Albert III the Pious of Bavaria-Munich (; 27 March 1401 – 29 February 1460), since 1438 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was born in

Wolfratshausen Wolfratshausen () is a town of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, located in Bavaria, Germany. The town had a population of 19,033 as of 31 December 2019. History The first mention of "Wolveradeshusun" appears in documents from the year ...

to Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Elisabetta Visconti, daughter of

Bernabò Visconti Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti (1323 – 19 December 1385) was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he a ...

Life

Albert was first engaged in 1429 to Elisabeth, the daughter of

Eberhard III, Count of Württemberg Eberhard III of Württemberg (called ''der Milde'' (the Clement) (1364 – 16 May 1417, in Göppingen), ruled from 1392 to 1417 as the Count of Württemberg, then a part of the Holy Roman Empire.Andreas Thiele, ''Erzählende genealogische Stammta ...

, but she eloped and married Count John IV of Werdenberg, who had been a page at her father's court. In 1432, while Albert was administrator on behalf of his father Ernest, Duke of Bavaria-Munich in the former duchy of Bavaria-Straubing, he secretly married Agnes Bernauer, a maid from

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

. His father was against this marriage. In 1435, when Agnes lived in

Straubing Straubing () is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held. The city is located on the Danube for ...

, Duke Ernest ordered her to be murdered. She was accused of witchcraft, thrown into the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

and drowned while Albert was away hunting. After his first wife's death, Albert remained with Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt at

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...

, but he reconciled with his father that November. After reconciliation with his father, Albert married princess Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck as his second wife and had ten children with her. In 1438, Albert succeeded his father as duke of Bavaria-Munich. Around 1438-39, he built

Blutenburg Castle Blutenburg Castle is an old ducal country seat in the west of Munich, Germany, on the banks of river Würm. History The castle was built between two arms of the River Würm for Duke Albert III, Duke of Bavaria in 1438–39 as a hunting-lodge ...

between two arms of the River Würm into a hunting lodge. The castle was later extended by his third son Sigismund. In 1440, Albert refused the offered

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

crown. In 1442, he expelled the Jews from all Upper Bavarian territories. It was not until 250 years later that Jewish settlement was allowed again. In 1444 and 1445, he initiated two campaigns against the Robber barons. After the extinction of the dukes of

Bavaria-Ingolstadt Bavaria-Ingolstadt ( or ') was a duchy which was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1447. History After the death of Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Frederick, and John II jointly ruled Bavaria-Landshut. After seventeen yea ...

, Albert released this duchy to his father's cousin Henry XVI of Bavaria-Landshut in 1447. In 1455, Albert founded the Benedictine monastery in

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 ...

. He died in Munich in 1460 and was buried in Andechs.

Family and children

On 22 January 1437, in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

, he married Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck, daughter of Duke Eric I of Brunswick-Grubenhagen and Elisabeth of Brunswick-Göttingen and they had the following children: # John IV, Duke of Bavaria (4 October 1437, Munich–18 November 1463, Haidhausen). # Ernest (26 August 1438, Munich–29 February 1460,

). #

Sigismund of Bavaria Sigismund of Bavaria (26 July 1439 – 1 February 1501) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty. He ruled as Duke of Bavaria-Munich from 1460 to 1467, and then as Duke of Bavaria-Dachau until his death. Biography Sigismund was the third son of ...

(1439, Straubing–1 February 1501,

). # Albert (24 December 1440–1445, Straubing). #

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

(1 January 1442, Munich–14 October 1479,

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

), married in Mantua 10 May 1463 to

Federico I Gonzaga Federico I Gonzaga (25 June 1441 – 14 July 1484) was marquess of Mantua from 1478 to 1484, as well as a condottiero. Biography Federico was born in Mantua in 1441, son of Ludovico III and Barbara of Brandenburg. He was a good friend of the ...

. # Elisabeth (2 February 1443–5 March 1486,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

), married in Leipzig 19 November 1460 to Elector Ernst of Saxony. #

Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria Albert IV (15 December 1447 – 18 March 1508; german: Albrecht) was duke of Bavaria-Munich from 1467, and duke of the reunited Bavaria from 1503. Biography Albert was a son of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen ...

(15 December 1447, Munich–10 March 1508,

). # Christoph, Duke of Bavaria (6 January 1449–8 August 1493,

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

). # Wolfgang (1 November 1451–24 May 1514,

Landsberg am Lech Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech) is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech. Overview Landsberg is situat ...

), a canon in

Passau Passau (; bar, label= Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's po ...

and

Köln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

. # Barbara (9 June 1454, Munich–24 June 1472, Munich), a nun in Munich. Also he had at least three illegitimate children. {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert 03 Duke of Bavaria 1401 births 1460 deaths 15th-century dukes of Bavaria House of Wittelsbach Nobility from Munich Burials at Andechs Abbey