Friedrich VII, count of Toggenburg (ca. 1370 – 30 April 1436), was the last of the

Counts of Toggenburg Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

who ruled in what would become

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. His death without heirs or a will led to the

Old Zürich War The Old Zurich War (german: Alter Zürichkrieg), 1440–46, was a conflict between the canton of Zurich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg. In 1436, Count Friedrich VII of ...

Born at Solavers Castle near

Grüsch Grüsch is a Swiss village in the Prättigau and a municipality in the political district Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2011, the former municipalities of Fanas and Valzeina were merged with Grüsch.

in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

canton of Graubünden, he was the son of Diethelm and Katharina von Werdenberg-Heiligenberg. After 1387 he was at the head of the line of succession for the family. In 1391 he married

Elisabeth von Matsch Elisabeth von Matsch (also ''von Mätsch'', ''Mazzo'', ''von Toggenburg'', date of birth unknown; † after 20 June 1442, assumably on 24 November 1446, probably in the Rüti Abbey) was the last countess of the Swiss noble House of Toggenburg from ...

. He was only loosely involved in the daily operations of his lands, but was very involved in military affairs. He was a member of a small group of very successful military leaders in the region. Until 1406 he was a ''

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

'' for the

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

for which he received rights to the cities of

Sargans Sargans is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Sargans is known for its castle, which dates from before the founding of the Swiss Confederation in 1291. Sargans was also ...

, Windegg, Freudenberg and Nidberg. He then made peace with his enemies which protected his old and new estates. On 21 January 1407 ''Fridrich von Toggenburg, Herr zu Brettengow und Tafas'' donated to ''his own and the salvation of his ancestors who were buried'' (at the

Rüti church Rüti, which comes from the Old High German word , meaning " clearing", is a popular name for towns in the German speaking part of Switzerland. It can refer to the following: *Rüti, Glarus in Glarus *Rüti, Zürich in Zürich *:Rüti Reformed Chur ...

) ''and where he also expects to be buried'', the church rights of ''Wangen in der March'' to the

Rüti Abbey Rüti, which comes from the Old High German word , meaning " clearing", is a popular name for towns in the German speaking part of Switzerland. It can refer to the following: *Rüti, Glarus in Glarus *Rüti, Zürich in Zürich *:Rüti Reformed Chu ...

, sealed by Fridrich and the knights ''Herman von Landenberg'', ''Johans von Bonstetten'' from ''

Ustra Ustra ( bg, Устра) is a fortress in the eastern Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria. Its ruins lie southwest of the village of Ustren situated on a hill at approximately above sea level. In 1417 he acquired the rights over the city of

Feldkirch Feldkirch may refer to: Places * Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district in Austria ** Feldkirch (district), an administrative division of Vorarlberg, Austria * Feldkirch (Hartheim), a village in the munici ...

and in 1424 added

Rheineck Rheineck is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Rheineck is first mentioned about 1163 as ''castellum Rinegge''. In 1218 it was mentioned as ''Rinegg''. An older ...

and

Altstätten , neighboring_municipalities= Eichberg, Feldkirch (AT-8), Gais (AR), Marbach, Oberegg (AI), Oberriet, Ruggell (LI), Rüte (AI), Rüthi, Sennwald, Trogen (AR) , twintowns = Altstätten is a small historic rural town and a municipality in th ...

. Following his successful invasion of

Appenzell Appenzell is a historic canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen. Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered a league with the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411, ...

, in 1428 at the end of the

Appenzell Wars The Appenzell Wars (german: Appenzeller Kriege) were a series of conflicts that lasted from 1401 until 1429 in the Appenzell region of modern-day Switzerland. The wars consisted of uprisings of cooperative groups, such as the farmers of Appenzell ...

, he had acquired almost all the Austrian possessions from

Montafon Montafon ( in local dialect: "''Muntafu''") is a 39 km long valley in the westernmost Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg. It is traversed by the river Ill (Vorarlberg) and extends from the city of Bludenz and the Verwall Alps in the nort ...

as well as the county of Werdenburg from

to the upper regions of

Lake Zurich __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...

. While he did have at least one illegitimate son, Johannes, he died without heirs or a will on 30 April 1436 and was buried in the

respectively

Rüti Church Rüti, which comes from the Old High German word , meaning " clearing", is a popular name for towns in the German speaking part of Switzerland. It can refer to the following: *Rüti, Glarus in Glarus *Rüti, Zürich in Zürich *:Rüti Reformed Chur ...

. The lords of Raron, Montfort-Tettnang, Sax-Misox, Brandis and Aarburg all had claims on the Toggenburg lands. When the

canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...

claimed the Toggenburg lands followed by the cantons of

Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the '' ...

and

Glarus , neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ) , twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany) } Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in S ...

, the Old Zürich War broke out.

References

1370s births 1436 deaths Rüti, Zürich 14th-century Swiss nobility 15th-century Swiss nobility Counts of Toggenburg House of Toggenburg {{Switzerland-bio-stub