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

House of Sponheim The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a medieval Germans, German noble family, which originated in Rhenish Franconia. They were Imperial immediacy, immediate Counts of County of Sponheim, Sponheim until 1437 and Dukes of Duchy of Carinthia, Carint ...

(''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 Marches, frontier march established in the mid-eleventh century by the Emperor Henry III as a defence against the Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1301), ...

in 1045/46 and as count in the

Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( ; , ) 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 South Tyrolean municipalities of th ...

and the Lavant Valley from 1048 until his death.

Descendance

Siegfried was born at Sponheim Castle in

Rhenish Franconia Rhenish Franconia () 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 territory located on ...

.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 (1314-1392), a member of the House of Sponheim, married ...

Life

In 1035 the

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () 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 last Ottonian ...

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 The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( 'kingdom of the Germans', 'German kingdom', "kingdom of Germany", ) was the mostly Germanic language-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The king was elec ...

. Adalbero was deposed and succeeded by the Salian duke Conrad the Younger in 1036. Siegfried married Richgard, the heiress of Count Engelbert IV in the Puster Valley from the Carinthian family of the ''Sieghardinger'' and

Aribonids The Aribonids were a noble family of probably Bavarian origin who rose to preeminence in the Carolingian March of Pannonia and the later Margraviate of Austria (''marcha orientalis'') in the late ninth and early tenth centuries. The dynasty is nam ...

. Through the marriage with Richgard, he obtained large possessions in

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

and also in

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 ...

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

Laško Laško (; ) 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 Lower Styria, Styria. The municipality is now included in the Savinja Statistical Region. The town is locate ...

and some other parts in the

March of Carniola March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...

(in modern

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

) like the territories around

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

.Hauptmann, L. (1999). pp. 78, 91. In the year 1044 he documents as ruling Count at Sponheim. In 1045 King

Henry III of Germany Henry III (, 28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black () or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was rai ...

granted Siegfried the territory of the

at the eastern frontier of the

March of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (; ) was a medieval frontier march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring oc ...

as a

fiefdom A fief (; ) 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 feudal alle ...

. 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 The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria fr ...

margrave Ernest of Austria from 1055. In 1048 Siegfried documents as a '' Gaugraf'' 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 () 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'') ...

. Besides he soon held the office of a ''

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 ...

'' (reeve) in the bishoprics 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 ...

and

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

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

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

of Archbishop Siegfried I of Mainz to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

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

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

.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 (building), 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 com ...

Sankt Paul im Lavanttal Sankt Paul im Lavanttal ( or ''Šentpavel'') is a municipality of the Wolfsberg district in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography Sankt Paul lies in the Lavant River valley. A large part of the municipality lies in the Granitz River val ...

he had planned and constructed. In the year 1909 the ''Siegfriedstrasse'' in the

Floridsdorf Floridsdorf (; ) is the 21st district of Vienna, Austria (''21. Bezirk''). Located north of the Danube, it comprises former villages such as Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Jedlesee, Leopoldau, Stammersdorf, Strebersdorf, and Groß-Jedlersdorf. With a pop ...

district of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

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 Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empir ...

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 The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Latin Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River. Planned since 955 and established in 967, the arch ...

from 1079 * Hermann (d. 1118),

Burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgr ...

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

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