Bernhard III. von Sachsen

• Preferred Name: Bernhard III. von Sachsen^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}
  
• Alternate Name: Bernhard ( de Brandenburg)
  
• Alternate Name: Bernhard of Brandenburg
  
• Alternate Name: Bernhard Von Sachsen-Wittenberg III
  
• Gender: M
  
• Birth: 1140 in Of, Dresden, Dresden, Saxony at LATI: N1.0515 LONG: E3.74
  
• FSID: GMF1-J32
  
• Death: 9 FEB 1212 in Dresden, Sachsen, Deutschland at LATI: N1.0514 LONG: E3.7433
  
• Title (Nobility): with note: Description: Count of Anhalt
  
• Burial: in Ballenstedt Castle, Ballenstedt, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany at LATI: N1.7203 LONG: E1.2375
  
• Title (Nobility): BET 1180 AND 2 FEB 1212 with note: Description: Duke of Saxony
  
• Herzog: BET 1180 AND 1212 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Title (Nobility): with note: Description: Count of Ballenstedt
  
• Christening: 1180 in Saxony - Duke of Saxony at LATI: N1 LONG: E3.25 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Record Change: 3 JUL 2006
  
• Record Change: 5 MAR 2005
  
• Occupation: Landgraf of Sachsen
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Bernhard (c. 1134 – 2 February 1212), a member of the House of Ascania, was Count of Anhalt and Ballenstedt, and Lord of Bernburg through his paternal inheritance. From 1180 he was also Duke of Saxony (as Bernhard III or Bernhard I).[1]
  
  Life
  
  Bernhard was the youngest of the seven sons of Albert the Bear (d. 1170), Duke of Saxony from 1138 to 1142 and first Margrave of Brandenburg from 1157, by his wife Sophie of Winzenburg. In 1157 he was present together with his father and brothers at the funeral of the Wettin margrave Conrad of Meissen. Two years later, Bernhard accompanied Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to Italy with his brother Margrave Otto I of Brandenburg.
  
  Count of Anhalt
  
  After the death of his father in 1170, Bernhard inherited the estates around Ascaria (Aschersleben) in the Saxon Schwabengau and the adjacent Gau Serimunt between the Saale, Mulde, and Elbe rivers in the former Saxon Eastern March. These territories eventually emerged as the nucleus of the Ascanian Principality of Anhalt, named after Anhalt Castle near Harzgerode.
  
  When his elder brother Albert died without male issue in 1172, Bernhard also inherited his County of Ballenstedt. In the same year he solicited the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the Imperial Diet of Goslar for possession of Plötzkau, which passed to him in 1173. However, a dispute over the rule of the Plötzkau lordship sparked a fierce conflict with the Welf duke Henry the Lion that led to the destruction of Aschersleben and Gröningen and nearly resulted in the destruction of Halberstadt. Bernhard nonetheless was able to confirm his possessions.
  
  Fall of Henry the Lion
  
  When Henry the Lion was outlawed by the Emperor in 1180, the Reichstag also dispossessed him of his fiefs (Würzburg and the Duchies of Bavaria and Saxony). In Gelnhausen on 13 April 1180, Bernhard was granted the eastern part of the Welf lands, including the Archbishopric of Bremen-Hamburg, which was passed on to his elder brother Siegfried, and the Duchy of Saxony. This latter award was without real value, however, since this duchy was a radically reduced territory consisting of three unconnected parcels of land along the river Elbe: (1) Hadeln around Otterndorf, (2) a parcel around Lauenburg upon Elbe and (3) a parcel around Wittenberg upon Elbe. Previously the duchy had been divided, so that Bernhard could only receive the region between Meissen and the Mark of Brandenburg as his formal possession. Besides these, he also received several small territories: the towns of Aken and Wittenberg and the Burgraviate of Magdeburg. The dignity Duke of Saxony, Angria and Westphalia was only an empty title. The rich lands of Engern and Westphalia, in addition to the ducal title of Highness, were conferred on the Archbishopric-Electorate of Cologne. The counts of Holstein were released from their homage to the Saxon dukes, the County of Stade was taken by the Archbishop of Bremen, Lübeck became an Imperial City, the Saxon Palatinate was bestowed on Count Hermann of Thuringia and, in addition, the Saxon bishops took back their fiefs. Bernhard was forced to support the Emperor in his renewed war against Henry the Lion in 1181. In spite of his defeat, Henry the Lion was able to preserve his Allodial title, from which the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg was later formed.
  
  Ruling as Duke of Saxony Edit
  In Nordalbingien and the areas between the Elbe and the Baltic Sea, Bernhard's vassals soon rebelled against him and gave their support to Henry the Lion. Bernhard tried to assert his claims, thanks to the support of his brothers Otto I of Brandenburg and Siegfried, Archbishop of Bremen. At first the vassals of Artlenburg swore an oath of fidelity. After them, the counts of Ratzeburg, Danneberg, Luckow and Schwerin also swore. However, the most powerful of these vassals, Count Adolf of Holstein, would not accept the Bernhard's lordship and became his adversary. Conflicts broke out around Dithmarschen, in western Holstein, but without success for Adolf.
  
  After Adolf's defeat, Lauenburg (Polabenburg) on the lower Elbe, became the focal point for opposition to Bernhard's rule. Determined to eliminate the opposition against him in his lands, he levied high taxes on rebellious territories, which led to an attack against Lauenburg and its destruction in 1182, followed by the restoration of the fortress.[2]
  
  In 1183 another of Bernhard's brothers, Count Dietrich of Werben died without surviving male issue. His possessions fell mostly to Bernhard.
  
  Warfare involving Henry the Lion also expanded to the Slavic countries. Henry Borwin I, the son of Pribislav, was a supporter of Henry the Lion like his father, and remained an opponent of Bernhard. His cousin Nicholas I (Niklot), granted Burg Malchow by Henry the Lion in 1164, lost part of it due to his association with Bernhard. Borwin allied himself with Duke Bogislaw I of Pomerania and Nicholas with Prince Jaromir I of Rügen, a faithful vassal of Denmark. But shortly after Bogislaw had to punish Borwin (in response to a secret order of the emperor) with the help of King Canute VI of Denmark for his refusal to render homage, by which his lands were split between the Elbe and Or to the Empire and Denmark. Borwin was taken into captivity by King Canute and was forced, like Nicholas, to accept his lands from the king as fiefs. After incursions of the Danes in Pomerania in 1184 and 1185, Bogislaw shared the same destiny.
  
  With the success of the Danes, the Emperor in 1184 pressed for a political balance between Bernhard and his vassal. Count Adolf of Holstein kept the regions disputed between them, however he had to pay 700 marks to Bernhard and swear the oath of fidelity that he had earlier refused to do. Counts Bernhard of Ratzeburg and Gunzelin of Schwerin were also obliged to make payments. The destroyed Lauenburg had to be rebuilt.
  
  However, after Henry's return in 1188 it came again to discussions with Bernhard, who finally lost the town of Bardowick.
  
  As Duke of Saxony, Bernhard became at the same time Marshal of the Holy Roman empire. He asserted this important post for the first time in 1190 at the coronation of Emperor Henry VI, but spoiled his good terms with the Emperor through his opposition to turning over the hereditary German crown to the House of Hohenstaufen. In 1198 he supported Philipp of Swabia as Emperor. Philipp was killed on 21 June 1208 by Otto of Wittelsbach at Altenburg in Bamberg. Thereupon a new imperial election was held in Halberstadt and (with Bernhard's vote included) Otto of Brunswick was elected on 22 September and crowned immediately in Frankfurt as Otto IV.
  
  Otto IV, who meanwhile had fallen out with Pope Innocent III over Sicily, supported the reascension of Valdemar, the papally dismissed Prince-Archbishop of Bremen.[3] So in 1211 Bernhard escorted his brother-in-law Valdemar into the city of Bremen, de facto regaining the see.
  
  With his acquisition of Saxon estates, Bernhard moved his residence and court to Wittenberg. In 1260 (with effect as from 1296 on) his grandsons split the Duchy into the Duchies of Saxe-Wittenberg (German: Herzogtum Sachsen-Wittenberg) and Saxe-Lauenburg (German: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg), the latter holding the unconnected two northern territories. Wittenberg remained a residence of the House of Ascania until the extinction of this line in 1422. On his death, aged seventy-two, Bernhard was buried beside his father Albert and several of his brothers in the Church of the Benedictine monastery in Ballenstedt.
  
  Marriage and issue
  
  Bernhard first married Brigitte (or Jutta), a daughter of Canute V of Denmark[citation needed]; secondly Sophia, daughter of Louis II, the Iron, Landgrave of Thuringia; and thirdly Judith (b. bef. 1154 – d. aft. 12 December 1201), daughter of Mieszko III the Old, Duke of Greater Poland and High Duke of all Poland.
  
  First marriage:
  Henry I, Count of Anhalt (b. ca. 1170 – d. 1252).
  Sophia (or Adelheid?), (d. 16 July 1244), Abbess of Gernrode (1221–44).
  Albert I, Duke of Saxony (b. ca. 1175 – d. 7 October / 8 November? 1260).
  Magnus (d. young)
  Hedwig (ca. 1175–after 1206), in ca. 1204 she became the second wife of Count Ulrich I of Wettin, son of Sophia of Sommerschenburg and Henry I, Count of Wettin (27 February 1142–30 August 1181[4])
  Second marriage:
  John, Provost in Halberstadt (1256)
  
  === Line 219 from GEDCOM File not recognizab ===
  Line 219 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long: NAME Bernhard III Duke Of /SAXONY/ From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
  
  === Elector of Saxony ===
  Elector of Saxony
  
  === Please contact me at fergy@nemaine.com i ===
  Please contact me at fergy@nemaine.com if you have any questions or can add to my information. Thank You !GENERAL:Ancestral File (TM), Ancestral File (TM), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
  
  === Line 76513 from GEDCOM File not recogniz ===
  Line 76513 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long: NAME Bernhard III Duke Of /SAXONY/ From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
  
  === Sofia/of Thuingia ===
  Sofia/of Thuingia
  
  === Graf von Anhalt 1170-1212, Herzog von Sa ===
  Graf von Anhalt 1170-1212, Herzog von Sachsen 1180-1212
  
  === ?? Line 2751: (New PAF RIN=49907) 1 NAME ===
  ?? Line 2751: (New PAF RIN=49907) 1 NAME Bernhard III Duke Of /SAXONY/
  
  === BETHAMIS GENEALOGICAL TABLES (GS NUMBER ===
  BETHAMIS GENEALOGICAL TABLES (GS NUMBER Q929.2 B465G) TAB 365, 450;
  
  === Field 6 has no given name, fields 10 and ===
  Field 6 has no given name, fields 10 and 11 have no Surname on sheet 692, record number 26.
  
  === Duke of Saxony ===
  Duke of Saxony
  
  === ?? Line 262782: (New PAF RIN=17437) 1 NA ===
  ?? Line 262782: (New PAF RIN=17437) 1 NAME Bernhard III, Duke Of/SAXONY/
  
  === !#552-V1-T68; !#18-V1-T39; ===
  !#552-V1-T68; !#18-V1-T39;
  
  === Landgf. v. Sachsen 1180 ===
  Landgf. v. Sachsen 1180

• m. um 1169 in Poznań, Wielkopolskie, Polen

1. Henry Count of Anhalt I, b. 1176 in Aschersleben, Sachsen, Preußen, Duitsland     d. 27 APR 1252 in Anhalt Deutschland(HRR), Anhalt Deutschland(HRR)
2. Elisabeth von Anhalt Wildberg, b. 1183 in Wildberg, Calw, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany     d. 15 SEP 1220 in Henneberg, Henneberg, Germany
3. Albrecht I. von Sachsen, b. 7 OCT 1175 in Aschersleben, Aschersleben-Staßfurter Landkreis, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany     d. 7 OCT 1260 in Kloster Lehnin, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Deutschland

1. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Bernhard III Duke of Saxony Count of Anhalt -
   Author: Ancestral File (TM), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998, Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3243695014
   
2. Title: Der Genealogische Abend - Die Edelherren zur Lippe und Ihre Nachfahren
   Publication: Name: http://www.nhv-ahnenforschung.de/Bernhard/index.htm;
   Page: http://www.nhv-ahnenforschung.de/Bernhard/LippezurBernhardVIIKekLV/html/p004449.htm#P4449
   
3. Title: Deutsches Familienarchiv Band 57
   Author: ISBN 3768650116
   Note: Stammfolge der Familie Busse
   Page: Seite 140
   
4. Title: Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band 1, Teilband 1
   Author: ISBN 3-89406-965-1
   Page: Seite 159
   
5. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Bernhard III Duke of Saxony Count of Anhalt -
   Author: Ancestral File (TM), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2737222797
   
6. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Bernhard III Duke of Saxony Count of Anhalt - Published information: birth-name: bernhard III prince of sachsen anhalt
   Note: Published information: birth-name: bernhard III prince of sachsen anhalt Published information: male Published information: birth: about 1140; Dresden, Dresden, Germany Published information: death: 9 February 1211; Dresden, Dresden, Germany
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3244683678
   
7. Title: Wikipedia (D) - Bernhard III zur Lippe
   Author: Arnold Berg: About the wives of the noble Bernhard III. to the lip. In: Norddeutsche Familienkunde Vol. 9, 1971, p. 49f.
   Publication: Name: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_III._(Lippe);
   Note: Bernard III zur Lippe (* around 1194 ; † around 1265 ) was the ruler of Lippe . life Bernhard was born around 1194 as the son of nobleman Hermann II and Countess Oda von Tecklenburg . In 1229 Bernhard succeeded his fallen father as regent of the House of Lippe and called himself "by the grace of God" and at times also "Count" from 1232 onwards. From 1254 to 1256 he was administrator of Paderborn Abbey , was the actual founder of the territorial rule of Lippe and gained important positions through the episcopal brother Simon I of Paderborn , so that with his help he was able to reorganize the church. The cities of Horn and Blomberg were promoted by him. He was feuding with Lippstadt because he was not allowed to build a castle there. Bernard III also led to feuds against the County of Ravensberg , the County of Sternberg and the House of Waldeck . These frequent feuds greatly weakened the House of Lippe under his leadership. Descendants Around 1230 Bernhard married the Countess Sofie van Cuijck-Arnsberg (and von Rietberg; approx. 1210 to approx. 1245; heiress to the Rheda dominion, daughter of Gottfried II von Arnsberg and von Rietberg and Elisabeth N), from whose marriage the children Bernhard IV. zur Lippe (around 1230 – around 1275) Herman III zur Lippe (c. 1233 – October 3, 1274) Hedwig zur Lippe (c. 1238 – March 5, 1271), married to Count Otto III. from Ravensberg Gerhard zur Lippe, cathedral provost of Bremen (around 1240-1259), lost in the Bremen collegiate feud against Hildebold von Wunstorf Dietrich zur Lippe, cathedral priest in Minden (around 1244 to after 1271) emerged. Bernhard married his second wife in 1248 to Countess Sophie von Ravensberg-Vechta (around 1220 to after June 3, 1285), daughter of Count Otto II von Ravensberg and Countess Sophie von Oldenburg . The following children were born of this marriage: Elisabeth zur Lippe (around 1250 to after 1316), married to Balduin II von Steinfurt Agnes zur Lippe (c. 1251–1307), married to Hoyer I von Sternberg Adelheid zur Lippe, married to Adolf I von Schwalenberg Sophie zur Lippe (c. 1249 – February 1, 1275), married to Albrecht I von Regenstein
   Page: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_III._(Sachsen)
   
8. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Bernhard III Duke of Saxony Count of Anhalt -
   Author: Ancestral File (TM), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, July 1996 (c), data as of 2 January 1996
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2737222795
   
9. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Bernhard III Duke of Saxony Count of Anhalt -
   Author: Ancestral File (R), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998, Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2034660817
   
10. Title: Worldhistory.de
    Publication: Name: http://worldhistory.de;
    Page: http://worldhistory.de/wnf/navbar/wnf.php?oid=7127&sid=
    
11. Title: Bernhard III von Sachsen, "Find A Grave Index"
    Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGJ-27XP : 6 March 2021), Bernhard III von Sachsen, ; Burial, Ballenstedt, Landkreis Harz, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, Ballenstedt Castle; citing record ID 128698663, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
    Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGJ-27XP;