Frederick III of Brandenburg, nicknamed the Fat, also the Younger (born: ; died: 6 October 1463 in

Tangermünde Tangermünde (; nds, Tangermünn) is a historic town on the Elbe River in the district of Stendal, in the northeastern part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Tangermünde is situated in the historic Altmark region of the North German Plain, ...

) was

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

and Lord of the

Altmark :''See German tanker Altmark for the ship named after Altmark and Stary Targ for the Polish village named Altmark in German.'' The (English: Old MarchHansard, ''The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time ...'', Volume 32. 1 F ...

Life

Frederick was the youngest son of the Elector

Frederick I of Brandenburg Frederick (Middle High German: ''Friderich','' Standard German: ''Friedrich''; 21 September 1371 – 20 September 1440) was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427 (as Frederick VI), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Margr ...

(1371–1440) from his marriage to

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

(1383–1442 ), daughter of the Duke Frederick of Bavaria-Landshut. His father's testament, stipulated that Frederick should rule the Margraviate of Brandenburg jointly with his older brother Frederick Irontooth, who also acted as his guardian from 1440 onwards, until at least 1456. Frederick III, however, began urging for more independence in 1445. He was supported by his brothers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and Albert Achilles. In 1447, Frederick received his own territory, consisting of the

and

Prignitz Prignitz () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from the north clockwise) the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, th ...

, under the sovereignty of Electoral Brandenburg. He fostered the influx of Jews into his territory, after his brother had driven them out of his margraviate in 1446. Frederick III resided in

Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; Low German: ''Soltwedel'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwe ...

and

Arneburg Arneburg () is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, approx. northeast of Stendal. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Arneburg-Goldbeck. In J ...

. He neglected the business of government in such a way that his brother found it necessary in 1459 to intervene militarily against the intrigues in the country. Since Frederick died without male heirs, the Altmark and Priegnitz fell back to the Electorate of Brandenburg when he died in 1463. Frederick was buried in the Church of St. George in Arneburg. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

his tomb was looted and destroyed. His remains were recovered and buried in Berlin Ernst Helwing: ''Geschichte des brandenburgischen Staats: die ältere Geschichte bis zum Tode des Kurfürsten Johann Sigismund'', 1834, p. 508

Marriage and issue

Frederick married on 9 February 1449 in

to Agnes (1436–1512), a daughter of the Duke Barnim VIII of Pomerania, with whom he had one daughter: * Magdalena (1460–1496), married in 1482 to Count Eitel Frederick II of Hohenzollern (1452-1512)

References

Footnotes

Margraves of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern 1424 births 1463 deaths {{Germany-margrave-stub