Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg

Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg
Count Ulrich V of Württemberg
Spouse(s)	Margaret of Cleves (m. 1441 – wid. 1444) Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut (m. 1445 – wid. 1451) Margaret of Savoy (m. 1453 – wid. 1479)
Noble family	House of Württemberg
Father	Eberhard IV, Count of Württemberg
Mother	Henriette of Mömpelgard
Born	1413
Died	1 September 1480(1480-09-01) Leonberg

Ulrich V of Württemberg called "der Vielgeliebte" (the much loved) (1413 – 1 September 1480 in Leonberg), Count of Württemberg. He was the younger son of Count Eberhard IV and Henriette of Mömpelgard.

After the early death of his father, his mother, together with the Württembergian councils, took over the guardianship for Ulrich and his older brother Ludwig I. Ludwig reached maturity in 1426 and took rule in his own hands, until his brother Ulrich in 1433 was admitted to co-rule. After some years of common government Ulrich wed Margaret of Cleves and put through the division of the county. This was confirmed 23 April 1441. Ulrich received the eastern and northern parts with the capital in Stuttgart. Ludwig the western and southern land part with the capital in Urach, as well as the territories in Alsace . The division which had been limited originally on four years was made permanent on 25 January 1442 by the Treaty of Nürtingen.

In 1444 Ulrich supported the house of Habsburg under King Friedrich III in the Old Zürich War in the fight against the Old Swiss Confederacy. Together with his allies which were margrave Albrecht Achilles of Brandenburg, the archbishop of Mainz Dietrich Schenk of Erbach as well as margrave Jakob I of Baden he formed the core of the Mergentheimer alliance which went advanced more and more against the imperial towns. These tensions found their culmination in the feud between margrave Albrecht and the imperial town of Nuremberg in 1449. Count Ulrich's main opponent under the imperial towns was Esslingen which reduced the income of the county Württemberg by rising it's his duties clearly. However, Ulrich did not succeed in winning a determining advantage in spite of winning multiple victories against Esslingen and other imperial towns.