The Bregenz counts died out about 1160 and their inheritance came through Elisabeth of Bregenz to the counts palatine of Tübingen.
Her younger son Hugo takes the smaller Bregenz share, including Lower Raetia (the Rhine valley above Lake Constance and the Walgau), while his brother Rudolf keeps part; NDB dates the division only to 'about 1200', so on 1 January 1200 the brothers may still hold jointly. About 1200 Hugo builds the castle of Montfort near Weiler and founds the town of Feldkirch below it on the Ill, where the Rhine valley road meets the Arlberg road; the town is first named as such in 1218. He moves his seat from Bregenz to Feldkirch and takes the name Montfort about 1207.
Who he is
- Name
- Hugo of Tübingen
- Title
- Count; heir of the Bregenz inheritance including Lower Raetia (Unterrätien); styled Hugo (III) of Tübingen until about 1207, then count of Montfort
- Since
- not pinned: his father, Count Palatine Hugo of Tübingen, died in 1182; the brothers divided the inheritance 'about 1200' (NDB)
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Younger son of Count Palatine Hugo of Tübingen (died 1182) and Elisabeth, heiress of Count Rudolf of Bregenz. Brother of Rudolf, count palatine of Tübingen (swa record), who kept a share of the Bregenz lands. Wives: Mechthild of Eschenbach-Schnabelburg, then Mechthild of Wangen (dates not pinned). Sons Rudolf, Hugo, Wilhelm, Heinrich (later bishop of Chur) and Friedrich; their births by 1200 are not pinned.
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Hugo I. (Montfort); NDB Montfort (Burmeister); de.wikipedia Feldkirch.
Overlord
The king.
What it holds
- Bregenz with its castle on the lake (the old seat)
- The Rhine valley above the lake and the Walgau (Lower Raetia)
- Montfort castle near Weiler, built about 1200
- Feldkirch, new town founded about 1200 (first named as a town in 1218): on 1 January 1200 at most just begun (not pinned)
- Shares in Tübingen family rights in Swabia (Bebenhausen patronage, Weil im Schönbuch)
How it was acquired
Inheritance from his mother; division with his brother about 1200 (not pinned).
Allies and rivals
His brother the count palatine Rudolf (named among Philip's princes at Speyer, 28 May 1199); the abbey of St Gall and the bishop of Chur as neighbours; the lords of Sax in the Rhine valley.
How things stand that morning
Holds Bregenz and Lower Raetia, jointly or alone. Staufen through his brother's open allegiance (Speyer 1199); his own acts that winter are not pinned: allegiance Staufen, medium-low confidence.
Wealth
Lake and Rhine valley tolls, the Arlberg and Bündner pass roads, estates. No figures.
Military
Bregenz castle, Montfort, soon the Schattenburg at Feldkirch (begun about 1230 per de.wikipedia). No numbers.
Threats
- A quarrel with his brother over the division.
- Disputes with St Gall's houses (in 1209 a papal court made him return Breitenau to St Johann).
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- about 1200 (not pinned)Division of the Bregenz inheritance with his brother Rudolf; building of Montfort castle and laying out of Feldkirch.Depends on: Agreement between the brothers. Stopped by: A family quarrel or war on the lake.
Places of note
- Bregenz castle: Old seat of the Bregenz counts
- Montfort castle: Built about 1200
- Feldkirch: New town of about 1200
Where the sources disagree
- de.wikipedia dates the Schattenburg 'about 1200' in one article and 'about 1230' in another; NDB gives no date.
Evidence: Inheritance and later titles firm; the date of the division and of Feldkirch's foundation are only 'about 1200'.
On the map: The split of the Bregenz lands between Hugo and Rudolf on 1 January 1200 is not known; drawn whole for Hugo.
Primary sources for Empire
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
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.