| Shadrach de la Marck | |
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| Prospective King of Switzerland
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| A woodcut of Shadrach or his son | |
| Born | 1465 Margraviate of Lower Mark |
| Died | 3 October 1533 Wittenberg, Duchy of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire |
| Issue | Otto Shadrach (illegitimate) |
| House | House of La Marck |
| Father | Otto de la Marck |
| Mother | Maria of Savoy |
Shadrach de la Marck the Elder was a prominent explorer, adventurer and contestant in the King of Switzerland Competition. The son of Otto, Margrave of Lower Mark he was a member of the ruling Ducal House of Saxony, the House of La Marck. Shadrach disappeared while in Sicily in the 1470s, but turned up again unexpectedly in the 16th century to compete in the King of Switzerland Competition. He first attempted to violently incapacitate the Swiss Team of Ulster in order to gain a point, but this failed. He then went on to hire a large army of mercenaries, and attempted to track down Alexander Suslin, which also failed. He founded Shadrach's Bank, which became the most successful bank in Germany and made him one of the richest men in Europe, although the business went bankrupt numerous times as he mainly left the running of it to incompetent bank managers while he was adventuring. During the funeral of his cousin, Edmund Alwin, the Duke of Saxony, the crowds were so huge that Shadrach, along with several others, was crushed by the mob of people and died. Many suspected his opponents in the Swiss Competition had a hand in his death, and his son Shadrach de la Marck the Younger continued to participate in the Contest.
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