Counts of Lenzburg | |
---|---|
Country | Aargau, Switzerland |
Titles | Count |
Founded | before 1077 |
Founder | Ulrich I |
Final ruler | Ulrich IV |
Deposition | 1173 |
The Counts of Lenzburg were a comital family in the Duchy of Swabia in the 11th and 12th centuries, controlling substantial portions of the pagi of Aargau and Zürichgau
After the extinction of their male line in 1173, their lands were distributed between the houses of Kyburg, Zähringen and Hohenstaufen. Subsequent Habsburg expansion into former Lenzburg territories were one of several factors that led to the formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy in the late 13th century.
The Lenzburg family was first mentioned in 1077 in connection with Lenzburg Castle, though they were probably descended from the Carolingian Count Hunfrid of Rhaetia through a female line to the Lords of Schänis, the religious vogt over Schänis Abbey. Through this line, Ulrich (died 972) is usually considered the first member of the Lenzburg family.
The Lenzburgs were related to several other noble houses including the Counts of Habsburg, Steffling in Regensburg and the Kyburgs. The spotty records and intermarriage between the families makes it difficult to determine exactly which family held lands, but Ulrich clearly had land in the Hinterrhein valley and a position as vogt at Schänis Abbey. His son, Arnold, was appointed a vogt in 976 over the two largest monasteries in Zurich, the Grossmünster and Fraumünster, and their lands in Uri.