Adolf III, Count of Schauenburg and Holstein (c. 1160 – 3 January 1225) was the ruler of the Counties of Schauenburg and Holstein. He is particularly remembered for his establishment of a new settlement for traders on the banks of the

Alster The Alster () is a right tributary of the Elbe river in Northern Germany. It has its source near Henstedt-Ulzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, flows somewhat southwards through much of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and joins the Elbe in central ...

near the ''Neue Burg'' in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Descent

Adolf III was the only son of Count Adolf II of Holstein-Wagria and succeeded him in 1164, initially under the guardianship of his mother Mechthild of Schwarzburg-Käfernburg, a daughter of Count Sizzo III of Schwarzburg-Käfernburg.Genealogie Graf von Holstein-Wagrien am 14.1.2007

Life

Count Adolf III at first supported

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

. He accompanied him on his expedition against Philipp von Heinsberg,

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

, fought at the Battle of Halerfeld on 1 August 1180 (to the north-west of

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. 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 of 168 ...

) at the side of Count Bernhard I of Ratzeburg, when he received from Henry the Lion the decisive rights in the region of the Middle Weser which formed the basis of the County of Schauenburg. In 1180 however Adolf defected from Henry, who thereupon drove him from Holstein. Adolf attached himself to

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

(Emperor Frederick I), with whose help he regained his lordship in 1181 after the fall of Henry. In 1188 however Frederick turned down Adolf's claim to the town of

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

. Adolf accompanied him on the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

. In August 1190 he reached Tyre, where he left the crusading army and returned to Holstein to defend his lands against Henry the Lion, who had in the meantime returned from exile. In 1196, he went to the Holy Land for the second time for the Crusade of Henry VI, he then returned home in 1198. Danish Conquest of Holstein 1201

The reign of Adolf III coincided with Denmark's attempts at expansion under Kings

Canute VI Canute VI (; c. 1163 – 12 November 1202) was King of Denmark from 1182 to 1202. Contemporary sources describe Canute as an earnest, strongly religious man. Background Canute VI was the eldest son of King Valdemar I and Sophia of Polots ...

and his brother and successor

Valdemar II Valdemar II Valdemarsen (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious () and Valdemar the Conqueror, was King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. In 1207, Valdemar invaded and conquered Lybeck and Hol ...

. After Adolf lost the

Battle of Stellau The Battle of Stellau took place in the year 1201 near the village of Stellau near Wrist, in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. A German army led by Count Adolf III of Holstein fought a Danish army under King Canute VI of Denmark. Du ...

in 1201 and was later taken prisoner in Hamburg by Valdemar, this expansion was successful for some decades. In captivity Adolf was forced to renounce his title to the County of Holstein in 1203 in order to gain his freedom, and on his release retired to the County of Schauenburg. The reconquest of Holstein was left for his son and heir,

Adolf IV of Holstein Adolf IV (before 1205 – 8 July 1261) was a Count of Schauenburg (1225–1238) and of Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein, Holstein (1227–1238), of the House of Schaumburg. Adolf was the eldest son of Adolf III of Holstein, Adolf III of Scha ...

. In about 1224, at the request of Konrad von Rüdenberg, Prince-Bishop of Minden, Count Adolf III relinquished the ''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

ei'' of Wennigsen Abbey in

Wennigsen Wennigsen ( or ) is a municipality in the Hanover (district), district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the Deister hills, approx. 15 km southwest of Hanover. Geography Wennigsen borders on (from north and clockwise) ...

. The deed recording this act is the first surviving written record of this monastery.750 Jahre Wennigsen 1200–1950 '', Herausgegeben vom Vorbereitenden Ausschuss für die 750-Jahrfeier der Gemeinde Wennigsen Gedruckt 1950 bei den Buchdruckwerkstätten Hannover, S. 8 Count Adolf III married firstly, in 1182, Adelheid of Assel (d. 25 December 1185) and secondly Adelheid of Querfurt. He had five children: * Adolf IV * Konrad * Bruno of Schauenburg,

Bishop of Olmütz The following is a list of diocesan bishops and archbishops of Olomouc. Not much is known about the beginnings of the Diocese of Olomouc. It was reestablished in 1063 and in 1777 it was elevated to an archdiocese. Bishops of Olomouc *''898/ ...

* Mechthilde * Margarete

Ancestry

Notes

Sources

* * *

Detlev von Liliencron Baron Detlev von Liliencron born Friedrich Adolf Axel von Liliencron (3 June 1844 in Kiel22 July 1909) was a German poet and novelist from Kiel. Biography Liliencron was the son of Louis (Ludwig) Freiherr von Liliencron and Adeline von Harten. ...

Die Schlacht bei Stellau 1201 http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/liliencr/stellau/stellau.htm am 24.7.2006

External links

Pfadfinderstamm Graf Adolf von Schauenburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adolf 03 Of Holstein 1160s births 1225 deaths Counts of Holstein House of Schauenburg Christians of the Third Crusade Christians of the Crusade of 1197