Landmeister in Livland

The Landmaster's function in Livonia lasted until 1561, when in aftermath of Livonian War the last Landmeister Gotthard Kettler relinquished the northern parts of the Mastery and in the Union of Vilna secularized the part still left to him and, as the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, took fief from the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund II Augustus.

The non-recognition of this act by Pope, Holy Roman Empire and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order had no factual effect.

[3] Although from 1309 to 1525 the relocation of the seat of the Grand Master to the Marienburg or to Königsberg is also the center of religious rule in the relatively near Prussia was the masterpiece Livonia always politically and militarily retained a special status and was often referred to as Livonian Order.

This reflected the country's attachment to the traditions of forcible proselytizing of Livonians and Estonians at the beginning of the 13th century: Christianity spread in the northern Baltic through pre-Hanseatic sea connections from bases such as Lübeck and the Danish Zealand.

The most important landlord in Livonia was Wolter von Plettenberg (1494-1535) due to his victory over the invasion army of the Russian Grand Duke Ivan III.