Albrecht II (or Albert II) of Hohenberg-Rotenburg (c. 1235 – 17 April 1298) was Count of Hohenberg and Haigerloch and imperial governor of Lower Swabia. He was a member of the house of Zollern-Hohenberg, a branch of the Swabian

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

which split off in the 12th century. Two stanzas in the

Codex Manesse The Codex Manesse (also Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift or Pariser Handschrift) is a ''Liederhandschrift'' (manuscript containing songs), the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German ''Minnesang'' poetry, written and illustrat ...

are attributed to him under the name of Albrecht von Haigerloch.

Life

Count and Vogt

Albrecht was the son of Count Burchard V of Hohenberg and his wife Mechthild hereditary countess (''Erbgräfin'') from the family of

Counts Palatine of Tübingen Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. On his father's death in 1253 he inherited the territory around Hohenberg Castle, Haigerloch and Rotenburg. His younger brother Burkhard VI. (d. 1318) inherited to lands of his mother around the castles of

Nagold Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the Northern Black Forest. It is located in the ''Landkreis'' (district) of Calw (Germany/Baden-Württemberg). Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viad ...

and Wildberg, and founded a separate Hohenberg line. Around 1280 Albrecht founded the town of Rotenburg (today Rottenburg am Neckar) near the existing castle as new administrative center of his county. A more central authority was necessary because of the constant territorial extensions of Hohenberg towards the

Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Sc ...

. He was a supporter of his brother-in-law, the king Rudolf I of Habsburg, who was married to his older sister Gertrud Anna. He benefited from the rise of the Habsburgs; he was a close adviser to the king and accompanied him on several campaigns. In 1290 a visit of Albrecht to the court of

Wenceslaus II of Bohemia Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1 ...

is documented. Rudolf commissioned Albrecht as a bailiff (''Landvogt'') of the newly-formed territory of Niederschwaben to win back lost imperial territory. However Rudolph's plans to revive the Duchy of Swabia and win it over for the Habsburgs failed. After Rudolf's death Albrecht supported his son Albrecht of Austria against the elected king Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg. In 1298, while trying to prevent Otto III, Duke of Bavaria from uniting his army with Adolf's against Albrecht of Austria, Albrecht fell in the battle on the ''Kreuzwiesen'' near his castle of

Leinstetten Dornhan is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, 14 km southeast of Freudenstadt. Geography Position Dornhan is situated on a plateau in the Black Forest foothil ...

Minstrel

Albrecht is also noted as a

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer w ...

. In the Codex Manesse on page 42r is a miniature showing him under the name of Count Albrecht of Haigerloch as a knight in battle (presumably the battle in which he fell). The back of the page contains the only two song verses ascribed to Albrecht.

Descendants

Albrecht was married three times. The name of his first wife is unknown. He had two children from this marriage: *Agnes m. 1281 Albrecht (d. 1292), Count of

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label=Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Goritz ...

and Tyrol *Albrecht III, called ''Rösselmann'' (d. 1304), Count of Hohenberg m.c. 1284, spouse unknown In 1282 he married Countess Margareta von Fürstenberg (d. 1296). From this marriage he had three children: *Margaretha (d. 1295) m.(engagement 1288) Henry IV (d. 1301), Margrave of

Burgau Burgau is a town in the district of Günzburg in Swabia, Bavaria. Burgau lies on the river Mindel and has a population of just under 10,000. History The territory around Burgau was originally part of the stem duchy of Swabia. The death of Co ...

*Mechthild m. 1291 Ulrich (d. 1315), son of Eberhard I, Count of Württemberg *Rudolf I. (d. 1336), Count of Hohenberg, Lord of Triberg His third wife was Countess Ursula von Oettingen (d. 1308). From this marriage two children were born: *Albrecht, a monk in Bonndorf 1317 *Adelheid (d. February 23, 1333) m. 1317 Konrad I (d. 1353), Count of Schaunberg {{authority control 13th-century German nobility 1235 births 1298 deaths Minnesingers German male poets 13th-century German poets