The upper Salzach valley, with the pack roads over the Felber Tauern and the Krimml and Gerlos passes, is a county held of the king by counts of the Lechsgemünd house, who also hold Matrei (Windisch-Matrei) south of the Tauern in the Carinthian Lurngau.
Inside lie the archbishop's and the Salzburg chapter's estates (Saalfelden, Zell, Taxenbach, Stuhlfelden) and local noble houses such as the lords of Felben, whose rise begins in the 12th century. Salzburg will buy the Lechsgemünd alpine inheritance in 1207, gain Matrei in 1212 and be enfeoffed with the upper and lower Pinzgau counties by King Henry (VII) in 1228.
Who he is
- Name
- A count of the Lechsgemünd house (name not pinned in the sources consulted)
- Title
- Count in the Pinzgau (an imperial fief), lord of Matrei
- Since
- Not pinned: the Pinzgau was given to the Lechsgemünd as an imperial fief in the Investiture conflict
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- The Lechsgemünd come from the Lech mouth in Bavarian Swabia; the main line (Lechsgemünd and Graisbach) is on the Rhineland map (Lechsgemünd). How the alpine branch relates to it in 1200 is not pinned.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Pinzgau; Matrei in Osttirol; Mittersill; Bad Reichenhall for the 1228 grant).
Overlord
The king (the Pinzgau is an imperial fief).
What it holds
- The county of the upper Pinzgau with Mittersill (seat of the cellarer, judge and steward)
- The lower Pinzgau county (holder in 1200 not pinned: the Lechsgemünd held 'the Pinzgau' as a fief, and Salzburg received both counties in 1228)
- Matrei (Windisch-Matrei) as a comital lordship until 1212
How it was acquired
Imperial enfeoffment during the Investiture conflict, after the deposition of the Bavarian duke.
Allies and rivals
The archbishop, the largest landholder in the valley; the counts of Gorizia at Lienz south of Matrei.
How things stand that morning
The counts hold the county; the archbishop holds estates within it. Throne war: not pinned.
Wealth
Pack-horse trade over the Felber Tauern, alpine cattle, tolls; Mittersill is a transshipment point.
Military
Castles not pinned for 1200 (the Felberturm of the lords of Felben stands in the 12th century).
Threats
- Salzburg's purchase of the inheritance (1207)
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.
- 1207 (beyond 1200)Archbishop Eberhard II acquires the Lechsgemünd alpine inheritance.Depends on: The counts' will to sell and a rich archbishop. Stopped by: A new heir or a Bavarian claim.
Places of note
- Felberturm: Seat of the lords of Felben, local nobles of the Pinzgau
Where the sources disagree
- The date of the 1228 enfeoffment differs: 11 July (de.wikipedia, Bad Reichenhall) or 18 August (de.wikipedia, Pinzgau).
Evidence: The imperial fief and the transfers are dated; the count's name and the holder of the lower Pinzgau in 1200 are not.
On the map: The Pinzgau is drawn as the modern Zell am See district, which matches the medieval valley; who held the lower county in 1200 is 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
- Pinzgau (de.wikipedia)
- Matrei in Osttirol (de.wikipedia)
- Mittersill (de.wikipedia)
- Bad Reichenhall (de.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.