Hartmann von Heldrungen

Hartmann of Heldrungen (* 1210, † August 19 1282 in Acre, Jerusalem ) was the 11th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order from 1273 to 1282.

Hartmann was a knight of Heldrungen and vassal of the Landgrave of Thuringia. He joined the Teutonic Order on November 18, 1234 together with the Landgrave and later Grand Master Conrad of Thuringia, the later country champion and German champion Dietrich of Green rings, as well as his brother Hermann of Heldrungen and six other knights. The occasion was probably the penance imposed on them for the total destruction of the city Fritzlar and the desecration of the local Collegiate Church two years previously.

Hartmann took part in the negotiations and celebrations, when the Livonian Order was in 1237 incorporated into the Teutonic Order. In 1238 he was commander of the Deutschordensballei Saxony. He had the confidence of the Grand Master and rose for that reason quickly within the Order. Between 1261 and 1266 he was Grand Commander and the second man in the Order by the Grand Master of Anno Sangerhausen.

In the summer of 1273 Hartmann was elected Grand Master. His term was marked by relative peace for the Order, and he supported the further cultivation of Prussia and Lithuania. He reached area gains in the Reich and in Pomerania.