Frederick III of Nuremberg (c. 1220–14 August 1297, Cadolzburg), Burgrave of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern, was the eldest son of Conrad I of Nuremberg and Adelheid of Frontenhausen.
He owned the possessions of Hohenzollern on the west of Nuremberg around the castle Cadolzburg. In 1248 he received from the Counts of Andechs the region of Bayreuth by so-called Meran's inheritance. However, this led to a quarrel with other noble houses who also had claims on these lands. After the death of Conrad I in 1261 he became Burgrave of Nuremberg and tried to eliminate the Frankish power in the Main region. That resulted in the violent opposition of the bishops of Würzburg and Bamberg.
In 1273 he gave his deciding vote for his friend Rudolf of Habsburg on the election of the king of the Romans. As a reward the King confirmed his position as a Burgrave and granted the rank of a Prince-Elector. Thus Frederick was entrusted with the royal district court of Franconia, took part in the imperial war against the outlawed Otakar II of Bohemia and also joined in the struggle in the Battle of Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen in 1278. More particularly, he had a territorial quarrel with Bohemia about the Egerland. At this time, Wunsiedel, Erlangen and Arzberg came into the possession of the House of Hohenzollern.
Friedrich was married twice. After marrying Elisabeth of Andechs-Meranien, the daughter and heir of Duke Otto I of Meran, they had the following children:
He married a second time. On the 10 April 1280, Helen of Saxony, daughter of Albert I, Duke of Saxony, and Helen of Brunswick, became his wife. They had the following children:
| Preceded by Konrad I |
Burgrave of Nuremberg 1261–1297 |
Succeeded by John I |