Münch von Landskron - Bertschi Wappenbuch

The Münch were a Swiss knightly family in the city of Basle and its environs. The first mention of the family dates from 1154; it died out in 1759. In the thirteenth century it was, with the Schaler family, one the most influential families in Basle.Die Münch im mittelalterlichen Basel
''(in German)'' From about the end of the fourteenth century members of the family took no further part in the political life of the city.

History

The earliest mention of the family dates from 1154, when a Münch was in the service of the

Prince-Bishop of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at P ...

. During the thirteenth century members of the family built a number of castles in the country surrounding Basle, and these gave rise to a variety of branches of the family. Some of these were soon extinguished – the Münch of Stettenberg disappeared in 1310, and the Münch of Münchsberg followed them in 1356. The two principal lines were the Münch of Landskron, extinguished in 1460, and the Münch of

Münchenstein Münchenstein (Swiss German: ''Minggestai'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland. Historical records Münchenstein is first mentioned in 1196 as ''Kekingen''. In 1270, it was mentio ...

and of Löwenberg, which died out in 1759. Until the mid-fourteenth century, members of the Landskron branch appear in political positions in the government of Basle, and three of them became Bürgermeister of the city; from that time on they are seen more often as functionaries of the Habsburg court. Hartung Münch von Landskron was

bishop of Basle The Diocese of Basel (german: Bistum Basel; la, Diœcesis Basileensis) is a Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Fürstbistum Basel). The bis ...

from 1325 to 1328, and Konrad occupied the same seat from 1393 to 1395. The last of the line was Johans XI, who died in 1460; his brother Burkart VII had died at the

Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs The Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs was fought between the Old Swiss Confederacy and French (mostly Armagnac) mercenaries, on the banks of the river Birs. The battle took place on 26 August 1444 and was part of the Old Zürich War. The site o ...

in 1444.

Westuebersicht Schloss Muenchenstein wiki

The castle of

Burg Münchenstein The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * ''-burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aar ...

was built between approximately 1260 and 1275 by Hugo III. The Münch von Münchenstein were active in the politics of Basle until about the end of the fourteenth century, but not thereafter. was bishop of Basle from 1418 until 1422. In the fifteenth century the family ran into financial trouble: Konrad VIII mortgaged Burg Münchenstein in 1470, and in 1526 the lordship of Löwenberg was sold to the

Abbey of Lucelle Lucelle Abbey or Lützel Abbey (french: Abbaye de Lucelle; german: Kloster Lützel) was a Cistercian monastery in the present village of Lucelle, in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace, France, but located right on the Swiss border. The name of ...

. The Münchenstein branch of the family was extinguished in 1759.

History

References

Further reading