The Landenberg family was a

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family in

medieval Switzerland The early history of Switzerland begins with the earliest settlements up to the beginning of Habsburg rule, which in 1291 gave rise to the independence movement in the central cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden and the growth of the Old Swis ...

History

By the beginning 14th century, they were the most powerful family of eastern Switzerland, separating into four lines, Alt-Landenberg, Landenberg-Greifensee, Hohenlandenberg and Breitenlandenberg. The main line was extinct early, Rudolf I and his son Pantaleon both falling in the

battle of Morgarten The Battle of Morgarten took place on 15 November 1315, when troops of Schwyz, supported by their allies of Uri and Unterwalden, ambushed an Austrian army under the command of Leopold I, Duke of Austria on the shores of Lake Ägeri, in the ...

in 1315. The Landenberg-Greifensee line was the most successful during the 14th century but was outlived by the Hohenladenberg and Breitenlandenberg ones. Breitenlandenberg proved the most successful in the longer run, rising to significant power in the 15th century and lasting into the 19th. The influence of the Landenberg-Greifensee line peaked in the 1350s with Hermann IV, whose sons came into financial difficulties and had to sell a number of castles, among them Alt-Landenberg and Greifensee. The reasons for this decline was their close ties with the house of

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

, which was itself struggling with difficulties and losing its hold over the territory due to both the rise of the city of

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and the

growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy began as a late medieval alliance between the communities of the valleys in the Central Alps, at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire, to facilitate the management of common interests such as free trade and to ensure ...

. The Breitenlandenberg and Hohenlandenberg lines overcame this crisis by allying themselves with Zürich, adopting Zürich citizenship. Their territorial influence remained confined to the

Zürcher Oberland The Zürcher Oberland ("Zürich highlands") in Switzerland, is the hilly south-eastern part of the canton of Zürich, bordering on the Toggenburg, including the districts of Uster, Hinwil, Pfäffikon as well as the Töss Valley as far as the di ...

due to the pressure of territorial expansion from both Zürich and the Swiss Confederacy, but by the end of the 14th century they became again very wealthy and gave out major credits to the cities of Winterthur and Constance. The Hohenlandenberg line owned Andelfingen until 1434. The Breitenlandenberg line rose to great importance in

Zürichgau The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit ( canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' capital of the c ...

in the 15th century. They had Zürich citizenship from the 14th century, and often intermarried with families of the Zürich patriciate like Schäfli. They also entered the

Old Zürich War The Old Zurich War (; 1440–1446) was a conflict between the canton of Zurich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg. In 1436, Count Friedrich VII of Toggenburg died, leaving nei ...

on the side of Zürich, and

Wildhans von Breitenlandenberg The Landenberg family was a noble family in medieval Switzerland. History By the beginning 14th century, they were the most powerful family of eastern Switzerland, separating into four lines, Alt-Landenberg, Landenberg-Greifensee, Hohenland ...

was beheaded with his entire garrison at the siege of Greifensee in 1444. The knights of Breitenlandenberg also fought with Zürich, this time on the side of the Swiss, in the

Burgundy Wars The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a conflict between the Burgundian State and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the battlefield i ...

. They declined from the 16th century and sold the ancestral Breitenlandeberg castle in the 17th century, residing mostly in Zürich, although they retained jurisdiction in a number of communes, at

Salenstein Salenstein is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Kreuzlingen District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Salenstein was the home village of Napoleon III, who lived at Castle Arenenberg in his youth. H ...

into the 18th century. The male line of Breitenlandenberg was extinct in the 1870s.

Alt-Landenberg

*Beringer, fl. 1209 *Rudolf I, d. 1315

Landenberg-Greifensee

*Hermann I *Hermann II (d. 1306) *Hermann IV (d. 1361), son of Hermann II, married Elisabeth of Schellenberg (d. 1340) and Diemut von Roteneck

Hohenlandenberg

*Beringer II, known for his belligerence and fraud, which resulted in the castle of Hohenlandenberg being destroyed in 1344 *Jakob, married Barbara of

Hegi Hegi is a quarter in the district 2 of Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as ...

**sons Ulrich and Hugo IV, the latter

bishop of Constance The Prince-Bishopric of Constance () was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his dual capacity as prince and as bishop, the prince-bishop also admini ...

in 1496 *Ulrich

Breitenlandenberg

*Hermann I (d. before 1377), married Adelheid of Radegg-Blumberg. From 1330 at Turbenthal. *Albrecht I (d. 1388, at the

battle of Näfels The Battle of Näfels was fought on 9 April 1388 between the Swiss canton of Glarus, supported by its allies of the Old Swiss Confederation, and the Duchy of Austria ruled by the House of Habsburg. It was a decisive victory for Glarus and led t ...

), married Verena of Ebersberg *Hermann IV "Schöch" (d. 1437), married Ursula Truchsess of

Diessenhofen Diessenhofen is a village and a municipality in Frauenfeld District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. The village is situated on the south shore of the High Rhine just opposite the German town of Gailingen am Hochrhein. History Diessenhof ...

**sons of Hermann IV were Hermann,

, Kaspar, abbot of

St. Gall abbey The Abbey of Saint Gall () is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had ere ...

who fell in the

, and Rudolf V. *Rudolf V (d. 1460), married Agathe Muntprat (d. 1505) *Frischhans (1446-1516), married Margaretha of Büsingen *Hans (d. 1540), married Blanchefleur of

Rechberg The House of Rechberg is the name of an old noble comital family in Swabia during the Holy Roman Empire period. They were sovereign counts of Rechberg and Rothenlöwen. As a mediatized house (mediatized by Württemberg in 1806), the family bel ...

, knighted in 1476 at the

battle of Grandson The Battle of Grandson was fought on 2 March 1476, during the Burgundian Wars, and resulted in a major defeat for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundian State, Burgundy, at the hands of the Old Swiss Confederacy. Background In 1475, the town of ...

*Johann Rudolf (d. 1551) *Hans Rudolf (d. 1606) *Hans Dietrich (1571-1620), at

*Hartmann Friedrich (1617-1677) at Salenstein *Wolf Dietrich I (1655-1733), at Salenstein *Wolf Dietrich (1712-1796), at Salenstein *Hans Caspar (1735-1798)

References

* *J. Studer, ''Die Edeln von Landenberg'', 1904

External links

{{Authority control History of Zurich Swiss noble families Roman Catholic families Schramberg