The Peilsteins take their name from a castle in the forest west of Melk in Austria (the Austria researcher's record), but they are also a power of the Salzburg country: chief advocates of the archbishopric since the early 12th century, counts in the Gastein valley, holders of Karlstein castle and its toll above Reichenhall, of the court round Reichenhall and of the advocacy of St Zeno there, founders and advocates of Michaelbeuern and advocates of Reichersberg on the Inn.
Their old seat is Tengling by Tittmoning. When they die out in 1218, Bavaria and Salzburg will quarrel over the spoils: the duke gets Gastein and the court up to the Steinbach behind Melleck.
Who he is
- Name
- Friedrich of Peilstein (numbered Friedrich V in the de.wikipedia list, died 14 July 1207), with Friedrich (VI), the last of the line (died 1218)
- Title
- Count of Peilstein, chief advocate of the archbishopric of Salzburg
- Since
- Not pinned: Count Konrad II of Peilstein died on 12 November 1195
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- A branch of the Sieghardinger (the Tengling-Burghausen-Peilstein kindred). Konrad I (died 1168) married Euphemia of Austria, daughter of Margrave Leopold II, and then Adela of Orlamünde. The Cleeberg branch in the Wetterau ended with Siegfried III in 1196, and Friedrich (VI) later bears the titles of Peilstein, Mörle and Cleeberg. A Peilstein daughter, Irmgard, married Henry I of Isenburg, through whom the Hessian inheritance went in 1218. The genealogy is garbled in the source and the numbering of the Friedrichs is uncertain.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Peilstein); de.wikipedia (Gasteinertal; Bad Reichenhall) for Gastein and the 1218 division.
Overlord
The duke of Bavaria for their Bavarian counties (the duke takes Gastein and the court round Reichenhall when the line ends in 1218); the duke of Austria for Peilstein itself.
What it holds
- Comital rights in the Gastein valley, with property in the neighbouring Tauern valleys (until 1218)
- Karlstein castle and its toll at Reichenhall
- The court district (Landgericht) round Reichenhall up to the Steinbach behind Melleck (as the division after 1218 shows)
- Advocacy of St Zeno at Reichenhall
- Chief advocacy of the archbishopric of Salzburg (from the early 12th century)
- Advocacy of Michaelbeuern (their foundation) and of Reichersberg on the Inn
- Tengling, a manor by Tittmoning, the kindred's old seat (not drawn)
- Amerang by Rosenheim (later taken by the duke; not drawn)
- Peilstein and their Austrian lands (Austria file); Cleeberg and Mörle in the Wetterau (Rhineland ground; not drawn)
How it was acquired
Inheritance of the Sieghardinger counties of the Salzburggau and the Pongau (Sieghart I was count of the Pongau and the Chiemgau, died 1104).
Allies and rivals
Advocates of Salzburg's church yet rivals of the archbishop at Reichenhall; Babenberg kin; neighbours of the Plains and of the Hallgraf of Wasserburg.
How things stand that morning
The count holds Gastein and his Reichenhall rights. The 1196 burning of Reichenhall by the archbishop, inside the Peilstein court district, is the latest violence; no Peilstein act in it is recorded. Throne war: not pinned.
Wealth
Karlstein's toll on the Reichenhall salt; advocacy dues from Salzburg, St Zeno, Michaelbeuern and Reichersberg; alpine pastures of Gastein.
Military
Karlstein; vassals in Gastein; no campaign pinned for 1199.
Threats
- Extinction of the line (1218)
- The archbishop's recovery of advocacies
- Bavarian ducal ambition at Reichenhall
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.
- 14 July 1207 and 1218 (beyond 1200)The last counts die; Gastein and the Reichenhall court pass to the duke of Bavaria after a dispute with Salzburg mediated by the bishop of Regensburg and the count palatine Rapoto II of Ortenburg; in 1228 Salzburg gets the Pinzgau counties.Depends on: The family's failing male line. Stopped by: A surviving heir.
Places of note
- Karlstein castle: Peilstein castle and toll above Reichenhall
Where the sources disagree
- The brief names the counts of Plain as the advocates of Salzburg; de.wikipedia (Peilstein) makes the Peilsteins the chief advocates of the archbishopric, the Plains being advocates of St Peter's, Berchtesgaden and other houses. Both are recorded here.
Evidence: Lands and advocacies are from de.wikipedia's family article, which is itself confused on the generations; the holder in 1200 cannot be pinned with certainty.
On the map: Gastein follows the three modern municipalities of the valley, which match its later 'provincia Castuna'; the Reichenhall court district is drawn small, round Karlstein and the Saalach valley up to Melleck.
Primary sources for Bavaria
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 Schäftlarn and the Bavarian annals (12th and 13th centuries). Brief Bavarian annals. Read online
- The Austrian and Salzburg annals (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries, with continuations to the late 13th century). A family of monastic annals from Austria, Styria and Salzburg, printed together. 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
- Regesta Imperii V: calendar of the acts of Philip, Otto IV and Frederick II, 1198 to 1272 (calendar of documents of 1198 to 1272, published 1881 to 1901). A dated calendar of every known act of King Philip and King Otto IV, with the acts of popes and princes that bear on the Empire. Read online
- Bavarian monuments: the charters of the Bavarian monasteries and bishoprics (charters from the 8th century onward, published 1763 to 1916). The great charter series of Bavaria, arranged by monastery and bishopric. Read online
- Charter book of the bishops of Trent (compiled 1207 to 1218; documents from the 11th century onward; edited 1852). The cartulary of the prince-bishops of Trent. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.