Ottokar I, also Otakar (died 29 March 1075) was count in the Bavarian

Chiemgau Chiemgau () is the common name of a geographic area in Upper Bavaria. It refers to the foothills of the Alps between the rivers Inn and Traun, with the Chiemsee at its center. The political districts that contain the Chiemgau are Rosenheim and T ...

and Margrave of Styria from 1056 until his death. He became progenitor of the dynasty of the

Otakars The Otakars (or von Traungaus) were a medieval dynasty ruling the Imperial March of Styria (later the Duchy of Styria) from 1056 to 1192. History The dynasty began with Otakar I, probably a son or son-in-law of Aribo (c. 850909), margrave in Pan ...

Biography

He was the son of Count Otakar V in the Chiemgau (died 1020) and his wife, a daughter of Count Arnold II of

Wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the eighth largest city in Austria. Geography Wels is in the H ...

Lambach Lambach () is a market town in the Wels-Land district of the Austrian state of Upper Austria on the Ager and Traun Rivers. A major stop on the salt trade, it is the site of the Lambach Abbey, built around 1056. Notable alumnus from the local e ...

who had been appointed

margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

upon the deposition of Duke Adalbero of Carinthia by Emperor

Conrad II Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

in 1035. Ottokar is documented as a count in the eastern Chiemgau about 1048. By his mother he inherited extended

allod In the law of the Middle Ages and early Modern Period and especially within the Holy Roman Empire, an allod (Old Low Franconian ''allōd'' ‘fully owned estate’, from ''all'' ‘full, entire’ and ''ōd'' ‘estate’, Medieval Latin ''allodium ...

ial lands and the margravial title in the

Traun Traun () is an Austrian city located on the north bank of the river Traun and borders Linz, the capital of Upper Austria, to the east. The name ''Traun'' is derived from the Celtic word for river (''dru''). Traun is the fifth largest city in U ...

gau region around the fortress of

Steyr Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd l ...

. He also served a ''

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' (reeve) of the

Traunkirchen Traunkirchen is a municipality on the Traunsee in the Austrian state of Upper Austria, Austria. Tourism The lake and the mountains provide opportunities for outdoor activities like hiking, sailing, diving, skiing, swimming, and surfing. The villag ...

, Obermünster, and Persenbeug monasteries and was co-founder of

Admont Abbey Admont Abbey (german: Stift Admont) is a Benedictine monastery located on the Enns River in the town of Admont, Austria. The oldest remaining monastery in Styria, Admont Abbey contains the largest monastic library in the world as well as a lon ...

. From 1056, he appeared as margrave of the Carantanian march, later to be known as the

March of Styria The March of Styria (german: Steiermark), originally known as Carantanian march (''Karantanische Mark'', ''marchia Carantana'' after the former Slavic principality of Carantania), was a southeastern frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire. It was ...

(german: Steiermark, after the town of Steyr, where Ottokar was

count 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: ...

). In the rising

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...

he remained a loyal supporter of King Henry IV. Ottokar died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, while on a pilgrimage to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

Marriage and children

He married Willibirg of

Eppenstein Eppenstein is a former municipality in the district of Murtal (district), Murtal in the Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Weißkirchen in Steiermark. Eppenstein lies in the ...

, possibly a daughter of Duke Adalbero of Carinthia. The later margraves

Adalbero Adalbero or Adalberon (french: Adalbéron) is a masculine given name, a variant of Adalbert (given name), Adalbert, derived from the Old High German words ''Ethel (disambiguation), adal'' ("noble") and ''beraht'' ("bright") or '':en:wikt:bero#Old_Hi ...

and Ottokar II were his sons. The elder Adalbero succeeded his father but fell out with his younger brother Ottokar II during the Investiture Controversy, was banned and finally murdered in 1082.

Sources

* {{Authority control 1075 deaths 11th-century people of the Holy Roman Empire Margraves of Styria Year of birth unknown