Attested from about 1110-1120 and counted among the most powerful comital houses of Swabia, the counts of Berg hold their castle guarding the Danube crossing by Ehingen, and Schelklingen.
The house later splits into the Berg-Schelklingen line and the margraves of Burgau: through the Ronsberg marriage their heirs take the margrave's rights after 1212.
Who he is
- Name
- Ulrich of Berg is the count known in this generation (husband of Adelheid of Ronsberg); whether he heads the house on 1 January 1200 is not pinned
- Title
- Count of Berg
- Since
- Not pinned
- Family
- A house of high marriages and bishops: in the early 12th century Count Henry of Berg's daughters married the duke of Poland and the dukes of Bohemia and Moravia (fmg). Ulrich's wife Adelheid of Ronsberg will bring the Ronsberg margrave's rights to their son Henry, later margrave of Burgau (after 1212). Otto of Berg, bishop of Freising since 1184, and Manegold of Berg, bishop of Passau from 1206, are of this house (general reference knowledge, not checked in a fetched source).
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Ronsberg (Adelsgeschlecht)); fmg.ac.
Overlord
The duke of Swabia and the king.
What it holds
- Berg castle above the Danube
- Schelklingen
- Lands on the upper Danube (not pinned)
How it was acquired
Inheritance.
Allies and rivals
Kin by marriage of the Ronsberg margraves (Philip's men).
How things stand that morning
The house holds Berg on 1 January 1200. Throne war: not pinned (the Ronsberg kin are Staufen).
Wealth
Danube valley lands.
Military
Berg castle.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The count of 1200 is not pinned.
On the map: Rough.
Primary sources for Staufen
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Annals of Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
23 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
- Berg (Ehingen) (de.wikipedia)
- Ronsberg (Adelsgeschlecht) (de.wikipedia)
- Swabian nobility (fmg.ac Medieval Lands)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.