Margrave Rudolf III of Hachberg-Sausenberg (1343–1428) was the son of Margrave Rudolf II of Hachberg-Sausenberg and Catherine of Thierstein. He inherited Hachberg-Sausenberg when his father died in 1352. As he was a minor at the time, his uncle

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 Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...

acted as regent. When Rudolf II came of age, he and Otto I ruled jointly, until Otto's death in 1384. Rudolf III is considered the most important of the Margraves of Hachberg-Sausenberg.

Reign

Construction activities

Rudolf III initiated a number of construction projects. Two gatehouses, one large building and a tower were added to his residence

Rötteln Castle Rötteln Castle (german: Burg Rötteln), located above the Lörrach suburb of , lies in the extreme southwest corner of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, just 10 kilometres (6 miles) north-east of the Swiss City of Basel. The fortification w ...

in 1360. In 1387 and 1392, other large buildings were added. In 1401, he built a church in the village of

Rötteln Rötteln (Old High German: ''Raudinleim''this expression refers to the red shimmering limestone of this place) is a hamlet beneath the ruins of Rötteln Castle. Today Rötteln is part of the quarter of Haagen, in the city of Lörrach, Baden-Würt ...

(now the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Church). In 1418, he expanded this church to the main church of his territory. Rudolf's tomb and the tomb of his second wife, Anna, both in this church, are considered major examples of

Gothic art Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and ...

in the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the sc ...

Expansion of the country's sovereignty

During his long reign, Rudolf was able to extend his country's sovereignty significantly: * In 1365, he exchanged the village Huttinger against Höllstein (with the Bishop of Basel) * In 1366, he received a share of Sausenberg from his uncle Otto I * In 1368 he purchased the villages of

Weil am Rhein Weil am Rhein (High Alemannic: ''Wiil am Rhii'') is a German town and commune. It is on the east bank of the River Rhine, and extends to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany an ...

, Wintersweiler, Welmlingen, plus some manors in

Haltingen Weil am Rhein (High Alemannic: ''Wiil am Rhii'') is a German town and commune. It is on the east bank of the River Rhine, and extends to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany an ...

and the city and district of Otlikon from Knight Konrad of Münch. He also purchased Dossebach from William of Hauenstein and his son Henman of Hauenstein * In 1394, Bishop Conrad of Münch, enfeoffed him with a fief in

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

* In 1400, he purchased the Lordship of Neuenstein, including the villages of Gersbach, Schlechtbach, Raitbach, Kürnberg and

Schweigmatt Schweigmatt is a Hamlet (place), hamlet located in the southern Black Forest of Germany at an altitude of 780 metres. It belongs to the village of Raitbach and is part of the municipality of Schopfheim in the district of Lörrach (district), Lörr ...

. Neuenstein Castle had been enfeoffed to the monastery of St. Blasien, but in 1401, the monastery renounced its rights on the castle.

Marriage and issue

Rudolf III first married Adelheid of Lichtenberg and later Anne of

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

Neuchâtel , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...

. On 13 February 1387, Rudolf closed a marriage contract with Konrad of Freiburg and Else of Neuchâtel for Konrad's 13-year-old sister Anna. Her dowry would be , in the form of the city and district of Sennheim valued at 7500 florins, Istein Castle, valued at 3000 florins, 1500 florins in cash, on the condition that he would use it to create manors in the area between Hauenstein, the forest and the mountains on both sides of the river, within one year after the wedding.''Regesten der Markgrafen von Baden und Hachberg'', vol. 1, deed number ''h751'' With Anne, he had seven sons and six daughters. One son and three daughters fell victim to the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

in 1420. His son Otto (1388–1451) was

Bishop of Constance The Prince-Bishopric of Constance, (german: Hochstift Konstanz, Fürstbistum Konstanz, Bistum Konstanz) was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his dua ...

from 1411 to 1434 as Otto III of Hachberg and was the host of the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance was a 15th-century ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance in present-day Germany. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the res ...

in 1415. As such, he was involved in the

burning at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...

of the Czech reformer

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspir ...

. The only other son to survive him, was the youngest,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, who succeeded him in 1428.

References

* Fritz Schülin: ''Rötteln-Haagen, Beiträge zur Orts-, Landschafts- und Siedlungsgeschichte'', Lörrach 1965, p. 65. * Fritz Schülin: ''Binzen, Beiträge zur Orts-, Landschafts- und Siedlungsgeschichte'', Schopfheim 1967, p. 523-524 (genealogical tables of the House of Hachberg-Sausenberg). * Karl Seith: ''Die Burg Rötteln im Wandel ihrer Herrengeschlechter, Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte und Baugeschichte der Burg'', Röttelbund e.V., Haagen, undated, p. 6, according to Schülin in: ''Das Markgräflerland'', vol. 3, issue 1, 1931 * Gerhard Möhring: ''Chronologie zu Markgraf Rudolf III. von Hachberg, Herr zu Sausenberg und Rötteln (1343-1428)'', in: ''Das Markgräflerland'', vol. 1, p. 53-63, Schopfheim, 2001 * ''Regesten der Markgrafen von Baden und Hachberg 1050 – 1515'', Baden Historical Commission, edited by Richard Fester, Innsbruck, 189
online
*

Historical novel

* Elke Bader: ''Anna von Rötteln — im Hagelsturm der Begierde'', Jakobus-Verlag, Barsbüttel, 2008, (this Anna von Rötteln is Anne of Freiburg)

External links

BrillOnline Reference Works; Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolf 03 Hachberg Sausenberg Margraves of Baden-Hachberg House of Zähringen 1343 births 1428 deaths 14th-century German nobility 15th-century German nobility

Gallery

Lörrach - Röttler Kirche - Grabnische Rudolf III.jpg Rudolf III v H-S Sandsteinplatte.jpg Anna v Frbg Sandsteinplatte.jpg Rudolf III of Hachberg-Sausenberg.jpg Lörrach - Röttler Kirche - Stiftertafel.jpg