The Kyburgs (a branch of the Swabian counts of Dillingen since 1170) hold the north-east of the Swiss plateau: the Kyburg castle above the Töss with the new market towns of Winterthur and Diessenhofen (both founded about 1180), the Stein castle at Baden with the allods of the Lenzburg-Baden counts (from 1172, through Ulrich's mother Richenza), allods by the Walensee and in the Gaster, and lands and claims in the Thurgau.
Ulrich III is Berthold V's brother-in-law and one of his two heirs in waiting; the family has been in the Staufen orbit since the mid-twelfth century.
Who he is
- Name
- Ulrich III
- Title
- Count of Kyburg
- Since
- not pinned: after the death of his father Hartmann III (date not given by HLS; usually put about 1180); first mentioned 1183
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Son of Hartmann III and Richenza of Baden-Lenzburg. Wife: Anna of Zähringen, daughter of Berthold IV and sister of Berthold V (marriage date not pinned). Children: sons Werner and Ulrich (the later bishop of Chur) probably born by 1200; Hartmann (IV) perhaps born about 1200 (not pinned); daughters who later married into Lorraine, Savoy, Habsburg (Heilwig, mother of King Rudolf) and Württemberg. He went on the Third Crusade in 1189-1190.
- Confidence
- high
HLS Kyburg, von and Ulrich III; de.wikipedia Kyburger.
Overlord
The king; his wife's brother is the rector of Burgundy.
What it holds
- The Kyburg castle and its district between Winterthur and the Töss
- Winterthur, market town founded about 1180
- Diessenhofen on the Rhine, founded about 1180 (a charter tradition says 1178)
- Baden with the Stein castle above the Limmat and the old Lenzburg-Baden allods (since 1172)
- Allods by the Walensee and in the Gaster (from the Lenzburg inheritance; extent uncertain per HLS)
- Lands, vassals and count's claims in the Thurgau
- Ministeriales planted from about 1180
How it was acquired
Kyburg came to the Dillingen counts by marriage before 1121 and to this branch in the division of 1170; the Baden allods through Richenza in 1172; the towns founded about 1180.
Allies and rivals
Ally and brother-in-law: Berthold V of Zähringen. Rivals: the abbey of St Gall and the bishop of Constance in the Thurgau; the Toggenburg lords; Habsburg as a neighbour in the Aargau.
How things stand that morning
Holds his lands in peace. Backs Philip of Swabia by every sign (family in the Staufen orbit; brother-in-law and ally of Philip's man Berthold V), but no charter of 1199 shows him at Philip's court: allegiance Staufen, medium confidence.
Wealth
Markets and tolls at Winterthur, Diessenhofen (Rhine crossing) and Baden (the hot springs and the Limmat crossing), Thurgau estates. No figures.
Military
Kyburg, Stein at Baden, Diessenhofen; a young body of ministeriales. No numbers.
Threats
- St Gall and Constance in the Thurgau.
- The Toggenburg in the Thur valley.
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.
- after 13 January 1200Otto of Burgundy's death leaves the Lenzburg advocacies of Beromünster, Glarus and Schänis without a grown lord; Kyburg will win them in 1212 from Frederick II.Depends on: Otto's death. Stopped by: Philip keeping them.
Places of note
- Kyburg castle: Seat
- Stein castle, Baden: Castle over the Limmat, from the Lenzburg-Baden counts
Where the sources disagree
- HLS Kyburg calls Anna 'Berchtold's daughter'; HLS Ulrich III makes her the daughter of Berthold IV, i.e. Berthold V's sister, as all other sources do. This sheet follows the latter.
Evidence: Holdings and marriage well attested in HLS; his whereabouts and allegiance in 1199 are not pinned.
On the map: The Thurgau holdings are scattered and are not drawn as a block.
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.