George III, Count of Erbach (15 July 1548 – 26 February 1605), was Count of Erbach in Lauterbach and Breuberg.
Born in
Erbach, he was the fifth and youngest child but only son of
Eberhard XII, Count of Erbach-Freienstein and Margareta, a daughter of Count Philipp of
Salm, Wild- and
Rhinegrave
(; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...
of Dhaun.
Life
Around 1560, the
Elector Palatine
This article lists counts palatine of Lotharingia, counts palatine of the Rhine, and electors of the Palatinate (), the titles of three counts palatine who ruled some part of the Rhine region in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire b ...
enfeoffed George III (jointly with his father and his uncle
Valentin II, Count of Erbach-Schönberg) with the district of Wildenstein.
After the death of his uncle
George II, Count of Erbach-Reichenberg in 1569, George III reunited all the Erbach family possessions. Among the properties that he inherited was noted
Reichenberg Castle, which he converted into a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
-style fortress.
Between 1588 and 1590 he expanded
Fürstenau Castle Fürstenau may refer to:
*Fürstenau, Lower Saxony, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany
* Fürstenau (Samtgemeinde), a municipality in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany
*Fürstenau (Altenberg) a quarter (''Ortsteil'') in Altenberg, ...
, which became the seat of his government.
George III died in Erbach aged 56 and was buried in the ''Stadtkirche'' of
Michelstadt
Michelstadt () in the Odenwald is a town in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in southern Hesse, Germany between Darmstadt and Heidelberg. It has a population of 28,629 people.
Geography
Location
Michelstadt is the biggest town in the Odenwaldkre ...
, where in 1678 a family tomb for the counts of Erbach would be constructed.
After his death, his sons divided the territory:
*
Frederick Magnus (1575–1618) inherited Fürstenau and Reichenberg.
*
John Casimir (1584–1627) inherited Breuberg and Wildenstein.
*
Louis I Louis I may refer to:
Cardinals
* Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578)
Counts
* Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158)
* Louis I of Blois (1172–1205)
* Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346)
* Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...
(1579–1643) inherited parts of Erbach and Freienstein.
*
George Albert I (1597–1647), inherited Schönberg and Seeheim.
After Frederick Magnus's died without surviving male issue, in 1623 his brothers divided his share among themselves: John Casimir received Fürstenau, Louis received Michelstadt and
Bad König
Bad König () is a town and resort ('' Kurort'') in the central Odenwald in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany, 29 km southeast of Darmstadt.
Geography
Neighbouring communities
Bad König borders in the north on the communit ...
, and George Albert received Reichenberg.
When John Casimir died unmarried in 1627, Louis received Wildenstein and George Albert received Fürstenau. When Louis died in 1643 without surviving male issue, George Albert inherited his possessions, thereby reuniting the Erbach possessions once again.
Family
On 27 July 1567, George III married, firstly, Anna Amalia ( 1551 – 13 July 1571), a daughter of Count Johann IX of Sayn and his second wife Anna of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg. This marriage remained childless.
On 15 July 1572, George III married, secondly, Anna (11 April 1557 – 8 December 1586), a daughter of
Frederick Magnus, Count of Solms-Laubach-Sonnenwalde and his wife Agnes of Wied.They had twelve children.
In
Greiz
Greiz ( ; ) is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the Greiz (district), district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of the state capital Erfurt, on the White Elster river.
Greiz has a large park ...
on 11 November 1587, George III married, thirdly, Dorothea (28 October 1566 – 26 October 1591), a daughter of Heinrich XV Reuss, Lord of Greiz-Obergreiz and his wife Marie Salome of Oettingen. They had three children.
In
Korbach
Korbach (), officially the Hanseatic City of Korbach (German language, German: Hansestadt Korbach), is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. It is over a thousand years old and is located on the German Timber-Frame Ro ...
on 2 August 1592, George III married, fourthly, Maria (8 April 1563 – 29 December 1619), widow of
Count Josias I of Waldeck-Eisenberg and a daughter of
Count Albert X of Barby-Mühlingen and his wife
Maria of Anhalt-Zerbst (1 December 1538 – 25 April 1563), herself a daughter of
John V of Anhalt-Zerbst and
Margaret of Brandenburg, Duchess of Pomerania. They had six children.
Notes
External links
Photo of his tombErbach Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:George 03 of Erbach Breuberg
Counts in Germany
House of Erbach
1548 births
1605 deaths
16th-century German nobility