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), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...
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 in 1360. In 1387 and 1392, other large buildings were added. In 1401, he built a church in the village of
Rötteln (now the
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
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, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern Europe, Norther ...
in the
Upper Rhine
Upper Rhine ( ; ; kilometres 167 to 529 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between the Middle Bridge, Basel, Middle Bridge in Basel, Switzerland, and the Rhine knee in Bingen am Rhein, Bingen, Germany. It is surrounded by the Upper Rhine P ...
.
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 German, 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 tripoint of Switzerland, France, and Germany. It is the most southwesterly tow ...
, Wintersweiler, Welmlingen, plus some manors in
Haltingen 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
* In 1400, he purchased the Lordship of Neuenstein, including the villages of Gersbach, Schlechtbach, Raitbach, Kürnberg and
Schweigmatt. 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 or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...
-
Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
. 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 in 1420. His son Otto (1388–1451) was
Bishop of Constance from 1411 to 1434 as
Otto III of Hachberg and was the host of the
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...
in 1415. As such, he was involved in the
burning at the stake of the Czech reformer
Jan Hus
Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 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 Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...
. The only other son to survive him, was the youngest,
William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
, who succeeded him in 1428.
See also
*
Margraviate of Baden
The Margraviate of Baden () was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the right banks of the Upper Rhine in south-western Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, when it was split into the tw ...
*
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Ba ...
*
List of rulers of Baden
Baden was an Imperial Estate of the Holy Roman Empire and later one of the German states along the France–Germany border, frontier with France, primarily consisting of territory along the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Alsace and the Palati ...
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