The Heunburg counts hold the castle of Heunburg above Haimburg east of Völkermarkt, first named as Huneburch in 1103, with Bleiburg and parts of the Lavanttal.
In the thirteenth century they become one of the most powerful houses in Carinthia, with castles in Lower Styria and Carniola: Oberburg, Schallegg (Šalek), Tüffer (Laško), Rohitsch (Rogatec), Prassberg (Mozirje), Schönstein (Šoštanj) and Lemberg near Cilli. When each of those came to them is not dated in the sources used here, so they are listed but not drawn for 1200. Their heirs in 1322 are the Sannegg, the future counts of Cilli.
Who he is
- Name
- Wilhelm (III) of Heunburg and his kinsman Gero (which of them heads the house on 1 January 1200 is not pinned)
- Title
- Count of Heunburg
- Since
- after the death of Ulrich I (on record 1141, died 1192)
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- An old comital house of Carinthia, named from 1070 and securely as counts from 1103 (Wilhelm I, count of Trixen and Zeltschach or Heunburg). Ulrich I died in 1192. A Wilhelm of Heunburg witnessed Duke Ottokar's Seckau charter of 1192. Wilhelm III (died about 1230) married Kunigunde of Gutenberg. Gero (died about 1192, or between 1191 and 1220, or about 1212: the sources disagree) married Elisabeth, daughter of Rapoto I of Ortenburg (the Bavarian line). Poppo II was a chaplain at Salzburg in 1191. Brigitta of Heunburg is the widow of Count Otto II of Ortenburg. Their kinsmen of Pozzuolo-Hohenwart included Günther, 'margrave of the Sann' (died 1140).
- Confidence
- low
German Wikipedia (Grafen von Heunburg; Heunburg).
Overlord
The duke of Carinthia; the family ranks directly below the duke among the Carinthian nobility.
What it holds
- Heunburg castle (Huneburch, 1103) above Haimburg.
- Bleiburg: the castle was built in the early twelfth century and is first documented with its market in 1228 (castrum et forum pliburch); the Heunburg held it in the thirteenth century, but not pinned for 1 January 1200 (German Wikipedia, Bleiburg). Parts of the Lavanttal (dates not pinned).
- Lower Styria and Carniola: Oberburg, Schallegg, Tüffer (Laško), Rohitsch (Rogatec), Prassberg (Mozirje), Schönstein (Šoštanj), Lemberg near Cilli and others: dates of acquisition not pinned; not drawn for 1200.
- Ministerial families of their own: the Gutenstein, Wartheim, Schrankbaum and Labeck (undated).
How it was acquired
Ancestral; the Sann (Savinja) connection goes back to their kinsman Günther of Pozzuolo-Hohenwart, 'margrave of the Sann', who died in 1140.
Allies and rivals
Kin by marriage of both Ortenburg lines. Duke Hermann of Carinthia (died 1181) feuded with them.
How things stand that morning
The house holds Heunburg and Bleiburg; its head on 1 January 1200 is not pinned between Wilhelm III and Gero.
Military
Heunburg and Bleiburg castles and their own ministeriales.
Places of note
- Heunburg castle: Above Haimburg; coordinates approximate.
- Bleiburg: Castle of the early twelfth century; Heunburg's in the thirteenth century (1200 not pinned).
Where the sources disagree
- The German Wikipedia article gives three different death dates for Gero of Heunburg (about 1192; between 1191 and 1220; about 1212) and two first mentions for the castle (about 1070 and 1103).
Evidence: A muddled genealogy around 1200; the family's Lower Styrian holdings are undated.
On the map: Only the castle district of Heunburg is drawn; Bleiburg and the Lower Styrian castles are listed but left undrawn because their tenure on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Primary sources for Carinthia
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.
- 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
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.