A pfleger was a mediaeval office holder in the Holy Roman Empire, a type of burgrave or vogt, who was responsible for the management and defence of a castle or abbey.
In the Late Middle Ages the pfleger developed into an official with administrative and juridical tasks.
For this purpose, pfleger were often recruited from the ranks of the lower nobility (vassals) in the countryside (Landadel).
The pfleger thus carried out the functions of today's district administrator and magistrate in personal union (in Austria-Hungary until 1918).
Pfleger was also the title given to the head of an Amt in the administrative hierarchy of the Teutonic Order.