Otto III. Weimar-Orlamünde, sometimes called ''Otto IV'' (1244 – June 1285) was a German nobleman. He was a member of 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 ...

and a titular Count of Weimar-Orlamünde. He was the ruling Count of

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

and Lord of

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, with the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide va ...

and

Plassenburg Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs (later ...

Life

He was the son of Count Herman II and his wife,

Beatrix of Andechs-Merania Beatrix of Merania (1210 – 9 February 1271) was a princess of Merania by birth, and the Countess of Weimar-Orlamünde by marriage. Beatrix was the daughter of Otto I, Duke of Merania and Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy. She was an heiress ...

. In 1248, Otto III and his elder brother Herman III inherited the

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

n possessions of their maternal uncle

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. ...

. They divided their possessions, with Otto receiving

and

and Herman receiving

Orlamünde Orlamünde () is a small town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is part of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' ("collective municipality") Südliches Saaletal. Geography The town centre stretches along the steep banks of the ...

. On 29 December 1279, Otto III founded Himmelskron Abbey. He died in June 1285, and was buried in the collegiate church of the abbey.

Marriage and issue

Otto III was married to Agnes of Truhendingen (d. 13 May 1285). Together, they had the following children: * Otto "the Younger" (d. before September 1318) * Otto V (d. 1315) * Herman (d. 1319) * Agnes (d. 1354) Abbess at Himmelkron monastery File: HimmelkronOtto013.JPG , Sculpture on his grave File:BASA-3K-7-354-13-The sarcophagus of count Otto III of Orlamünde.jpg , The sarcophagus of count Otto III of Weimar-Orlamünde File: HimmelkronOtto012.JPG , His coat of arms

References

* Helmuth Meißner: ''Stiftskirche, ehemaliges Kloster und Schloss Himmelkron'', Munichen and Berlin, 1998 * C. Chl. Freiherr von

Reitzenstein Reitzenstein was a German dynasty of Franconian knights. The House of Reitzenstein took its name from Reitzenstein near Issigau. The family was directly related to the House of Sparneck. Prominent members of the family: * Franziska von Reitzen ...

: ''Regesten der Grafen von Orlamuende aus Babenberger und Ascanischem Stamm'', Historischer Verein für Oberfranken, Bayreuth, 1871 * Theodor Zinck: ''Himmelkron — Beschreibung seiner Vergangenheit und Gegenwart'', Bayreuth, 1925, pp. IV and 4 House of Ascania Counts of Weimar-Orlamünde 1244 births 1285 deaths 13th-century German nobility {{Germany-hist-stub