Above Schwaz in the lower Inn valley stands the tower of Freundsberg, founded in 1150 by the lords of Freundsberg: a five-storey residential tower of 28 metres that still stands.
Its chapel was consecrated on 23 November 1176 by Archbishop Conrad, then papal legate (the Conrad of Wittelsbach who now holds Mainz). On 1 January 1200 the family holds the castle and the country round Schwaz inside the Andechs county; Schwaz is a village, its silver a later story.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned: no member is named for 1200 in the sources read
- Title
- Lords of Freundsberg (Frundsberg)
- Since
- The family built its castle in 1150
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Burg Freundsberg.
Overlord
Not stated in the source read; their castle lies inside the Andechs counts' comital rights in the Inn valley, and the family is generally counted among the Andechs' and later the Tyrol counts' ministeriales (not checked).
What it holds
- Freundsberg castle above Schwaz (founded 1150; chapel consecrated 23 November 1176)
- Lands round Schwaz (extent not pinned)
How it was acquired
Built by the family in 1150.
Allies and rivals
The Andechs counts, holders of the county of the Inn valley; the abbey of St Georgenberg above Stans.
How things stand that morning
Hold Freundsberg on 1 January 1200 so far as anything shows; their side in the throne war is unrecorded.
Wealth
Dues of the Schwaz country and the Inn valley road; no figures.
Military
One tower castle above the Inn road; men not recorded.
Places of note
- Freundsberg castle: The family's tower above Schwaz.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Castle and chapel dates from de.wikipedia; members, overlord and lands not pinned.
On the map: Castle only; the family's lands are not pinned.
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.