Berthold II of Andechs (also known as ''Berthold IV'', ''Berchtold'', or ''Bertholf''; before 1099 – 27 June 1151), a member of the

House of Andechs The House of Andechs was a feudal line of Bavarian princes in the 12th and 13th centuries. The counts of Dießen-Andechs (1100 to 1180) obtained territories in northern Dalmatia on the Adriatic seacoast, where they became Margraves of Istria and ...

, was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

nobleman. He was a ruling count of Dießen and Andechs in the

Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria () was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarians, Bavarian tribes and ruled by List of rulers of Bavaria, dukes (''duces'') ...

, of

Plassenburg Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were Ministerialis, ministerial of the counts of And ...

and

Kulmbach Kulmbach () is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town, once a stronghold of the Principality of Bayreuth, is renowned for its University of Life Sciences, a branch of the University of Bayreuth, the massive Plasse ...

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

, as well as bailiff of

Benediktbeuern Abbey Benediktbeuern Abbey (Kloster Benediktbeuern) is an institute of the Salesians of Don Bosco, originally a monastery of the Benedictine Order, in Benediktbeuern in Bavaria, near the Kochelsee, 64 km south-south-west of Munich. It is the olde ...

Life

Berthold's ancestry has not been conclusively established. According to the ''

Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for t ...

'' genealogy, he was probably the elder son and heir of Count Arnold of Dießen (d. 1098) and his wife Gisela of

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a town#Germany, city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding Schweinfurt (district), district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultur ...

, a daughter of Duke

Otto III of Swabia Otto III (died 28 September 1057), called the White and known as Otto of Schweinfurt, was the margrave of the Nordgau (1024–1031) and duke of Swabia (1048–1057). He was the son of Henry of Schweinfurt, margrave of the Nordgau, and Gerberga o ...

. He thereby was a grandson of Count Frederick II of Dießen (d. 1075). In 1098, he inherited his father's Bavarian possessions around the

Ammersee Ammersee (; English: Lake Ammer) is a '' Zungenbecken'' lake in Upper Bavaria, Germany, southwest of Munich between the towns of Herrsching and Dießen am Ammersee. With a surface area of approximately , it is the sixth largest lake in Germany ...

and

Lake Starnberg Lake Starnberg, or ''Starnberger See'' ) — called Lake Würm or ''Würmsee'' until 1962 — is Germany's second-largest body of fresh water, having great depth, and fifth-largest lake by area. It and its surroundings lie in three different Bava ...

, as well as those in

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (, ) is a (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle Franconia and Lower Franconia, wh ...

. Around 1120, he could succeed the comital Sigimar dynasty as bailiff (''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

'') of

, and thereby increased his influence considerably. He co-founded the abbey of Dießen (where in 1130 he was documented to be bailiff) and maintained relations with

Admont Abbey Admont Abbey (, ()) is a Benedictine monastery located on the Enns River in the town of Admont Admont () is a town in the Austrian state of Styria. It is historically most notable for Admont Abbey, a monastery founded in 1074. Gesäuse Nat ...

in the

March of Styria The March of Styria (; ; ) was a southeastern March (territorial entity), frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, encompassing various regions around the river Mur (river), Mur. Created sometime before 970, it was broken off the larger March of ...

. When his daughter Kunigunde entered Admont Abbey, he donated 15 ''Hufen'' (

oxgang An oxgang or bovate (; ; ; ) is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England as early as the 16th century sometimes referred to as an oxgait. It averaged around 20 English acres, but was based on land fertility and cultivation, a ...

s) of land in

Moosburg Moosburg an der Isar ( Central Bavarian: ''Mooschbuag on da Isa'') is a town in the ''Landkreis'' Freising of Bavaria, Germany. The oldest town between Regensburg and Italy lies on the river Isar at an altitude of 421 m (1381 ft). It ...

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

to the monastery. Around 1100, Berthold built a new residence on a hill outside

Andechs Andechs is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. It is renowned in Germany and beyond for Andechs Abbey, a Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB ...

, which later became the site of

Andechs Abbey Andechs Abbey is a Benedictine monastery, now a priory but formerly an abbey, in the municipality of Andechs, in the Starnberg (district), ''Landkreis'' of Starnberg, Upper Bavaria, Germany. A place of pilgrimage on a hill east of the Ammersee, t ...

. A little later, in the early 1130s, he built

Castle north of

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

; from 1137, he styled himself "Count of Plassenburg". He probably founded the town of

around the same time at the foot of the hill below Plassenburg Castle; the town is first mentioned in contemporary sources in 1174. He was married to Sophia (d. 1132), a daughter of Margrave Poppo II of

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

(d. 1103), a member of the House of Weimar-Orlamünde. She brought more prestige into the marriage, and the family's first possessions southeast of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. She was of royal blood: her paternal grandmother was Sophia, a daughter of King

Béla I of Hungary Béla I the Boxer or the Wisent (, ; – 11 September 1063) was King of Hungary from 1060 until his death. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. Béla's baptismal name was Adalbert. He left Hungary in 1031, together w ...

, from the

House of Árpád A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

. When Sophia's cousin, Margrave Poppo III of Istria died in childless, after 1141, his possessions were divided by the husbands of his widow and his sisters; thus Berthold, the Counts of Sponheim and the Counts of Bogen secured extensive possessions in

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) 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 still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

Lower Styria Styria (, ), also known as Slovenian Styria (; ) or Lower Styria (; ) to differentiate it from Austrian Styria, is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of St ...

and

. Between 1143 and 1147, Bethold became Count of

Stein Stein may refer to: Places Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria * Stein, Styria, a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeld, Styria * Stein (Lassing), a village in the district of Liezen, Styria * Stein a ...

. After 1140, Berthold spent much of his time at the court of King

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (; ; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III, and from 1138 until his death in 1152 King of the Romans in t ...

; this was probably related to a dispute he had with the Archbishop of Bamberg, who felt that Berthold threatened his worldly power in Upper Franconia.

Marriage and issue

Berthold married twice. His first wife was Sophia, a daughter of Margrave Poppo II of Carniola (d. 1103), a member of the House of Weimar-Orlamünde. Together, they had the following children: * Poppo (d. 1148) * Berthold III (d. 1188) *

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

(d. 1196), Bishop of

Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...

from 1165 to 1170 and Bishop of

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

from 1177 until his death * Gisela (d. after 1150), married Count Diepold II of Berg-Schelklingen (d. 1160/1165) After Sophia's death, he married Kunigunde, a daughter of Count Egbert II of Formbach-Pitten, the heiress of Formbach. With her, he had the following children: * Mechtildis (d. 1160),

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

of Edelstetten Abbey * Euphemia (d. 1180), abbess of Altmünster Abbey * Kunigunde (d. 1139), a nun at

References

Sources

External links

Entry at genealogie-mittelalter.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berthold 02, Count of Andechs Counts in Germany House of Andechs 11th-century births Year of birth unknown 1151 deaths 12th-century German nobility