Otto III (died 28 September 1057), called the White and known as Otto of Schweinfurt, was the

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 Em ...

of the

Nordgau The Nordgau (from the Germanic for "northern region") can refer to two distinct areas: * Nordgau (Alsace), the Alsatian Nordgau, the medieval County of Nordgau, the northern part of Alsace * Margraviate of the Nordgau, the Bavarian Nordgau in the a ...

(1024–1031) and duke of Swabia (1048–1057). He was the son of Henry of Schweinfurt, margrave of the Nordgau, and Gerberga of Henneberg. He was one of the most powerful

East 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 F ...

n princes by inheritance: having extensive land in the Radenzgau and

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...

. In 1014, he first appears as count of Lower Altmühl (or Kelsgau) and, in 1024, he inherits his father's march. In 1034, he became count of the Lower

Naab __NOTOC__ The Naab ( Czech: ''Nába'') is a river in Bavaria, Germany, and is a left tributary of the Danube. Including its main source river Waldnaab, it is long. Its average discharge at the mouth is . The Naab is formed by the confluence of t ...

. From then on to his appointment to Swabia, he takes part in many imperial expeditions into Bohemia,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. At

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

in January 1048, the

Emperor Henry III Henry III (28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was raised by ...

appointed him duke of Swabia after a brief vacancy following the death of

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 Ita ...

. He was loyal to Henry. He was engaged to marry Matilda, daughter of Boleslaus I of Poland, in 1035, but this was put off in favour of a marriage to Immilla, a daughter of Ulric Manfred, Margrave of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, as part of Henry's Italian plans. He was otherwise inactive and died after nine years rule and was buried in Schweinfurt.

Family

By his marriage to Immilla (died 29 April 1078), he had: *Bertha or Alberada (died 1 April 1103), married firstly Herman II, Count of Kastl, and married secondly Frederick, Count of Kastl *Gisela, inherited Kulmbach 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 th ...

, married Arnold IV, Count of

Andechs Andechs is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. It is renowned in Germany and beyond for Andechs Abbey, a Benedictine monastery that has brewed beer since 1455. The monastery brewery offers tours to visitors. The ...

*Judith (died 1104), married firstly

Conrad I, Duke of Bavaria Conrad I ( 1020 – 5 December 1055), also known as Cuno or Kuno, was the duke of Bavaria from 1049 to 1053. He was of the Ezzonen family, his parents being Liudolf, Count of Zütphen and eldest son of Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lorraine, and Matil ...

, and secondly Botho, Count of Pottenstein *Eilika, abbess of Niedermünster *Beatrice (1040–1140), inherited Schweinfurt, married Henry II, Count of

Hildrizhausen Hildrizhausen is a town in the district of Böblingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...

and Margrave of the Nordgau Dukes of Swabia 1057 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Germany-noble-stub