Ulrich III ( – 27 October 1269) was the Lord in the
March of Carniola
The March (or Margraviate) of Carniola ( sl, Kranjska krajina; german: Mark Krain) was a southeastern Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages, the predecessor of the Duchy of Carniola. It corresponded roughly to the c ...
from and
Duke of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial Sta ...
from 1256 until his death, the last ruler from the
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 C ...
. His rule had long-lasting consequences. In
Carniola
Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...
, he acquired the former
Meranian possessions, thus becoming the first undisputed ''princeps terrae'', provincial lord or
landgrave
Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...
, creating the power and legal basis of the future
Duchy of Carniola
The Duchy of Carniola ( sl, Vojvodina Kranjska, german: Herzogtum Krain, hu, Krajna) was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire, established under House of Habsburg, Habsburg rule on the territory of the former East Frankish March of Carn ...
. The center of his original Carniolan possessions,
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 ar ...
, became the new administrative center and thus the provincial capital, as well as the center of Ulrich's power. In
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
, which he took over after his father's death, his seal became the coat of arms of
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
up to today. Despite his attempts to secure the vast
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 ...
inheritance through two marriages, first to
Agnes of Merania
Agnes of Merania (1175 - July 1201) was Queen of France by marriage to King Philip II. She is called Marie by some of the French chroniclers.
Biography
Agnes Maria was the daughter of Berthold, Duke of Merania, who was Count of Andechs, a castle ...
, widow of the last Babenberg duke
Frederick II of Austria
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 25 April 1211 – 15 June 1246), known as Frederick the Quarrelsome (''Friedrich der Streitbare''), was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1230 until his death. He was the fifth and last Austrian duke from the Hou ...
, and then to Frederick's niece
Agnes of Baden, Ulrich remained childless. After a short
interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...
by his younger brother
Philip of Spanheim
Philip of Spanheim (also: Philip of Sponheim; died 22 July 1279) was elected Archbishop of Salzburg (1247–1257) and Patriarch of Aquileia (1269–1271). He held the title of a Count of Lebenau (1254–1279) and was nominal Duke of Carinthia. Wit ...
,
patriarch of Aquileia
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...
, the House of Spanheim went extinct, and all of Ulrich's possessions were inherited by his cousin
Ottokar I of Bohemia
Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (a ...
.
Life
Ulrich III was the eldest son of Duke
Bernhard of Carinthia and his wife Judith, a daughter of the
Přemyslid king
Ottokar I of Bohemia
Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (a ...
.
[''Ulrich III'', ''Dictionary of German Biography'', Vol. 10, ed. ]Walter Killy
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...
and Rudolf Vierhaus
Rudolf Vierhaus (29 October 1922 – 13 November 2011) was a German historian who mainly researched the Early modern period. He had been a professor at the newly founded Ruhr University Bochum since 1964. From 1971, he was director of the in Göt ...
, (Walter de Gruyter
Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature.
History
The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...
, 2006), 149. Already his father had endeavoured to assume the rule over the Carniolan march, which Ulrich could secure for himself by marrying
Agnes of Andechs, the widow of the last
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 ...
duke
Frederick II of Austria
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 25 April 1211 – 15 June 1246), known as Frederick the Quarrelsome (''Friedrich der Streitbare''), was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1230 until his death. He was the fifth and last Austrian duke from the Hou ...
.
From 1251, he was co-ruler of Carinthia with his father; in 1256 he succeeded his father as duke.
![OldrichSponheim3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/OldrichSponheim3.jpg)
Ulrich continued the development of his home territories as his father began. In 1260, he completed the foundation of the
charterhouse
Charterhouse may refer to:
* Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order
Charterhouse may also refer to:
Places
* The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery
* Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey
London ...
in
Bistra (''Freudenthal'') near
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 ar ...
.
He also founded the
Canons Regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
monastery in
Völkermarkt
Völkermarkt (; sl, Velikovec) is a town of about 11,000 inhabitants in the Austrian state of Carinthia, the administrative capital of Völkermarkt District. It is located within the Drava valley east of the Carinthian capital Klagenfurt, north ...
.
He had differences of opinion about his father's inheritance with his younger brother
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, who had to prepare for an ecclesiastical career and was elected
Archbishop of Salzburg
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg ( la, Archidioecesis Salisburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, serving alongside the Archdiocese of ...
in 1247. Philip refused to take holy orders in order to reserve the right of succession in Carinthia for himself. Ulrich and Philip finally reached an agreement of mutual protection and inheritance and, after Philip was deposed as bishop in 1257 by the cathedral chapter, fought together against Philip's successor, Archbishop Ulrich of Seckau.
After the election of Archbishop
Ladislaus of Salzburg
Władysław of Salzburg, also known as Władysław of Wrocław/Breslau ( pl, Władysław Wrocławski) or Władysław of Silesia (german: Wladislaus von Schlesien, cs, Vladislav Slezský; – 27 April 1270), a member of the Silesian Piasts, was ...
, it became clear that Philip would have to abandon all hopes to return to Salzburg. In 1267 he asked Ulrich III to divide their inheritance and also proposed that he could be Ulrich's heir, as Ulrich's son from his first marriage had died young, and his second marriage was still childless. However, on 4 December 1268, Ulrich secretly proceeded to
Poděbrady Castle
Poděbrady Castle ( cs, Zámek Poděbrady) is a castle in the town of Poděbrady in the Czech Republic.
History
A wooden fortress originally stood at the site of the present castle. King Ottokar II of Bohemia replaced it by a stone castle, whi ...
, where he concluded an inheritance treaty with his cousin, King
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...
,
in which the king was made his sole heir.
When Duke Ulrich III died in
Cividale del Friuli
Cividale del Friuli ( fur, Cividât (locally ); german: Östrich; sl, Čedad) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Udine, part of the North-Italian Friuli Venezia Giulia ''regione''. The town lies above sea-level in the foothills of the e ...
on 27 October 1269, both Philip and Ottokar II claimed his inheritance.
In the same year, on 23 September, Philip was elected
Patriarch of Aquileia
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...
,
however, his election was never confirmed by the Pope and in 1270/71 he was expelled to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
by Ottokar's forces. This was the end of the 150-year long rule of the Sponheim dynasty in Carinthia.
Marriages and issue
Ulrich III was married twice:
# to
Agnes of Merania
Agnes of Merania (1175 - July 1201) was Queen of France by marriage to King Philip II. She is called Marie by some of the French chroniclers.
Biography
Agnes Maria was the daughter of Berthold, Duke of Merania, who was Count of Andechs, a castle ...
(1215–1263), the widow of Duke
Frederick II of Austria
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 25 April 1211 – 15 June 1246), known as Frederick the Quarrelsome (''Friedrich der Streitbare''), was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1230 until his death. He was the fifth and last Austrian duke from the Hou ...
.
This marriage produced a son, who died young.
# to
Agnes of Baden (1250–1295), a daughter of Margrave
Herman VI of Baden and
Gertrude of Babenberg,
niece of Duke Frederick II of Austria. This marriage remained childless.
Notes
References
*
* Friedrich Hausmann: ''Die Grafen zu Ortenburg und ihre Vorfahren im Mannesstamm, die Spanheimer in Kärnten, Sachsen und Bayern, sowie deren Nebenlinien'', in the series ''Ostbairische Grenzmarken — Passauer Jahrbuch für Geschichte Kunst und Volkskunde'', vol. 36, Passau, 1994
* Dr. Eberhard Graf zu Ortenburg-Tambach: ''Geschichte des reichsständischen, herzoglichen und gräflichen Gesamthauses Ortenburg'', part 1: ''Das herzogliche Haus in Kärnten'', Vilshofen, 1932
External links
Ulrich IIIin the thesaurus maintained by the
Consortium of European Research Libraries
The Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) is a consortium of research libraries, primarily in Europe, that facilitates access to historians with an interest in the history of the book by providing online resources. The organisation also ...
{{Authority control
Dukes of Carinthia
House of Sponheim
1220s births
Year of birth unknown
1269 deaths
13th-century people of the Holy Roman Empire