Siegfried von Feuchtwangen
Encyclopedia
Siegfried von Feuchtwangen (died 1311) was the 15th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

, serving from 1303 to 1311.

Von Feuchtwangen was born in Feuchtwangen
Feuchtwangen
Feuchtwangen is a city in Ansbach district in the administrative region of Middle Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.-Geography:Geographically and geologically the land around Feuchtwangen comprises the eastern part of the Swabian-Franconian Escarpment Land , also sometimes called the gypsum-keuper...

 in Middle Franconia
Middle Franconia
Middle Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is in the west of Bavaria and adjoins the state of Baden-Württemberg...

, and was a relative of the earlier Grand Master Konrad von Feuchtwangen
Konrad von Feuchtwangen
Konrad von Feuchtwangen was the 13th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1291-96. He was a relative of the later Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen....

. He took the office after his predecessor, Gottfried von Hohenlohe
Gottfried von Hohenlohe
Gottfried von Hohenlohe was the 14th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, serving from 1297 to 1303.Hohenlohe was born to Kraft von Hohenlohe and Willeborg von Wertheim and hailed from the rich Hohenlohe family of Burg Hohlach, near Uffenheim...

, had abdicated. Von Hohenlohe's rule was marked by internal strife within the Order, but also by important changes.

Under von Feuchtwangen, the Order seized Danzig (Gdańsk) in 1308 and took control of Pomerelia
Pomerelia
Pomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia lay in eastern Pomerania: on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and west of the Vistula and its delta. The area centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...

 by the Treaty of Soldin
Treaty of Soldin
The Treaty of Soldin was signed on 13 September 1309 at Soldin by Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal, and the Teutonic Order....

, thus becoming Poland's strongest enemy.

Due to the Pope dismantling the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

, he moved the headquarters of the order from Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

, located there by his predecessor, to Castle Marienburg
Malbork Castle
The Marienburg Castle in Malbork is by area the largest castle in the world. It was built in Prussia by the Teutonic Knights, a German Roman Catholic religious order of crusaders, in a form of an Ordensburg fortress. The Order named it Marienburg...

 in Pomesania
Pomesania
Pomesanians were one of the Prussian clans. They lived in Pomesania , a historical region in modern northern Poland, located between the Nogat and Vistula Rivers to the west and the Elbląg River to the east. It is located around the modern towns of Elbląg and Malbork...

, outside the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

.

Siegfried died there in 1311 and was buried in the cathedral of Kulmsee.
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