Counts · Duchy of Austria · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Raabs

The old comital lordship on the Thaya where it leaves Moravia, the home of the counts of Raabs who were burgraves of Nuremberg from 1105.

When the line ended about 1192 the inheritance was split: Raabs castle and the western part went to the count of Hirschberg-Dollnstein, while the Zollern burgrave of Nuremberg had a share through his wife Sophie. Both heirs live far away in Franconia and Bavaria, so the lordship is run by castellans. Which villages lay in which share is not pinned.

Who he is

Name
The count of Grögling-Dollnstein (later called of Hirschberg) for Raabs castle and the western share; Burgrave Frederick I of Nuremberg (Frederick III of Zollern) for his wife Sophie of Raabs's share
Title
Heirs of the counts of Raabs (the old burgraves of Nuremberg)
Since
About 1192, when the Raabs counts died out in the male line with Conrad II
Born
Frederick I about 1139 (dies 1200 or 1201); the Hirschberg count not pinned
Family
Sophie of Raabs, Conrad II's heiress, married Frederick of Zollern in 1184; the Grögling-Dollnstein counts are the advocates of Eichstätt and kin of Bishop Hartwig of Eichstätt (the Rhineland map's records Burgraves of Nuremberg and Eichstätt advocates (Hirschberg)).
Confidence
low

en.wikipedia Raabs Castle (west with the castle to the Hirschberg-Dollnstein count after about 1192); de.wikipedia Friedrich I. (Nürnberg); de.wikipedia Litschau (the Hirschberg hold Litschau by 1282).

Overlord

Duke Leopold VI of Austria

What it holds

  • Raabs castle on the Thaya
  • The western Waldviertel lands of the old county (Litschau castle, first documented about 1215, is Hirschberg by 1282)
  • The Zollern share (places not pinned)

How it was acquired

Inheritance from Conrad II of Raabs about 1192.

Allies and rivals

Both heirs are Staufen partisans (the burgrave since 1171; the Hirschberg house through Bishop Hartwig, who signed the Speyer protest).

How things stand that morning

Held by absentee heirs through castellans on 1 January 1200.

Wealth

Rural rents of the Thaya valley and the forest clearings.

Military

Raabs castle, facing Moravia.

Threats

  • The duke's interest in absorbing absentee lordships

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.

  1. 1200 or 14 July 1201Burgrave Frederick I of Nuremberg dies; his share passes to his sons Conrad and Frederick.Depends on: natural death (sources disagree on the date) Stopped by: nothing in play

Places of note

  • Raabs castle: Seat of the old county

Where the sources disagree

  • The Rhineland record Burgraves of Nuremberg gives Raabs to the burgrave through his wife; en.wikipedia (Raabs Castle) gives the castle and the western part to the Hirschberg-Dollnstein count. We record both heirs; the split is not pinned.

Evidence: Two thin sources disagree on who held the castle; no 1200 document seen.

On the map: The county's full extent and the two heirs' shares are not pinned.

Primary sources for Austria

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.

Sources and studies

  1. Raabs Castle, en.wikipedia
  2. Friedrich I. (Nürnberg), de.wikipedia
  3. Litschau, de.wikipedia

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.