Eric III. (Saxony-Lauenburg)

Memorial stone in Ratzeburg Cathedral.

Eric III. von Sachsen-Lauenburg († 25 May 1401 ) was Duke of Sachsen-Lauenburg in the Bergedorf-Mölln line from 1370 to 1401 .

After his brother Albrecht V von Sachsen-Lauenburg died in 1370 without heirs, Erich left the clergy to which he had previously belonged - he was a canon - and took over the business of government.

Due to the high debts that lay on their part of the duchy, Albrecht and Erich had pledged the town and Vogtei Mölln for 9,737 ½ marks as early as 1359 .

But now, eleven years later, the duchy was burdened with a large mountain of debt, so Erich approached Lübeck again and pledged the remaining part of his lands: Bergedorf and the Vierlande as well as the Esslinger Ferry customs office with the Riepenburg . This resulted in a total debt of 26,000 marks on the Bergedorf-Mölln line.

Erich secured a lifelong right of residence at Bergedorf Castle and the income from the Möllner customs office. In return, the Lübeck-based company appointed a trustee at Bergedorf Castle.

When Erich III. The people of Lübeck who died in 1401 saw the pledged area as their property. The cousin of the deceased and duke of the other part of the duchy, Erich IV of Saxony-Lauenburg , saw himself as a legitimate heir and took six weeks after Erich III. Death of Bergedorf Castle in a coup . With this he ended the real division of the duchy from 1305.

Erich found his final resting place in the Bergedorf Chapel of the Ratzeburg Cathedral . The grave was destroyed when the Bergedorfer Chapel was demolished during the renovations to the cathedral, which took place between 1876 and 1881. Only a memorial stone in the north wall of the cathedral commemorates Ericus Dux Saxoniae .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Dr. Jörg Meyn: Thoughts on the origin and early history of the Bergedorf Castle . In Lichtwark booklet No. 68. HB-Werbung publishing house, Hamburg-Bergedorf, 2003. ISSN  1862-3549
2. ↑ Victoria Overlack (ed.): The Bergedorfer Castle - Een sloten Huss, development - functions - building history . Museum for Bergedorf and the Vierlande, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-936300-49-9 , p. 30 .

literature

• Olaf Matthes and Bardo Metzger (eds.): Bergedorfer Personenlexikon . 2nd Edition. Museum for Bergedorf and the Vierlande, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-935987-03-X .
• Harald Richert: Between Bille and Elbe . Verlag Otto Heinevetter, Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-87474-966-5 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Albrecht V.	Duke of Saxony-Lauenburg 1370–1401	Eric IV.