He was the eldest son of Landgrave
Louis II and his wife
Judith of Hohenstaufen. In 1172, he succeeded his father as Landgrave of Thuringia. His younger brother
Henry Raspe III (not to be confused with the later anti-king
Henry Raspe IV) inherited
Hesse and the possessions on the Rhine. Louis III by and large continued his father's policies. He fought
feuds with the noble families in Thuringia and the rulers of neighbouring territories (including the
House of Schwarzburg and the
House of Ascania) and with the
Archbishopric of Mainz. He was a nephew of Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa and supported his policies. He stood initially on the side of
Henry the Lion of the
House of Welf. When Henry fell out with the
Hohenstaufens in 1179, Louis sided with Henry's Saxon opponents. In 1180, he received the County Palatine of Saxony as a reward for this from the emperor. However, he gave the County Palatine to his brother
Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia in 1181. In 1184 he was present when
Henry VI held court at a
Hoftag in the
Petersberg Citadel in
Erfurt, during which the floor collapsed and 60 attendees fell to their death in the latrine below (see
Erfurt latrine disaster). Ludwig was one of the few survivors. He participated in the
Third Crusade. When the main army took the land route via the
Balkans and
Asia Minor, Louis III and his contingent embarked in
Brindisi and sailed to
Tyre. After arriving in the
Holy Land, he participated in the
siege of Acre. However, before Barbarossa arrived with the main army, Louis III fell ill and decided to return home. He died on a ship sailing to
Cyprus. His entrails were buried on the island; his bones were transferred to the
Reinhardsbrunn monastery. In the 14th century, his bones were reburied in the Church of St. George in
Eisenach. == References ==