Conrad of Hohenstaufen ( – 8 November 1195) was the first hereditary

Count Palatine of the Rhine This article lists counts palatine of Lotharingia, counts palatine of the Rhine, and electors of the Palatinate (), the titles of three counts palatine who ruled some part of the Rhine region in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire b ...

. His parents were

Frederick II of Swabia Frederick II (, 1090 – 6 April 1147), called the One-Eyed (), was Duke of Swabia from 1105 until his death, the second from the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His younger brother Conrad was elected King of the Romans in 1138. Life Early career Fr ...

(1090–1147), Duke of

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

, and his second wife Agnes of Saarbrücken, daughter of

Frederick, Count of Saarbrücken Frederick, Count of Saarbrücken (died 1135) was a German nobleman. He was the first to style himself '' Count of Saarbrücken''. Life His father, Siegbert, was a count in the Saargau; his mother may have been a daughter of the Lord of Eppens ...

. Young Conrad, the only half-brother of

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

, received the family's possessions around Franconia and Rhineland, particularly those of his mother's ancestry. In 1156 on the occasion of the '' Reichstag'' at

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

, Emperor

conferred upon his half-brother the dignity of ''

Pfalzgraf A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German language, German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank abo ...

'' (Count Palatine, of the Rhine), as well as the ''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

ei'' of Schönau Abbey and of the chapter of Worms Cathedral, besides the Staufen family estates in the regions of

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

and Worms. From about 1160 Conrad was married to Irmengard of Henneberg (d. 1197) as his second wife, daughter of Count Bertold I of Henneberg, '' Burggraf'' of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. This brought him the possession of the ''Vogtei'' of

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...

. His endeavours to extend his area of influence brought him into conflict with the Bishops of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

and

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. Conrad and both his wives were buried in Schönau Abbey near

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. His two sons did not survive to continue the family. His inheritance passed to his daughter Agnes and her husband Henry V, of the House of Brunswick. (Their heiress would, in turn, pass the inheritance to the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

dynasty who thereby became the well-known lords of the Palatinate and Electors Palatine.)

Personal life

Conrad married firstly a daughter, whose name is not known, of Count Gottfried I of Sponheim, who probably died in 1159 or 1160 and was buried in Schönau Abbey. They had: * Gottfried of Staufen (died probably in 1187 or 1188) He married secondly Irmengard of Henneberg (c. 1135-1197), by whom he had three children: * Frederick (died 3 September before 1189) * Conrad (died probably in 1186), buried in Schönau Abbey * Agnes (died 9 May 1204), buried in St. Marien in

Stade Stade (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (, ) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the Stade (district), district () which bears its name. It is located roughly to the wes ...

; married late 1193 at Burg Stahleck Henry V, Duke of Brunswick (died 28 April 1227), Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1195 to 1212

References

Sources

External links

*
genealogie-mittelalter.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad of Hohenstaufen Hohenstaufen family 1130s births 1195 deaths Burials at Schönau Abbey Counts Palatine of the Rhine