Bernhard II, Duke of Carinthia

Bernhard of Spanheim
Duke of Carinthia
Seal of Bernhard, Duke of Carinthia
Reign	1202–1256
Predecessor	Ulrich II, Duke of Carinthia
Successor	Ulrich III, Duke of Carinthia
Born	c. 1176/81
Died	(1256-01-04)4 January 1256 Völkermarkt
Buried	St. Paul's Abbey
Noble family	House of Sponheim
Spouse(s)	Judith of Bohemia
Father	Herman of Carinthia
Mother	Agnes of Babenberg

Bernhard von Spanheim (or Sponheim; 1176 or 1181 – 4 January 1256), a member of the noble House of Sponheim, was Duke of Carinthia for 54 years from 1202 until his death. A patron of chivalry and minnesang, Bernhard's reign marked the emergence of the Carinthian duchy as an effective territorial principality.

In 1122 Bernhard's ancestor Count Henry of Sponheim, descending from Rhenish Franconia, had inherited the Imperial estate of Carinthia. Upon his death in the following year, he was succeeded by his younger brother Engelbert, Bernhard's great-grandfather.

His father was Duke Herman II of Carinthia, who had reigned from 1161 until 1181. He was at first succeeded by Bernhard's elder brother Duke Ulrich II, who reigned for two decades but died childless on 10 August 1202, whereafter Bernhard succeeded him. His mother was Agnes of Austria (c. 1151/54 – 13 January 1182), a member of the House of Babenberg.

Bernhard had actually been regent over the Carinthian duchy since his elder brother Duke Ulrich II had fallen seriously ill, possibly with leprosy, after he had joined the Crusade of 1197. In the conflict between the rivaling House of Hohenstaufen and the Welfs around the German throne upon the death of Emperor Henry VI, he originally continued his brother's support for their Hohenstaufen relative Philip of Swabia but turned to the Welf Otto IV after Philipp's assassination in 1208 and attended his coronation in Rome. Bernhard again switched sides to Philip's nephew Frederick II, who had been elected King of the Romans in 1212 and finally prevailed.