Otto III, Count of Rietberg

Otto III, Count of Rietberg
Bornbetween 1475 and 1485
Died(1535-12-18)18 December 1535
BuriedMarienfeld Abbey
Noble familyHouse of Rietberg
Spouse(s)Anna of Sayn
Onna of Esens
Issue
Detail
Otto IV
John II
FatherJohn I, Count of Rietberg
MotherMargaret of Lippe

Count Otto III Rietberg (between 1475 and 1485 – 18 December 1535) was Count of Rietberg from 1516 to 1535.

Otto III was probably born between 1475 and 1485 as the eldest son of John I and his wife Margaret of Lippe.

Otto's second wife, Onna of Esens, introduced the Reformation in the County of Rietberg. In 1533, Otto III appointed two preachers from Lippe, to teach the new faith in the parishes of Rietberg and Neuenkirchen.

Otto III suffered from ulcers on his leg. He died on 18 December 1535 and was buried in the Marienfeld Abbey. He was the last Count of Rietberg to be buried there. On his gravestone in the cloister before the winter refectory a Latin text could be read:

In the year of our Lord 1535, on 18 December, died
Noble Lord Otto, Count and Lord of Rietberg.
May his soul rest in peace.

Beside it was the grave stone of his first wife:

In the year of our Lord 1523, the day before St. Anthony, died
Anna of Sayn, Countess in Rietberg.
May her soul may in peace.