Rudolf I (1081 – 27 April 1160) was

Count of Bregenz The county of Bregenz is recorded as part of the Holy Roman Empire between 1043 and 1160. It was in possession of the Udalriching family, who took the titles of counts of Bregenz. After 1160, Bregenz fell to the counts of Montfort-Bregenz (1160 ...

, Count of Chur and Count of Lower Raetia from 1097 to his death in 1160. He may well be claimed as the first ruler of a united

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...

Life

Rudolf I was the son of Ulrich X of Bregenz and Bertha of Rheinfelden (d. after 1128). During his father's death in 1097, the house of Bregenz was at war with the Welfs over the inheritance of the House of Buchhorn (

Linzgau Linzgau is a historic region in Southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located north of Lake Constance and south of the Danube valley. Geography The region is bounded by the shore of Lake Constance on the south, the Hegau regi ...

Alpgau Alpgau (also ''Albgau'') was a territory of Alemannia and the Duchy of Swabia during the 8th to 12th centuries.
It comprised ...

and Upper Raetia). His mother encouraged Rudolf to fight for their houses' rights against the Welfs and Kirchberg family, the Welf's allies. Thanks to her efforts, many areas were restored to their family - if only in minimal fashion, the Kirchberg house still retaining most control. Rudolf gave his brothers, Ulrich XI and Henry, territories for their benefit, since they were robbed by the Welfs and Kirchbergs of their lands. Ulrich received Rheingau and portions of

Argengau Argengau was a territory of Alemannia within East Francia in the 8th and 9th centuries, being a county in the 9th century,Smith, Julia M.H. "Einhard: The Sinner and the Saints" ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Vol. 13 (2003) 55-77 ...

(east of the

Leiblach The Leiblach is a tributary of Lake Constance and the Rhine. The Leiblach source is near the German municipality of Heimenkirch, flowing to the southwest. Near the Austrian town of Hohenweiler, the river joins a small tributary, the . This tribu ...

), while Henry was given his mother's domain,

Kellmünz Kellmünz ''(official: Kellmünz a.d.Iller)'' is a municipality in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria in Germany. Geographic location Kellmünz is located in Upper Swabia at the river Iller, approximately 30 km south of Ulm and 15 km ...

. However, neither survived long. Ulrich died before 1116 and Henry in 1127. Thus Rudolf reassumed their possessions. Now to reform the administration of his domains, he created the new County of Walgau, with its centre on Guggais, near

Nüziders Nüziders is a municipality in the district of Bludenz in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It was capital of the historical County of Sonnenberg Sonnenberg was a county ruled by the comital Waldburg family of Upper Swabia, located around Nüz ...

. Thanks to this innovation, the region began attracting German workers to work on the nearby mines at the

Montafon Valley 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 n ...

. Rudolf is known for having built many new towns and churches that exist in Vorarlberg today. Now it came that it was the later years of Rudolf and he had no heir. He chose

Hugo II, Count Palatine of Tübingen Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

, for his daughter, Elisabeth, to wed, as he had shown to be an effective champion of Elisabeth's interests. And these last years he spent with his new son-in-law in relative peace, maintaining the closest relations with Hugo. At his death on the 27 April 1160, at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

, his son-in-law Hugo II, had taken his body to be interred at Ulrich X's foundation of

Mehrerau Abbey Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is a Cistercian territorial abbey and cathedral located at Mehrerau on the outskirts of Bregenz in Vorarlberg, Austria. Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey is directly subordinate to the Holy See and thus forms no part of the Catho ...

on the 12 May, where he lies there to this day.Leeper, p. 398-399

Family

Rudolf had the following known children: *by his first wife, Irmgard of Calw (d. before 1128), daughter of

Adalbert II, Count of Calw Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...

: **Markward of Schwarzach (d. between 1149 – 1158) *by his second wife, Wulfhild of Bavaria, daughter of Henry the Black and Wulfhilde of Saxony: **Elisabeth of Bregenz married

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * {{- 1081 births 1160 deaths Counts of Austria Counts of the Holy Roman Empire Udalriching dynasty