Coat of Arms of the Zähringen family
'Zähringen' is the name of an old and influential
German noble family, taken from the castle and village of that name. Zähringen today is part of the city of
Freiburg, which the dukes founded in
1120.
The earliest known member of the family was probably one
Bezelin, a count in the
Breisgau early in the
11th century, though the
Ahalolfings may have been earlier ancestors. Bezelin's son
Berchtold I (d.
1078) was count of Zähringen and was related to the early
Hohenstaufen family.
Berchtold was promised the duchy of
Swabia, but this was not fulfilled. However, in
1061 he was made duke of
Carinthia. Although this dignity was a titular one, Bertold lost it when he joined a rising against the emperor
Henry IV in 1073. His son
Berchtold II, who like his father fought against Henry IV, inherited the land of the counts of
Rheinfelden in
1090 and took the title of duke of Zähringen; he was succeeded in turn by his sons,
Berchtold III (d.
1122) and
Conrad (d.
1152). In
1127 Conrad inherited some land in
Burgundy and about this date he was appointed by king
Lothair III rector of the kingdom of Burgundy or
Arles. This office was held by the Zähringens until
1218 and hence they are sometimes called dukes of Burgundy.
Berchtold IV (d.
1186), who followed his father Conrad, spent much of his time in Italy in the train of the emperor
Frederick I; his son and successor,
Berchtold V, showed his prowess by reducing the Burgundian nobles to order. This latter duke was the founder of the town of
Bern, and when he died in February
1218 the main line of the Zahringen family became extinct.
Berthold V., pictured on the Zähringer fountain in Bern, Switzerland
By extensive acquisitions of land the Zähringens had become very powerful in the districts now known as
Switzerland and
Baden, and when their territories were divided in 1218 part of them passed to the counts of
Kyburg and thence to the house of
Habsburg.
Cities
See also
★
Grand Duchy of Baden
★
Zähringer Castle: Homecastle of the Zähringer
References
★
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