Siegfried I (c. 1010 – 7 February 1065) is considered the progenitor of the

Carinthian Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carint ...

ducal

House of Sponheim The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a medieval German noble family, which originated in Rhenish Franconia. They were immediate Counts of Sponheim until 1437 and Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269. Its cadet branches ruled in the Imperial ...

(''Spanheimer'') and all of its lateral branches, including the Counts of Lebenau and the Counts of Ortenburg. He is documented as Count of Sponheim from 1044 and served as margrave of the

Hungarian March The Hungarian March (''Ungarische Mark'' or ''Ungarnmark'') or ''Neumark'' ("New March") was a brief frontier march established in the mid-eleventh century by the Emperor Henry III as a defence against the Kingdom of Hungary. It had only two known ...

in 1045/46 and as count in the

Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( it, Val Pusteria ; german: Pustertal, ) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The S ...

and the Lavant Valley from 1048 until his death.

Descendance

Ruine der Burg Sponheim bei Kreuznach (inproved) JC Scheuren

Siegfried was born at Sponheim Castle in

Rhenish Franconia Rhenish Franconia (german: Rheinfranken) or Western Franconia () denotes the western half of the central Kingdom of Germany, German stem duchy of Franconia in the 10th and 11th century, with its residence at the city of Worms, Germany, Worms. The ...

.Gruden, J. (1910). p. 171.Vengust, M. (2008). p. 23. Likewise Siegfried had a family relationship of unknown degree with Count Stephan I of Sponheim (d. ca. 1080), patriarch of the Rhenish branch of the Sponheim dynasty, which survives as the present-day Princes of

Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern North Rhine-Westphalia. History Sayn-Wittgenstein was created when Count Salentin of Sayn-Homburg, a member of the House of Sponheim, married the heiress Co ...

Life

In 1035 the

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the l ...

emperor Conrad II marched against the rebellious Duke Adalbero of Carinthia. In his attendance was Count Siegfried as his close companion, who thus arrived from Rhenish Franconia in the southeastern estates of the German kingdom. Adalbero was deposed and succeeded by the Salian duke

Conrad the Younger Conrad I (; c. 881 – 23 December 918), called the Younger, was the king of East Francia from 911 to 918. He was the first king not of the Carolingian dynasty, the first to be elected by the nobility and the first to be anointed. He was chosen a ...

in 1036. Siegfried married Richgard, the heiress of Count Engelbert IV in the Puster Valley from the Carinthian family of the ''Sieghardinger'' and Aribonids. Through the marriage with Richgard, he obtained large possessions in

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

and also in Carinthia, for example the Lavant Valley (in modern Austria) and probably also

Laško Laško (; german: Tüffer) is a spa town in eastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Laško. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The municipality is now included in the Savinja Statistical Region. The town is loca ...

and some other parts in the

March of Carniola The March (or Margraviate) of Carniola ( sl, Kranjska krajina; german: Mark Krain) was a southeastern state of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages, the predecessor of the Duchy of Carniola. It corresponded roughly to the central Carniolan ...

(in modern

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

) like the territories around

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

.Hauptmann, L. (1999). pp. 78, 91. In the year 1044 he documents as ruling Count at Sponheim. In 1045 King Henry III of Germany granted Siegfried the territory of the

at the eastern frontier of the

March 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 U ...

as a

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

. However, he kept and managed this land only for a short period. The Hungarian March was finally dissolved and incorporated under the rule of the Babenberg margrave Ernest of Austria from 1055. In 1048 Siegfried documents as a ''

Gaugraf ''Gau'' (German , nl, gouw , fy, gea or ''goa'' ) is a Germanic term for a region within a country, often a former or current province. It was used in the Middle Ages, when it can be seen as roughly corresponding to an English shire. The adm ...

'' in the Tyrolean Puster Valley and in the Carinthian Lavant Valley; he must therefore have already succeeded to his father-in-law Count Engelbert IV as heir to this territory by then. He overtook likewise the possessions of his father-in-law in the

Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria ( German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under ...

. Besides he soon held the office of 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) in the bishoprics of

Brixen Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic an ...

and

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

. Siegfried received likewise possessions in Lower Carinthia and in eastern Upper Bavaria. In 1064 Siegfried joined the

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

of Archbishop

Siegfried I of Mainz Siegfried I (died 16 February 1084) was the Abbot of Fulda from 25 December 1058 until 6 January 1060, and from January 1060 until his death in February 1084, he was Archbishop of Mainz. Family Siegfried was a member of the Frankish Reginbodone ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. On his way back, one year later, he died on the transit through

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

.Dotzauer, W. (2001). p. 151. There he was also buried, before his widow Richgard released the corpse and let him be buried in the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of Sankt Paul im Lavanttal he had planned and constructed. In the year 1909 the ''Siegfriedstrasse'' in the

Floridsdorf Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Je ...

district of

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

was named after him.

Issue

From Siegfried's marriage with Richgard Countess of Lavant Valley several children were born: * Engelbert I (d. 1096), succeeded his father as Count of Sponheim and ''Gaugraf'' in the Puster Valley and Lavant Valley, appointed

Margrave of Istria The March of Istria (or Margraviate of Istria ) was originally a Carolingian frontier march covering the Istrian peninsula and surrounding territory conquered by Charlemagne's son Pepin of Italy in 789. After 1364, it was the name of the Istria ...

in 1090; married Hadwig, possibly a daughter of the

Billung The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries. The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudol ...

duke Bernard II of Saxony. Father of

Engelbert II Engelbert II may refer to: * Engelbert II of Istria (died 1141) * Engelbert II, Count of Gorizia (died 1191) * Engelbert II of Berg (1185 or 1186 – 1225) * Engelbert II of Falkenburg (1220–1274), Archbishop of Cologne * Engelbert II of the Mar ...

. * Siegfried (d. 1070), married ?, supposedly not of equal birth, since there is no direct relationship of the descendants to further Sponheim counts * Hartwig (d. 1102), Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1079 * Hermann (d. 1118),

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, especia ...

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

from 1080

References

Literature

* Dotzauer, Winfried: '' Geschichte des Nahe-Hunsrück-Raumes von den Anfängen bis zur Französischen Revolution''. Stuttgart, Franz Steiner Verlag / 2001 * Fuchs, Walter: ''Schloss Ortenburg, Ortenburger Baudenkmäler und die Geschichte der Reichsgrafschaft Ortenburg'', Ortenburg / 2000 * Hausmann, Friedrich: ''Die Grafen zu Ortenburg und ihre Vorfahren im Mannesstamm, die Spanheimer in Kärnten, Sachsen und Bayern, sowie deren Nebenlinien'', erschienen in: ''Ostbairische Grenzmarken - Passauer Jahrbuch für Geschichte Kunst und Volkskunde, Nr. 36, Passau / 1994'' * Hausmann, Friedrich: ''Siegfried, Markgraf der "Ungarnmark" und die Anfänge der Spanheimer in Kärnten und um Rheinland''. In: ''Jahrbuch für Landeskunde von Niederösterreich'', Neue Folge Band 43. Wien 1977, S. 115–168
pdf
mgh-bibliothek.de) * Gruden, Josip: ''Zgodovina slovenskega naroda''. Celovec, Družba sv. Mohorja/ 1910 * Hauptmann, Ljudmil: ''Nastanek in razvoj Kranjske''. Ljubljana, Slovenska matica / 1999 * Kos, Milko: ''Zgodovina Slovencev.'' Ljubljana, Jugoslovanska knjigarna / 1933 * Pellender, Heinz: ''Tambach - vom Langheimer Klosteramt zur Ortenburg'schen Grafschaft - Historie des Gräflichen Hauses Ortenburg, des Klosteramtes und Schlosses Tambach'', 2. Auflage Coburg / 1990 * Ortenburg-Tambach, Dr. Eberhard Graf zu: ''Geschichte des reichsständischen, herzoglichen und gräflichen Gesamthauses Ortenburg - Teil 1: Das herzogliche Haus in Kärnten.'', Vilshofen / 1932 * Vengust, Marko: ''Kostanjevica na Krki in koroški vojvode Spanheimi''. In: ''Kostanjeviške novice'', n. 36. Kostanjevica. p. 23, 2008

External links

*

*

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegfried 01, Count of Sponheim Margraves of the Holy Roman Empire Counts of the Holy Roman Empire House of Sponheim People from former German states in Rhineland-Palatinate 1010s births 1065 deaths Year of birth uncertain Burials at Saint Paul's Abbey, Lavanttal