Winrich von Kniprode was the 22nd

Grand Master of the Teutonic Order The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (german: Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens; la, Magister generalis Ordo Teutonicus) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the grand master of other military orders and the superi ...

. He was the longest serving Grand Master, holding the position for 31 years (1351–1382). Winrich von Kniprode was born in 1310 in

Monheim am Rhein Monheim am Rhein ( li, Monnem) is a town on the right (eastern) bank of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Monheim belongs to the Mettmann (district), district of Mettmann – with the southern suburbs of Düsseldorf to the north, ...

near

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. He served as the

Komtur Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...

of Danzig (1338–1341) and

Balga Balga (russian: замок Бальга; german: Burg Balga; lt, Balga; pl, Balga) was a medieval castle of the Teutonic Knights in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The castle ruins are located on the shore of the Vistula Lagoon, north of Mamonovo ...

(1341–1343). In 1341 he was promoted to the Grand Marshal. Winrich was elected Grand Master in 1351. He constantly fought with the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

to gain access to

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

. He achieved a victory in the

Battle of Rudau The Battle of Rudau (german: Schlacht bei Rudau, lt, Rūdavos mūšis) was a medieval pitched battle fought between the Teutonic Knights and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on 17 or 18 February 1370 near Rudau village, north of Königsberg (now Me ...

. Winrich died in 1382 and was buried in Marienburg Castle in the mausoleum under the Chapel of St. Anna.

References

* Friedrich Borchert: "Die Hochmeister des Deutschen Ordens in Preußen." In: ''Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung'', 6 October 2001. 1310 births 1382 deaths People from Mettmann (district) German untitled nobility Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order Burials in the Chapel of St. Anne, Malbork People from Malbork {{Germany-noble-stub