Louis III, Duke of Württemberg, (german: Ludwig der Fromme; 1 January 1554, in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

– 28 August 1593, in Stuttgart) was a German nobleman. He was the

Duke of Württemberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

, from 1568 until his death. The only surviving son of

Christoph, Duke of Württemberg Christoph of Württemberg (12 May 1515 – 28 December 1568), ruled as Duke of Württemberg from 1550 until his death in 1568. Life In November 1515, only months after his birth, his mother, Sabina of Bavaria, fled to the court of her parents ...

, he succeeded him on his death on 28 December 1568. His reign was at first under the guardianship of his mother Anna Maria von Brandenburg-Ansbach, Duke Wolfgang von Zweibrücken and

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 ...

George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach George Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach (german: Georg Friedrich der Ältere; 5 April 1539 in Ansbach – 25 April 1603) was Margrave of Ansbach and Bayreuth, as well as Regent of Prussia. He was the son of George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach a ...

and

Charles II, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Charles II, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (born 24 July 1529 in Pforzheim; died 23 March 1577 in Durlach), nicknamed ''Charles with the bag'', governed the Margravate of Baden-Durlach from 1552 to 1577. On 1 June 1556 Charles issued a new Church Order ...

, in the name of Count Heinrich II zu

Castell A ''castell'' () is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in Catalonia, the Balearic islands and the Valencian Community. At these festivals, several ''colles castelleres'' (teams that build towers) attempt to build and dismantle a t ...

Marriages

Louis married twice. On 7 November 1575, he married Dorothea Ursula (20 June 1559 – 19 May 1583), a daughter of Margrave Charles II of

Baden-Durlach The Margraviate of Baden-Durlach was an early modern territory of the Holy Roman Empire, in the upper Rhine valley, which existed from 1535 to 1771. It was formed when the Margraviate of Baden was split between the sons of Margrave Christopher ...

. His second wife was Ursula (24 February 1572 – 5 March 1635), a daughter of Count Palatine George John I of Zweibrücken-Veldenz. Both marriages were childless.

Ancestors

External links

* Otto von Alberti
''Ludwig, Herzog von Württemberg''
In: ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB). Volume 19. Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, S. 597 f. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig 03, Duke of Wurttemberg 1554 births 1593 deaths 16th-century dukes of Württemberg Soldiers of the Imperial Circles Nobility from Stuttgart