Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia

Meinhard II of Gorizia–Tyrol
Duke of Carinthia
Meinhard II, founder of Stams Monastery, 18th century depiction
Duke	1286–1295
Predecessor	Rudolf I of Germany
Successor	Otto III
Spouse(s)	Elisabeth of Bavaria
Noble family	House of Gorizia
Father	Meinhard I of Gorizia-Tyrol
Mother	Adelheid of Tyrol
Born	c.  1238
Died	1 November 1295 Greifenburg, Carinthia

Meinhard II (c. 1238 – 1 November 1295), a member of the House of Gorizia (Meinhardiner), ruled the County of Gorizia (as Meinhard IV) and the County of Tyrol together with his younger brother Albert from 1258, until in 1271 they divided their heritage and Meinhard became sole ruler of Tyrol. In 1286 he was enfeoffed with the Duchy of Carinthia and the adjacent March of Carniola.

Meinhard II was the son of Count Meinhard III of Gorizia and his wife Adelheid (died 1275/79), daughter and heiress of Count Albert IV of Tyrol. His father had acquired the County of Tyrol (as Meinhard I) upon the death of his father-in-law in 1253 and already had attempted to gain control over neighbouring Carinthian lands against the forces of Duke Bernhard von Spanheim. However, he was defeated near Greifenburg and had to leave his minor sons Meinhard II and Albert held in hostage by Duke Bernhard's son, Archbishop-elect Philip of Salzburg. After their father's death in 1258, Meinhard II and his brother emerged from the Salzburg custody at Hohenwerfen Castle to secure their Gorizia-Tyrol heritage. In 1259 Meinhard married Elisabeth of Wittelsbach, the widow of the Hohenstaufen king Conrad IV of Germany, about ten years his senior.

The joint rule with Albert came to an end, when the inheritance rights to Gorizia and Tyrol were divided in 1271. Meinhard received the County of Tyrol, becoming the progenitor of the Gorizia-Tyrol line of the Meinhardiner dynasty. He and his wife Elisabeth founded Stams Abbey as a proprietary monastery in 1273. The count struggled to acquire the lordship over the Prince-Bishoprics of Trento and Brixen, extended his Tyrolean lands down the Adige River to Salorno, and also acquired several territories in the Inn valley including the important salt mines around Hall. He turned out to be a capable ruler, and therefore is known as the creator of Tyrol as an autonomous Imperial State. Meinhard also had roads built and coins minted, especially the silver coin Zwainziger (twenty). The type was copied elsewhere in Europe and became widely known as Groschen.