Individual Details
Count Bernhard III von Eberstein
(1459 - 1526)
Bernhard was born in 1459, the son of Hans, Graf von Eberstein, and Merge von Eppstein-Königstein. On 11 November 1494 he married Gräfin Kunigunde von Waldburg-Sonnenberg, daughter of Eberhard II, Truchsess von Waldburg, Graf von Sonnenberg, and Gräfin Anna von Fürstenberg. Bernhard and Kunigunde had at least sixteen children. Through their son Wilhelm, Bernhard was the grandfather of Kunigunde von Eberstein, the wife of Froben Christoph, Graf von Zimmern, author of the _Zimmern Chronicle_, in which Bernhard and his wife Kunigunde are portrayed.
In 1483 Bernhard is recorded as strongly opposing the separation of the parishes of Weisenbach and Gernsbach, and attempting unsuccessfully to prevent it through a legal process, for which he had to pay the costs. In 1495 he became a judge of the imperial chamber court (Reichskammergerichts-Assessor).
On 10 September 1520 Bernhard wrote his last will and testament. He was more reserved on religious issues than his co-ruler in Gernsbach, Philipp I, Markgraf von Baden zu Sponheim, who was a strong supporter of Emperor Charles V. However in his testament Bernhard leaves a sum for requiem masses to be said in the St. Jakobskirche in Gernsbach, thereby signalling his adherence to the Catholic faith.
On 23 October 1521 Bernhard and his sons Wilhelm and Christoph accompanied Markgraf Philipp I to the coronation of Charles V at Worms. At the Reichstag of Worms they encountered Martin Luther. Bernhard died in 1526. He was succeeded by his son Wilhelm, who joined the Reformed Church, marking the beginning of the adherence of the counts of Eberstein to the Protestant faith. The family of the counts of Eberstein died out in 1660 with the death of Graf Casimir von Eberstein without a male heir.
Source: Leo van de Pas
In 1483 Bernhard is recorded as strongly opposing the separation of the parishes of Weisenbach and Gernsbach, and attempting unsuccessfully to prevent it through a legal process, for which he had to pay the costs. In 1495 he became a judge of the imperial chamber court (Reichskammergerichts-Assessor).
On 10 September 1520 Bernhard wrote his last will and testament. He was more reserved on religious issues than his co-ruler in Gernsbach, Philipp I, Markgraf von Baden zu Sponheim, who was a strong supporter of Emperor Charles V. However in his testament Bernhard leaves a sum for requiem masses to be said in the St. Jakobskirche in Gernsbach, thereby signalling his adherence to the Catholic faith.
On 23 October 1521 Bernhard and his sons Wilhelm and Christoph accompanied Markgraf Philipp I to the coronation of Charles V at Worms. At the Reichstag of Worms they encountered Martin Luther. Bernhard died in 1526. He was succeeded by his son Wilhelm, who joined the Reformed Church, marking the beginning of the adherence of the counts of Eberstein to the Protestant faith. The family of the counts of Eberstein died out in 1660 with the death of Graf Casimir von Eberstein without a male heir.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 1459 | ||||
| Death | 1526 | ||||
| Marriage | Countess Kunigunde von Waldburg-Sonnenberg |  | |||
| Burial | Gernsbach |
Families
| Spouse | Countess Kunigunde von Waldburg-Sonnenberg (1482 - 1538) |
| Child | Count Wilhelm Eberstein (1493 - 1562) |
| Father | Count Hans von Eberstein (1421 - 1479) |
| Mother | Merge von Eppstein-Königstein (1434 - ) |