The district (later the 'Mark') of Pitten, south of the Piesting and north-east of the Semmering: the inheritance of the counts of Formbach, which passed in 1158 to the Styrian margrave Ottokar III and with Styria to the Babenbergs in 1192.
It stays Styrian until the peace of Ofen in 1254. Here Leopold V founded the new walled town of Neustadt (Nova civitas, later Wiener Neustadt) with Richard I's ransom (decided at Fischau in 1194, building under way by 1195) to guard the road from Vienna to Styria and the frontier against Hungary.
Who he is
- Name
- Leopold VI of Babenberg
- Title
- Duke of Styria
- Since
- 1195 (Styria; Pitten came with Styria to the Babenbergs in 1192)
- Born
- 15 October 1176
- Family
- See Austria
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia Grafschaft Pitten and Wiener Neustadt.
Overlord
King Philip (recognised)
What it holds
- Wiener Neustadt (Neustadt), the new frontier town
- Pitten castle, old seat of the counts
- Neunkirchen market (the Formbach abbey of Vornbach holds rents there)
- Castles of the ducal ministeriales: Starhemberg, Emmerberg, Klamm, Kranichberg, Grimmenstein, and Landsee on the Hungarian edge (status of Landsee in 1200 not pinned)
- The road over the Semmering into Styria
How it was acquired
Formbach inheritance to the Otakars in 1158; to the Babenbergs in 1192.
Allies and rivals
Faces Hungary (Sopron and the Hungarian border county) to the east.
How things stand that morning
Held by Leopold VI as duke of Styria on 1 January 1200; Neustadt is being built and walled.
Wealth
The Vienna to Venice road through Neustadt and over the Semmering; Neunkirchen market.
Military
Wiener Neustadt's walls and the ministerial castles; the frontier against Hungary.
Threats
- Hungarian reprisal for Leopold's support of Andrew
Places of note
- Pitten castle: Old comital seat
- Starhemberg castle: Ducal ministerial castle in the Piesting valley
- Fischau: Where the founding of Neustadt was decided in 1194
Where the sources disagree
- The brief asks whether Pitten was Styrian: yes, it is Styrian from 1158 until 1254 (de.wikipedia Grafschaft Pitten).
Evidence: Extent from de.wikipedia (Piesting in the north, the Semmering and the Wechsel in the south, the line Theresienfeld to Wiener Neustadt to Markt Sankt Martin in the east).
On the map: The eastern frontier with Hungary is drawn on the modern Lower Austrian line, which is close to the 12th-century line.
Primary sources for Styria
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.
- The Austrian and Salzburg annals (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries, with continuations to the late 13th century). A family of monastic annals from Austria, Styria and Salzburg, printed together. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.