George III, Landgrave of Leuchtenberg (13 December 1502 – 21 May 1555) was Landgrave of

Leuchtenberg Leuchtenberg is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany, essentially a suburb of nearby Weiden in der Oberpfalz, and a larger historical region in the Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also know ...

from 1 September 1531 to 1555. George succeeded John IV as Landgrave after his death in 1531. His mother was Margareta von Schwarzburg, who had died in 1518. After completing his studies, he became and advisor and treasurer to Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

and fought in the

Battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg Empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, Holy Roman Empero ...

in 1525. His post required that he provide horses and knights to Duke Louis X of Bavaria and to the Emperor to fight the war against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He borrowed the knights and horses, as well as from Elector Palatine Otto Henry. In 1546, George III and Elector Palatine Frederick III signed the Treaty of Heidelberg, which defined the boundary between Leuchtenberg and the Palatinate and the privileges of Leuchtenberg. George's brother, Christopher of Leuchtenberg (d. 1554) commanded the cavalry in the army of Albert II Alcibiades. Christopher and Albert took several loans from George and the latter was cited before the

Reichskammergericht The ; ; ) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal proceedings in the Holy Roman Empire could be ...

for breach of the peace. He had to temporarily hand over the Lordship of Grünsfeld and compensate the victims of the looting and pillaging. His brother Christopher died impoverished in a guest house in Regensburg. His second brother Hans was mentally ill and lived most of his life with their sister in Wallerstein.

Marriage and issue

George III married on 29 September 1527 at the

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 Ministerialis, ministerial of the counts of And ...

with

Barbara of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach Barbara of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach (24 September 1495 in Ansbach – 23 September 1552 in Karlovy Vary) was a princess of Brandenburg-Ansbach by birth and marriage Landgravine of Leuchtenberg. Life Barbara was a daughter of Margrave ...

, daughter of Margrave Frederick I of Brandenburg-Ansbach. With her he had four children * George IV (d. 1553) * Louis Henry (1529-1567), Landgrave of Leuchtenberg, married in 1549 with Countess Mathilda of the Marck-Arenberg (1530-1603) *

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

(1537-1579), married in 1559 with Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg (1536-1606) * Barbara Landgraves of Leuchtenberg House of Leuchtenberg 1502 births 1555 deaths 16th-century German nobility {{Germany-noble-stub