Maximilian III of Austria, also known as Maximilian the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (12 October 1558 – 2 November 1618) was the Archduke of Further Austria from 1612 until his death.
Born in Wiener Neustadt, Maximilian was the fourth son of the emperor Maximilian II and Maria of Spain. He was a grandson of Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, daughter and heiress of Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary, who himself was the eldest son of Casimir IV of Poland from the Jagiellonian Dynasty.
From 1585 Maximilian became the Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order; thanks to this he was known by the epithet der Deutschmeister ("the German Master") for much of his later life.
In fact, originally the titles Hochmeister ("Grandmaster") and Deutschmeister ("German Master") were different: while Grandmaster was the highest order dignitary, the German Master was the third highest and territorially restricted to area of the Holy Roman Empire (apart from Prussia and Livonia) where he administered its respective bailiwicks. But after 1561 those ranks were united and the Deutschmeister became Grandmaster.[1]
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