The Lords of Walsee were a German noble family between the 13th and 15th centuries. Taking their name from

Bad Waldsee Bad Waldsee () is a town in Upper Swabia in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the district of Ravensburg. It is situated 20 km south of Biberach an der Riß, and 20 km northeast of Ravensburg. The town is known for its hist ...

Upper Swabia Upper Swabia (german: Oberschwaben or ) is a region in Germany in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.''Brockhaus Enzyklopädie.'' 19. Auflage. Band 16, 1991, p. 72. The name refers to the area between the Sw ...

, they were originally

ministerials The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minist ...

(unfree knights) in the service of the abbey of Weissenburg and the

Staufer The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

s. They grew wealthy in the space between the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

and the

Iller The Iller (; ancient name Ilargus) is a river of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube, long. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Breitach, Stillach and Trettach near Oberstdorf in the Allgäu ...

. Under the patronage of a

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

king, either

Rudolf I Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...

or Albert I, they came to the Ennstal. In 1331, they sold Bad Waldsee to the Habsburgs.Gerhard Köbler
''Historische Enzyklopädie der Länder der Deutschen''
(2014), p. 803. By the acquisition of various lordships, they established several lines in

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

. The lines of

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

and Drosendorf went extinct in 1400, that of Enns in 1483 and that of

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

in 1363. They frequently held the office of ''

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

'' (governor) in

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

and

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

. In 1395, they acquired

Duino Castle Duino Castle ( it, Castello di Duino, german: Schloss Duino, sl, Grad Devin) is a fourteenth-century fortification located in Duino (municipality of Duino-Aurisina), near Trieste, Italy, on the cliffs overlooking the Gulf of Trieste. Building co ...

after the extinction of the local lords. They also acquired

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

and the coast in 1400. In 1465 and 1471, the Emperor Frederick III was confirmed as heir to Fiume.August Dimitz, ''History of Carniola from Ancient Times to the Year 1813 with Special Consideration of Cultural Development, Volume I: From Primeval Times to the Death of Emperor Frederick III (1493)'' (Slovenian Genealogy Society International, 2013

874 __FORCETOC__ Year 874 ( DCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Salomon, duke ('king') of Brittany, is murdered by a faction which includ ...

, pp. 179, 226.Josip Banić, 'The Mystery of Merania: A New Solution to Old Problems (Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Croatia-Dalmatia during the Investiture Controversy)", ''Historical Review, Ljubljana'' 75.162 (2020), pp. 296–327.

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