The counts of Lüchow hold the western Wendland on the Jeetzel next to the Altmark, with their burial place at Diesdorf in the Altmark.
Founded as a Welf frontier county, they leaned to the Brandenburg margraves after 1180, so in 1200 they sit between Welf and Ascanian. Names and side not pinned.
Who he is
- Name
- not pinned for 1200
- Title
- Count of Lüchow
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Ulrich III and Hermann I (1144-1171) moved the seat to Lüchow; Oda of Lüchow (died 1190) was wife of Gunzelin of Hagen, first count of Schwerin.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Grafschaft Lüchow; Gunzelin von Hagen).
Overlord
The Welfs claim it (Henry the Lion founded the county; it falls to William in 1202), but after Henry's fall the counts drew closer to the margraves of Brandenburg; the overlordship was still disputed in 1274.
What it holds
- Lüchow castle
- Villages of the western Wendland (Schnega, Wustrow and others)
How it was acquired
Inherited.
Allies and rivals
Between the Welfs and the Brandenburg margraves.
How things stand that morning
Hold the county; overlordship disputed; side not pinned. The ADB says most of the great men of Saxony gathered round Philip at Magdeburg at Christmas 1199; whether this house was among them is not pinned.
Wealth
Wendland villages.
Military
Lüchow castle. No figures.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No count dated around 1200 reached.
On the map: Realm welf follows the Welf claim; the margraves' influence was strong.
Primary sources for Welf
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 Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. Read online
- 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
- Annals of Stade, by Albert of Stade, Albert of Stade (about 1240 to 1256). A world chronicle written at Stade in the 1240s from older Stade and Bremen annals. 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
18 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
- Grafschaft Lüchow, de.wikipedia
- Gunzelin von Hagen, de.wikipedia
- Otto IV.: NDB and ADB, via Deutsche Biographie
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.