Hadmar I of Kuenring (alt. spelling ''Hademar''; died 27 May 1138) was a German nobleman who served as a ''

ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minis ...

'' in the

Margraviate of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (german: Markgrafschaft Österreich) was a medieval frontier march, centered along the river Danube, between the river Enns and the Vienna Woods (''Wienerwald''), within the territory of modern Austrian provinces of Up ...

(''

Ostarrîchi The German name of Austria, , derives from the Old High German word "eastern realm", recorded in the so-called '' Document'' of 996, applied to the Margraviate of Austria, a march, or borderland, of the Duchy of Bavaria created in 976. The na ...

'').

Biography

Hadmar first appeared in an 1125 deed, in the service of the

Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its e ...

margrave Leopold III. He probably was the son of Nizzo, who served as a

burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especial ...

on the castles in Krems and Gars. While many sources refer to Hadmar as a (great-)grandson of legendary Azzo of Gobatsburg, more recent research has shown this to be incorrect. He is credited for the construction of Kühnring castle (in present-day

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

), which became the ancestral seat of the Kuenring noble family. Hence, Hadmar was the first member of the dynasty to style himself "of Kuenring" from 1132 onwards. Hadmar also had

Dürnstein Castle Dürnstein Castle (german: Burgruine Dürnstein) is the ruin of a medieval rock castle in Austria. It is located in Dürnstein, in the Lower Austrian Wachau region on the Danube river, at above sea level. History The castle was erected in the e ...

erected in his

Wachau The Wachau () is an Austrian valley with a picturesque landscape formed by the Danube river. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of Lower Austria, located midway between the towns of Melk and Krems that also attracts "connoiss ...

estates, where about sixty years later King

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

was imprisoned after being captured near

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

by Duke Leopold V of Austria. In 1137, Hadmar and his wife Gertrud of

Wildon Wildon is a small town located between Leibnitz and Graz in the Austrian state of Styria. History The modern village of Wildon was first mentioned in 1219. It was mainly known due to a minstrel called Herrand von Wildonie, who lived during the 13 ...

founded the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

abbey of

Zwettl __NOTOC__ Zwettl (; Central Bavarian: ''Zwedl''; Czech: ''Světlá'') is a town and district capital of the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is chiefly known as the location of Zwettl Abbey, first mentioned in October 1139. History The n ...

, along the lines of the late Margrave Leopold III who had founded

Heiligenkreuz Abbey Heiligenkreuz Abbey (german: Stift Heiligenkreuz; en, Abbey of the Holy Cross) is a Cistercian monastery in the village of Heiligenkreuz in the southern part of the Vienna woods, c. 13 km north-west of Baden in Lower Austria. It is the olde ...

four years earlier. Hadmar died without issue the next year; like his brothers, and is buried in

Göttweig Abbey Göttweig Abbey (german: Stift Göttweig) is a Benedictine monastery near Krems in Lower Austria. It was founded in 1083 by Altmann, Bishop of Passau. History Göttweig Abbey was founded as a monastery of canons regular by Blessed Altmann (c ...

. His relative

Albero III of Kuenring Albero III of Kuenring, (1115/18–15 August 1182), was a ''ministerialis'' from the noble house of Kuenring in Austria. He was the first-born son of Albero I of Kuenring, who died around 1118. Issue Albero married a woman named Elizabeth and the ...

succeeded to his lordship. The establishment of Zwettl Abbey was confirmed by King

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

and

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...

in 1139/40.

References

{{Authority control 1138 deaths 12th-century Austrian people Austrian nobility Year of birth unknown Ministeriales