Franciscan chapel there. With his death, the Ascanian rule in Saxe-Wittenberg came to an end.

Marriage

Albert married Euphemia of Oels, a daughter of the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule i ...

duke

Konrad III the Old Konrad III the Old ( pl, Konrad III Stary) ( – 28 December 1412) was a Duke of Oleśnica, Koźle, half of Bytom and half of Ścinawa since 1377 (until 1403 with his father as co-ruler). He was the only son of Konrad II the Gray, Duke of Oleśn ...

on 14 January 1420. This marriage remained childless. In 1422 his widow was given

Liebenwerda Bad Liebenwerda () is a spa town in the Elbe-Elster district, in southwestern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, 57 km northwest of Dresden, and 28 km east of Torgau. History The first written mention is ...

Castle as her

wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

(''Leibgedinge''). In 1432, she secondly married Prince

George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau ( – 21 September 1474), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau. He was the second son of Sigismund I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, by his wife Judith, daughter o ...

. She died in 1444.

Ancestors

External links

genealogie-mittelalter.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert 03, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg Prince-electors of Saxony Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg House of Ascania 14th-century births 1422 deaths