Heinrich von Hohenlohe was the seventh Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, serving between 1244 and 1249. He was the son of one of the richest and most powerful feudal lords in Württemberg

Württemberg

Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....

 and had four brothers and one sister.

Von Hohenlohe was canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 of the Bishopric of Würzburg

Bishopric of Würzburg

The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...

 from 1218 to 1219. In 1220, he and two of his brothers joined the Teutonic Order, donating at the same time his part of his father's inheritance to the Order. It turned out to be one of the most powerful komturships in German lands, Mergentheim on the river Tauber

Tauber

For the singer, see Richard Tauber.For the mathematician, see Alfred Tauber.The Tauber is a river in Franconia, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is 122 km in length...

. In 1221, von Hohenlohe went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Holy Land

The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...

 and, upon returning, became the Komtur

Komtur

Komtur was a rank within military orders, especially the Teutonic Knights. In the State of the Teutonic Order, the Komtur was the commander of a basic administrative division called Kommende . A Komtur was responsible for the alimentation of the Knights by the yield from the local estates, he...

 of Mergentheim.

Upon the orders of Grand Master Hermann von Salza

Hermann von Salza

Hermann von Salza was the fourth Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1210 to 1239...

 in 1225, von Hohenlohe escorted Isabella II of Jerusalem, the second wife of Emperor Frederick II

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...

, to the Kingdom of Italy

Kingdom of Italy (medieval)

The Kingdom of Italy was a political entity under control of Carolingian dynasty of Francia first, after the defeat of the Lombards in 774. It was finally incorporated as a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 962....

. From that point, von Hohenlohe would spend much time around the Grand Master, holding important positions in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, and residing in Mergentheim.

When the Order's chapter

Chapter (religion)

Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....

 removed Gerhard von Malberg

Gerhard von Malberg

Gerhard von Malberg was the sixth Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, serving from 1240 to 1244. After being forced to resign, he joined the Knights Templar.-Life:...

 from the office of Grand Master, von Hohenlohe was chosen as his successor. He was considered to support the emperor and, in the conflict between Frederick II and Pope Innocent IV

Pope Innocent IV

Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...

, von Hohenlohe represented the interests of the emperor, causing an uproar between many of the Order's brothers led by the Master of the Livonian Order

Livonian Order

The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights...

, Dietrich von Grüningen.

In 1246, von Hohenlohe rushed to Prussia

Prussia (region)

Prussia is a historical region in Central Europe extending from the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea to the Masurian Lake District. It is now divided between Poland, Russia, and Lithuania...

 to start a crusade and as a result, he captured Christburg

Dzierzgon

Dzierzgoń is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is located in Sztum County east of Malbork and south of Elbląg on the river Dzierzgoń...

. He signed a favorable treaty with the Old Prussians

Old Prussians

The Old Prussians or Baltic Prussians were an ethnic group, autochthonous Baltic tribes that inhabited Prussia, the lands of the southeastern Baltic Sea in the area around the Vistula and Curonian Lagoons...

 and the Duke of Pomerania, Świętopełk II the Great.

Von Hohenlohe died in July 1249, shortly after returning from Prussia. He was buried in the church in Mergentheim.