Albert IV, Count of Tyrol
| Albert IV | |
|---|---|
| Count of Tyrol | |
 |
|
| Spouse(s) | Uta of Frontenhausen-Lechsgemünd |
| Noble family | House of Tyrol |
| Father | Henry I, Count of Tyrol |
| Mother | Agnes of Wangen |
| Born | c. 1180 |
| Died | 22 July 1253 |
| Buried | Stams |
Albert IV (or Albert III, depending on the counting scheme; c. 1180 – 22 July 1253) was Count of Tyrol from 1202 until his death, the last from the original House of Tirol. He also served as Vogt of the bishoprics of Trent and Brixen.
He was the son of Count Henry I (d. 14 June 1190) and Agnes of Wangen, daughter of Count Adalbero I. He was still a minor when his father died in 1190, and only began to rule independently in 1202. He inherited the office of a Vogt of Trent from his father; in 1210, Bishop Conrad also appointed him Vogt of Brixen.
When in 1209 the Counts of Andechs-Merania were banned for their alleged role in the murder of the Hohenstaufen king Philip of Swabia at the wedding of Duke Otto I of Merania in Bamberg, Albert took over their sovereign rights in the Inn, Wipp, Eisack, and Gader valleys. Shaping the independent County of Tyrol, he consolidated his position by quickly recognizing the now undisputed supremacy of Philip's rival, the Welf emperor Otto IV. After Emperor Otto's death in 1218, he again switched sides and became a loyal supporter of the Hohenstaufen ruler Frederick II. In 1217 he and Bishop Bertold of Brixen joined the Fifth Crusade.
Albert had no sons, so he made sure his daughters would be allowed to inherit. In 1234 he married his daughter Elisabeth (d. 1256) off to the Andechs duke Otto II of Merania and his other daughter, Adelaide (d. 1279), to Count Meinhard of Gorizia, concluding mutual contracts of inheritance with both his sons-in-law. As a result, Albert acquired the Tyrolean possessions held by Otto II of Merania upon his death in 1248 and could also seize the lands of the extinct counts of Eppan in the same year.
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