Albert III, Duke of Austria

Albert III of Austria(9 September 1349 – 29 August 1395), known asAlbert with the Braid (Pigtail)(German:Albrecht mit dem Zopf), a member of theHouse of Habsburg, wasDuke of Austriafrom 1365 until his death.
Albert III was born in the ducal residence ofVienna, the third son of the Habsburg dukeAlbert II of Austriaand his wifeJoanna of Pfirt.Even though his father had determined ahouse law, whereby the four sons were obliged to rule jointly and equally, the eldest brotherRudolf IVassumed the reins of government after his father's death in 1358. He reaffirmed his supremacy issuing thePrivilegium Maius.  However, as his marriage remained childless he again had to share his power with his younger brothers. In 1365 Rudolf IV, Albert III, andLeopold IIItogether signed the foundation certificate of theVienna University(Alma Mater Rudolphina Vindobonensis); Rudolf died a few months later at the age of 25.
Albert, then the eldest surviving brother (the second-born sonFrederick IIIhad already died in 1362), inherited the rule and shared it with his younger brother Leopold III. Both were formally enfeoffed with theDuchy of Austria,Duchy of Styria,Duchy of Carinthia, andDuchy of CarniolabyEmperor Charles IV. In 1369 the Habsburg dukes succeeded the lateMeinhard III, Count of Gorizia-Tyrolin theCounty of Tyrol, when after a drawn-out conflict theWittelsbachDuke Stephen II of Bavariafinally renounced his rights.
In 1368 the Habsburg brothers purchased theSwabiancity ofFreiburg. But their attempt to gain control over the Adriatic port ofTriestefailed in an armed conflict with theRepublic of Venicein 1369/70. Trieste was not won until 1382, when the citizens sought protection from Venice by subjecting themselves to Austrian rule. In 1374 the Austrian dukes inherited large territories in theWindic MarchandIstriafrom the lateAlbert III, Count of Gorizia, which they attached to the Duchy of Carniola. The next year they acquired the Swabian lordship ofFeldkirchfrom theCounts of Montfort, the nucleus of the Habsburg possessions in laterVorarlberg.
Tension developed between the brothers, and in 1379 Albert and Leopold, by theTreaty of Neubergdivided the extended Habsburg territories. Albert received Austria proper (Austria Inferior), while Leopold get Styria, Carinthia and Carniola (Austria Interior), Tyrol (Austria Superior) and the dynasty's original possessions in Swabia (Austria Anterior). The division of the Habsburgs into theAlbertinian LineandLeopoldian linewas a significant disadvantage in competition with the rival Wittelsbach andLuxembourgdynasties. It persisted until 1490, when ArchdukeSigismundof Tyrol and Further Austria handed over his estates to his cousin KingMaximilian I.
In 1377, Albert went on a crusade inPrussiaagainst pagan BalticLithuanianandSamogitiantribes.
Meanwhile, the expansion of the Habsburg dukes in Swabia collided with thegrowth of the Old Swiss Confederacyand sparked armed revolts. In 1386 Duke Leopold III and numerous Austrian nobles were killed in a disastrous defeat at the 1386Battle of Sempach, whereafter Albert once again became sole ruler over the Albertinian and Leopoldian lands, acting as regent for his minor nephews. Another attempt to restore Habsburg rule in Swabia failed, when Albert's knights were again defeated by the Swisspike squaresin the 1388Battle of Näfelsand the duke had to call for an armistice.
In the Austrian lands, his government was beneficial to the realm, as he supported the arts and sciences. Albert was an apt scholar himself, particularly as amathematicianandastrologer. The eldest preserved book of theAustrian National Library, a 1386Evangelion, comes from his personal property. The duke expanded the University of Vienna and, during theWestern Schism, reached the consent ofPope Urban VIto establish atheologicalfaculty. He continued the building ofSt. Stephen's Cathedraland attempted to refurbish Vienna modelled on Emperor Charles' residence inPrague. Albert's nickname refers to his particular hairstyle, part of the vestments of a short-livedchivalric order(Zopforden) he had established and which dissolved upon his death.
By the end of his reign, Albert had established a firmprincelyrule over the Austrian duchy, stretching along theDanubefrom the Hungarian border on theLeithaRiver in the east to theHausruckrange in the west. In the conflict over the succession upon the death of Emperor Charles IV in 1378, Albert joined the forces of the Luxembourg heirsJobst of MoraviaandSigismundagainst the incapable kingWenceslausand seemed a likely candidate for the German throne himself. However, he died in August 1395 while staying in hisLaxenburghunting lodge, during the preparations of a military campaign to achieve Wenceslaus' deposition which took place in 1400. He is buried in the Ducal Crypt in theStephansdomcathedral in Vienna.
Albert III was married twice. The first marriage, after 19 March 1366, was withElisabeth of Bohemia, a daughter of the Luxembourg emperorCharles IV.This marriage was childless; his wife died at age fifteen. Afterwards, he marriedBeatrix of Nuremberg,a daughter of theHohenzollernburgraveFrederick V of Nurembergand his wifeElisabeth of Meissen, a member of theHouse of Wettinand a descendant of the extinctBabenbergdukes of Austria.
Beatrix gave him his only son,Albert IV,who succeeded him but soon had to cede the rule over theInner Austrian, Tyrolean andFurther Austrianpossessions to his Leopoldian cousinsWilliamandLeopold IV. The Albertinian line became extinct with the death ofLadislaus the Posthumousin 1457.