Countess Palatine Irmengard of the Rhine, also known as Irmengard of Baden ( – 24 February 1260) was Margravine of Baden by her marriage to

Herman V, Margrave of Baden-Baden Herman V, Margrave of Baden (c. 1180 – 17 January 1243) ruled Verona and Baden from 1190 until his death. He was the son of Herman IV and his wife Bertha of Tübingen. He married in 1217 to Irmengard, Countess Palatine by the Rhine (born 1 ...

. She brought the city of Pforzheim into the marriage. She was the daughter of

Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine Henry V, the Elder of Brunswick (german: Heinrich der Ältere von Braunschweig; – 28 April 1227), a member of the House of Welf, was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1195 until 1212. Life Henry was the eldest son of Henry the Lion, Duke of Sa ...

, who was also duke of Brunswick, and his wife

Agnes of Hohenstaufen Agnes of Hohenstaufen (1176 – 7 or 9 May 1204) was the daughter and heiress of the Hohenstaufen count palatine Conrad of the Rhine. She was Countess of the Palatinate herself from 1195 until her death, as the wife of the Welf count palati ...

. Her paternal grandfather was

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

. She and her husband are known as patrons of the monasteries in

Maulbronn Maulbronn () is a city in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. History Founded in 1838, it emerged from a settlement, built around a monastery, which belonged to the Neckar Community in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In ...

, Tennenbach, Herrenalb,

Selz The Selz is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and a left hand tributary of the Rhine. It flows through the largest German wine region, Rheinhessen (Rhenish Hesse). It rises near the village of Orbis in the county of Donnersbergkrei ...

, Salem and

Backnang Abbey The Abbey of Saint Pancras of Backnang, better known as Backnang Abbey (german: Stift Backnang), was a German monastery of canons regular founded around AD 1100 in Backnang, in the Duchy of Swabia. History The abbey was founded before 1116 by ...

. In 1245, Irmengard founded

Lichtenthal Abbey Lichtenthal Abbey (german: Kloster Lichtenthal) is a Cistercian nunnery in Lichtenthal in the town of Baden-Baden, Germany. History and buildings The abbey was founded in 1245 by Irmengard bei Rhein, widow of Margrave Hermann V of Baden, whose ...

in Lichtental (now part of

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...

, where later the Margraves of Baden would be buried. However, the construction of this abbey exceeded her financial resources and she had to request assistance from her sons. In March 1245, she was given several manors and rights. In this case, the brothers gave away more than they owned, because they had earlier

enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

Louis of Liebenzell with two parts of the tithes. This led to a lengthy dispute.

Marriage and issue

Around 1217, Irmengard married

. They had the following children: * Herman VI (1225 – 4 October 1250), Margrave of Baden *

Rudolf I Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...

(1230 – 19 November 1288), Margrave of Baden *Mechtild (died 1258) married on April 4, 1251 to

Ulrich I, Count of Württemberg Ulrich I, Count of Württemberg (1226 – 25 February 1265), also known as Ulrich the Founder (), was count of Württemberg from about 1241 until 1265. Life Ulrich's relation to his predecessors is uncertain. The historian Hansmartin Decker Ha ...

( – 25 February 1265) *Elisabeth, who married firstly Count Eberhard of Eberstein, and secondly Louis II of Lichtenberg In 1248, Irmengard transferred her husband's body from

External links

Entry at genealogie-mittelalter.de
House of Welf Margravines of Baden German countesses Year of birth unknown 1200s births 1260 deaths 13th-century German nobility 13th-century German women {{Germany-countess-stub