Otto III of Ravensberg ( – 5 March 1306) was Count of Ravensberg from 1249 until his death.

Life

Otto III was the son of Count

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

of Ravensberg and his wife Adelheid of

Dassel Dassel is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district Northeim. It is located near the hills of the Solling mountains. Geography The city covers an area of . Buildings and streets make up about 10% of this area while 26% ...

. His younger brother Louis was bishop of

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

. After his father died in 1249, there were some problems with his succession. Since he and his brothers were still minors, Lord Bernard III of Lippe took up the regency for Otto III and his brothers

and John. Their mother, Adelaide, fled with her children to her relatives in

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtum La ...

, whereupon Bernard forcibly occupied Ravensberg Castle. Eventually, Otto III was installed as Count of Ravensberg. In 1264, Otto III was victorious in a feud against the Count of

Gesmold Gesmold is a town and former municipality, now part of Melle, in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is placed between the Wiehengebirge and the Teutoburg Forest. It features Gesmold Castle, a Renaissance building. Anoth ...

. In 1267, he fought on the side of Archbishop Engelbert II of Cologne in the Battle of Zülpich. After Count Henry IV of Oldenburg-Wildeshausen died in 1270, Vlotho Castle came into the joint possession of Otto III and his cousin Henry of Berg. In 1290, Henry's successor Gerhard sold his share to Archbishop Siegfried II of Cologne. On 5 March 1271, Otto III married Hedwig of Lippe. In 1277, Otto III concluded a secret alliance with Bishop Conrad III of

, Bishop Everhard of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

and Herford Abbey against the Lords of

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The ...

. On 12 July 1293, Otto III and his wife Hedwig found an abbey at

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

. It was required that the abbey house at least twelve canons. The existing Church of St. Mary was used as the abbey church. The Count of Ravensberg would hold the right of patronage. Otto III died in 1306. He and his wife were buried in the abbey they had founded in Bielefeld. Otto's son

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 119 ...

succeeded him as Count of Ravensberg.

Marriage and children

On 5 March 1271, Otto III married Hedwig of Lippe ( – 5 March 1315), the daughter of Bernard III of Lippe. They had nine children: * Uda (between 1268 and 1276 – 25 June 1313), married John I of Isenburg-Limburg; * Hedwig (d. after 1346), married as his second wife to

Torgils Knutsson Torkel (Tyrgils or Torgils) Knutsson (d. 1306) was Lord High Constable of Sweden, member of the Privy Council of Sweden (''Riksråd''), and virtual ruler of Sweden during the early reign of King Birger Magnusson (1280–1321). Biography To ...

(d. 9 February 1306); * Herman (died near Milan) * Louis (d. after 1294) *

, Count of Ravensberg, (before 1276 – between 20 February and 6 March 1329), married to Margaret of Berg ( – after 1339) *

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...

(d. 10 August 1346) * Sophie (before 1276 – after 1328); married Count Hildebald I of Oldenburg-Altbruchhausen (before 1270 – after 1310) * Adelaide ( – between 1335 and 1339); married in 1297 Landgrave

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

of Hesse ( – 17 January 1328 in Kassel) * Jutta (d. before 10 August 1305); married before 28 November 1282, to Count Dietrich II of Honstein-Klettenberg (d. between 10 August and 13 December 1305)

External links

* Otto III, Count of Ravensberg a
Panzerreiter.de
viewed on 26 January 2009 * History of the County of Ravensberg a

viewed on 26 January 2009 * Otto II (III) of Ravensberg a
Nobility database the University of Erlangen
viewed on 21 March 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Otto 03 Ravensberg Counts of Ravensberg 1240s births 1306 deaths 13th-century German nobility