Margrave Rudolf IV of Hachberg-Sausenberg (1426 or 1427,

Rötteln Castle Rötteln Castle (), located above the Lörrach suburb of , lies in the extreme southwest corner of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, just 10 kilometres (6 miles) north-east of the Swiss City of Basel. The fortification was one of the most po ...

– 12 April 1487, Rötteln Castle) was the son the Margrave

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

of Hachberg-Sausenberg and his wife Elisabeth of Montfort-Bregenz. In 1441, Rudolf's father abdicated in favor of Rudolf and his brother Hugo. Since they were both minors at the time, their uncle Count

John of Freiburg-Neuchâtel John of Freiburg (26 May 1396 – 19 February 1458) was Count of Neuchâtel from 1424 until his death. Biography John was born in Neuchâtel on 26 May 1396, the son of , Count of Neuchâtel, and Marie of Vergy. He married Marie de Chalon, daug ...

took up government as their guardian. Hugo died in 1444. Rudolf was a Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg from 1441, and a Count of Neuchâtel from 1447.

Marriage and issue

Rudolf married Margaret of Vienne. She brought Sainte Croix Castle and other property in Burgundy into the marriage. They had at least two children: a son,

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

and a daughter. Catherine.

The construction

Rudolf IV expanded Badenweiler Castle and

. To the latter, he added the lower gate in the outer bailey. Between 1479 and 1482, he rebuilt the City Church in

Schopfheim Schopfheim () is a town in the Lörrach (district), district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese (river), Wiese, 10 km north of Rheinfelden (Baden), Rheinfelden, and 13 km east of Lörrach. The ...

, which had burned down. There are traces of his construction activities in the monastery church at Weitenau and in the churches of

Rötteln Rötteln (Old High German: ''Raudinleim''this expression refers to the red shimmering limestone of this place) is a hamlet beneath the ruins of Rötteln Castle, which was once home to the Lords of Rötteln. Today it is part of the quarter of Ha ...

and Egringen.

The expansion of the country

On 8 September 1444, Count

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

gave the

Badenweiler Badenweiler (High Alemannic: ''Badewiler'') is a health resort and spa in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, historically in the Markgräflerland. It is 28 kilometers by road and rail from Basel, 10 kilome ...

district, including Badenweiler Castle to his nephews Rudolf IV and Hugo. The districts of Badenweiler,

and Hachberg-Sausenberg then formed an almost contiguous area

Markgräflerland Markgräflerland () is a region in the southwest of Germany, in the south of the States of Germany, German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, located between the Breisgau in the north and the Black Forest in the east; adjacent to west with Franc ...

, north of

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

and south of

. Count John of Freiburg-Neuchâtel and his wife Marie of Chalon had six children, but they all died in childhood. In 1447, John of Freiburg-Neuchâtel transferred the county of

, including its

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

to Rudolf. After John's death (19 February 1458), Rudolf inherited further possessions in the Free County of Burgundy.

The Diplomat

In 1451 and 1452, Rudolf accompanied King Frederick III on his journey to Rome for his coronation. In 1454, Duke

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

paid him a visit at

. In 1458, he was appointed Councillor and Chamberlain at the court of the Duke of Burgundy. He was a familiar figure, where he was known as the ''Marquis de Rothelin''. In 1467, Duke

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

of Burgundy appointed him as governor of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. In 1468, he mediated in a dispute between Duke Sigismund of Austria-Tyrol and the

Old Swiss Confederation The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

Attempt to safeguard his possessions in Baden

Rudolf was aware that his position as vassal of the German Empire on the one hand and his Burgundian interests on the other hand it could bring him in a dangerous situation. To keep the possessions in Baden in the family, he was therefore negotiating with Margrave

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

of Baden and his son

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

. Shortly before Rudolf's death, Charles I's grandson

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) ( ...

, a son of

Christopher I Christopher I may refer to: * Christopher I of Armenia, the Catholicos of Armenia 539 to 545 * Patriarch Christopher I of Alexandria, ruled in 817–841 * Christopher I of Denmark (1219–1259), King of Denmark from 1252 to 1259 * Christopher I, M ...

, stayed at Rudolf's court for a while.see Huber, p. 80 The negotiations did not reach a conclusion during Rudolf's lifetime, but Rudolf's son

resume the negotiations with Christopher I and they reached an agreement in 1490.

References and sources

* August Huber: ''Über Basels Anteil am Röteler Erbfolgestreit im Jahre 1503'', in: ''Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde'', vol 4, 1905 * Johann Christian Sachs: ''Einleitung in die Geschichte der Marggravschaft und des marggrävlichen altfürstlichen Hauses Baden'', Frankfurt / Leipzig, 1764, Part 1, pp. 557–574 * Fritz Schülin: ''Binzen, Beiträge zur Orts-, Landschafts- und Siedlungsgeschichte'', Schopfheim, 1967; pp. 523–524 (Genealogy of the House of Hachberg-Sausenberg). * Fritz Schülin: ''Rötteln-Haagen, Beiträge zur Orts-, Landschafts- und Siedlungsgeschichte'', Lörrach, 1965 * Karl Seith: ''Die Burg Rötteln im Wandel ihrer Herrengeschlechter, Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte und Baugeschichte der Burg'', special issue published by Röttelbund e.V., Haagen, described by Schülin as "in: ''Markgräflerland'', vol 3, issue 1, 1931" * Hans Jakob Wörner: ''Das Markgräflerland – Bemerkungen zu seinem geschichtlichen Werdegang'', in: ''Das Markgräflerland'', vol 2/1994, Schopfheim, 1994, p. 63

External links

Footnotes

Gallery

Collegiale Neuchatel mg 2406.jpg Rudolf IV. v. Hachberg-Sausenberg (Details).jpg Siegel Rudolf IV Hochberg.jpg Rudolf IV. von Hachberg-Sausenberg.jpg Unterschrift Rudolf IV.jpg Allianzwappen Rudolf IV Neuchatel.jpg Wappen Rudolf IV.jpg {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolf 04 Hachberg Sausenberg Margraves of Baden Counts of Neuchâtel 15th-century German people 1487 deaths Year of birth uncertain