Conrad of Babenberg (c. 1115 – 28 September 1168) was a nobleman and prelate of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. He was the

bishop of Passau The Diocese of Passau (; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.archbishop of Salzburg The Archdiocese of Salzburg (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin rite archdiocese of the Catholic Church centered in Salzburg, Austria. It is also the principal diocese of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian ...

(as Conrad II) and

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

until his death, although he lost control of Salzburg when he was placed under the

imperial ban The imperial ban () was a form of outlawry in the Holy Roman Empire. At different times, it could be declared by the Holy Roman Emperor, by the Imperial Diet, or by courts like the League of the Holy Court (''Vehmgericht'') or the '' Reichskammerg ...

in 1166.Heinrich von Zeißberg: Konrad II. In: ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB). Band 16, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, p.615–617. Conrad came from the

House of Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from ...

. His father, Leopold III, was the

Margrave of Austria From 976 until 1246, the Margraviate of Austria and its successor, the Duchy of Austria, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, those states were part of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1246 until 1918, the duchy and its successor, the Ar ...

, while his mother,

Agnes of Waiblingen Agnes of Waiblingen (1072/73 – 24 September 1143), also known as Agnes of Germany, Agnes of Franconia and Agnes of Saarbrücken, was a member of the Salian imperial family. Through her first marriage, she was Duchess of Swabia; through her s ...

, was the daughter of the Emperor Henry IV. Prior to her marriage to Leopold, Agnes was married to

Frederick I, Duke of Swabia Frederick I (c. 1050 – 1105 before 21 July) was Duke of Swabia from 1079 to his death, the first ruler from the House of Hohenstaufen (''Staufer''). Life Frederick was the son of Frederick of Büren (c. 1020–1053), Count in the Riesgau and S ...

, of the

House of Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

. Through Frederick, she was the mother of one king of Germany and grandmother of another: Conrad III (1138–52) and

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

(1152–90), Conrad of Babenberg's half-brother and nephew, respectively. One of Conrad's full brothers,

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

, became the famous

bishop of Freising The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria: Bishops of Freising * St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not organ ...

.Kurt Zeillinger: Konrad II.. In: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (NDB). Band 12, Duncker & Humblot, (Berlin, 1980), , p525 (Digitalisat). Conrad was a member of the royal chapel under his half-brother Conrad III. In 1140 he became the dean of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and in 1143 dean of

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

also. He was elected bishop of Passau probably in 1148. His episcopate was marked by the strong enforcement of ecclesiastical discipline. Beginning in 1158, he was involved in a dispute, the so-called Passau Feud (''Passauer Fehde''), with his brother, Duke Henry II of Austria, over the certain jurisdictional exemptions granted to Henry in the ''

Privilegium Minus The was a deed issued by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa on 17 September 1156. It included the elevation of the Bavarian frontier march of Austria () to a duchy, which was given as an inheritable fief to the House of Babenberg. Cont ...

''. In 1159, Conrad gave the citizens of

Sankt Pölten Sankt Pölten (; Central Bavarian: ''St. Pödn''), mostly abbreviated to the official name St. Pölten, is the capital and largest city of the States of Austria, State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria, with 55,538 inhabitants as of 1 Januar ...

a degree of self-government theretofore unknown in Austria. After the death of Archbishop

Eberhard Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

in 1164, Conrad was elected his successor on 29 June with a majority of the diocesan clergy in favour of continuing support for Pope Alexander III against the emperor's rival claimant,

Paschal III Antipope Paschal III (Latin: ''Paschalis III''; ) was a 12th-century clergyman who, from 1164 to 1168, was the second antipope to challenge the reign of Pope Alexander III. He had previously served as Cardinal of St. Maria. Biography Born Gui ...

. Since the election took place without the permission of the Emperor Frederick I, Conrad's nephew, he refused to invest Conrad with the regalia of his office, which would have allowed Conrad to exercise secular rule over the

prince-bishopric A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to ''Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the Bi ...

. Unfortunately for him, Conrad lacked the diplomatic skills or the high moral reputation of Eberhard. At an Imperial Diet held in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

in May 1165, he was ordered to submit to Frederick. He steadfastly refused, and on 29 March 1166 Frederick imposed the

. The count of Plain was charged with taking control of the diocese. Conrad fled Salzburg, first to Friesach and then to

Admont Admont () is a town in the Austrian state of Styria. It is historically most notable for Admont Abbey, a monastery founded in 1074. Gesäuse National Park, in which Admont lies, is an area of outstanding beauty. The town is situated in the midd ...

, from where he tried to administer what was left of his diocese and its fiefs. He seems to have come to an agreement with Frederick shortly before his death. His successor as Archbishop was his nephew,

Adalbert Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names incl ...

References

{{Authority control Year of birth uncertain 1168 deaths 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire Roman Catholic archbishops of Salzburg Roman Catholic bishops of Passau House of Babenberg 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bavaria Sons of monarchs