Barons and castellans · Other imperial lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Reichenberg (Tarasp)

The castle of Tarasp stands on its rock above the Inn opposite Scuol, the seat of the lords of Tarasp, a house from northern Italy who built it in the eleventh century, cleared the land round it and founded the monastery at Scuol that moved to Marienberg in the Vinschgau in 1146-1150.

When they died out in 1177 their lordship and castle passed first to the bishopric of Chur and then, before 1200, to the lords of Reichenberg (HLS). On 1 January 1200 the Reichenberg hold Tarasp, a castle lordship of scattered hamlets in the middle of the bishop's Lower Engadine and of the counts of Tyrol's county. The counts of Tyrol will hold it after them, and from 1273 the Matsch as Tyrol's advocates.

Who he is

Name
Not pinned: no member of the house is named for 1200 in the sources read
Title
Lords of Reichenberg, holders of the castle and lordship of Tarasp in the Lower Engadine
Since
Before 1200 (HLS Tarasp)
Born
not pinned
Family
Named after Reichenberg castle above Taufers in the Val Müstair (general reference, not checked); members, marriages and children on 1 January 1200 not pinned.
Confidence
low

HLS Tarasp (Herrschaft, Gemeinde); HLS Engadin; the Rhineland record Matsch.

Overlord

The bishop of Chur, who took the Tarasp lordship and castle when the lords of Tarasp died out in 1177; the HLS does not say whether the Reichenberg hold of him. The high court of the Lower Engadine is the counts of Tyrol's, a fief since 1140.

What it holds

  • Tarasp castle (first named about 1089-1096) above the Inn opposite Scuol
  • The castle lordship of Tarasp: the hamlets cleared and drained round it in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries

How it was acquired

From the bishop of Chur, who had it after the Tarasp lords died out in 1177; the date and terms of the Reichenberg's entry are not pinned beyond 'before 1200' (HLS).

Allies and rivals

The bishop of Chur, chief landlord of the Lower Engadine; the counts of Tyrol, holders of the Lower Engadine county since 1140, who take Tarasp after the Reichenberg; Marienberg abbey, the Tarasp foundation, with estates in the valley.

How things stand that morning

Holds Tarasp on 1 January 1200. No act of the house is known for 1199; side in the throne war unrecorded.

Wealth

The castle's hamlets and their dues, and the command of the Lower Engadine road below Scuol; no figures.

Military

One strong rock castle commanding the Inn valley road; vassals and men not recorded.

Threats

  • The counts of Tyrol, who hold the county and will take the castle
  • The bishop of Chur, buying up castle lordships in the valley

Places of note

  • Tarasp castle: The castle of the extinct lords of Tarasp, held by the Reichenberg.

Where the sources disagree

  • The Rhineland record Matsch has Tarasp as the Reichenberg's from 1177 to 1239; the HLS says the lordship went first to Chur after 1177 and to the Reichenberg only 'before 1200', the counts of Tyrol following them.

Evidence: One HLS statement for the tenure; the holder is unnamed.

On the map: The castle lordship is drawn as a disc; its hamlets lie inside the modern commune of Scuol.

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.

8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. HLS, Tarasp (Herrschaft, Gemeinde)
  2. HLS, Engadin

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