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Burkhard von Schwanden was the 12th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order between1283 and 1290. He hailed from a patrician part of Bern. First he was a monk in Hitzkirch before becoming a komtur of Könitz and advancing in 1277 to the rank of a regional komtur of Thüringen and Sachsen. Burkhard von Schwanden became the 12th Grand Master in 1282. It was during his term that the political situation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem had worsened. This situation was strongly felt by the Order as its headquarters were still in Acre, Israel, but despite this, von Schwanden was in no hurry to help the crusaders in the Middle East. His mind was preoccupied with matters in Prussia, Inflants and the Reich. In 1287, a Lithuanian invasion devastated much of the Livland and the Grand Master had to come to the rescue. He left for Rome in 1289 where in the presence of the Pope, the new borders of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights by the Baltic Sea were drawn. This mission had another purpose as well. They were trying to get pope Nicholas IV's permission for coronation of Rudolf von Habsburg. In early 1290, von Schwanden was forced by the Order to help the crusaders in Acre which was under siege. An army put together in a rush left for Palestine with von Schwanden at the helm. Surprisingly, shortly after the arrival, the Grand Master handed over his authority to the komtur from Sicily, Heinrich von Bonlant and resigned as the Grand Master and left the Order. The real reason for this is still unclear to this day and there are different versions explaining it.

After leaving Acre, von Schwanden left for his native Switzerland where he decided to join the Order of St. John and became the komtur of Buchsee. He died in 1310, but the exact date of his death is not certain.

• Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order
• Swiss nobility
• Livonia
• Crusades
• 1310 deaths