Bernhard III. (Anhalt)
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Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg († August 20, 1348 ) was a ruling Anhalt sovereign from the Ascanian dynasty .
Life
He was the eldest son of Bernhard II von Anhalt-Bernburg and his wife Helena, daughter of Prince Wizlaw II von Rügen .
Bernhard followed his father in 1323 in the reign of the Principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. He also carried the titles "Graf von Anhalt" and "Graf von Bernburg". His younger brothers Heinrich and Otto dedicated themselves to the church and as a result waived their claims from the inheritance, which prevented the usual division of inheritance in the Anhalt family.
During his reign, the dispute over the legacy of Otto II von Anhalt , in particular the city of Aschersleben , with the Halberstadt bishops Albrecht I - Bernhard's uncle - and Albrecht II broadened into a bitter legal battle. Although even Emperor Ludwig IV. The Bavarian campaigned several times in favor of Bernhard, the city finally fell to the Diocese of Halberstadt in 1333 .
Marriages and offspring
Bernhard married in 1328 Agnes (* 1310, † January 4, 1338), a daughter of Duke Rudolf I of Saxe-Wittenberg , whose grandmother and namesake Agnes von Habsburg , a daughter of the first Habsburg Holy Roman King Rudolf I. was . Duke Bernhard III. von Sachsen was the great-great-grandfather of both Bernhard and Agnes.
The following children were born out of the marriage:
- Bernhard IV. († June 28, 1354) - Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
- Katharina (* around 1330, † January 30, 1390) - married to Magnus II. Torquatus, Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg on October 6, 1356, in second marriage from May 11, 1374 to Albrecht von Sachsen-Wittenberg, Prince of Lüneburg
- Heinrich IV. († July 7, 1374) - Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
- Albrecht († August 1, 1336)
- Sophie (* around 1330, † December 18, 1362) - married to Duke Wilhelm II of Braunschweig-Lüneburg in his third marriage
- Adelheid (* around 1337)
After the death of his first wife, Bernhard married Mathilde († around 1342), the youngest daughter of Prince Albrecht I of Anhalt-Zerbst, in 1339 . The regent was also related to Mathilde, because in Prince Heinrich I of Anhalt they both had a great-grandfather in common. However, the marriage remained without descendants.
Around 1343 Bernhard entered his third and last marriage with Mathilde († after June 28, 1354), a daughter of Duke Magnus I of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , a descendant of Margrave Otto I of Brandenburg .
From this last marriage the children came:
- Otto III. († February 27, 1404) - Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
- Gertrude - before August 12, 1371 with Count Günther XII. from Schwarzburg
According to the information in the family list of the Schwarzburg family , the daughter Gertrude may have come from Bernhard's first marriage and would therefore have been born before January 1338.
See also
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Bernhard II. |
Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg 1323–1348 |
Bernhard IV. |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bernhard III. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1300 |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 20, 1348 |