- Grafschaft Ortenburg
The Ortenburger were a medieval noble family in the
Duchy of Carinthia , with roots in Bavarian nobility, an affiliation with the Counts ofOrtenburg-Neuortenburg is inexistentFriedrich Hausmann: "Die Grafen zu Ortenburg und ihre Vorfahren im Mannesstamm, die Spanheimer in Kärnten, Sachsen und Bayern, sowie deren Nebenlinien". In: "Ostbairische Grenzmarken - Passauer Jahrbuch für Geschichte Kunst und Volkskunde". Nr. 36, Passau 1994] . Little is known about their reasons for settlement in Carinthia, nor about the manner in which they obtained property. No charters are available on the creation of the present Ortenburg Castle inBaldramsdorf .In 1072 one Adalbert of Ortenburg served as the
Vogt of the Bishopric of Freising. His castle "Hortenburc" was first mentioned in a 1091 deed, it was situated south of theDrava within thePatriarchate of Aquileia , across from the Hohenburg castle of the rivaling Lurn family. When the Lurn dynasty became extinct in 1135, the Counts of Ortenburg received large estates stretching down the Drava Valley to the townVillach . In 1191 they founded a hospital at the bridge across the Lieser river, the later town ofSpittal an der Drau . In the 12th and 13th century Ortenburgers were bishops of the Diocese of Gurk, in the 14th century they also owned the lands of Gottschee in theMarch of Carniola where they founded the town ofKočevje .The last Count Frederick III of Ortenburg died in 1418 and his estates were inherited by Count
Hermann II of Celje . When his grandsonUlrich II of Celje was killed in 1456 the Bavarian Counts of Ortenburg-Neuortenburg claimed their ostensibly rights, but failed to proove theirkinship to the Carinthian Ortenburgers.Their attempts to gain the Ortenburg County lasted until the 18th century but were all rejected. Instead Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg inherited the county and Ferdinand I of Habsburg granted it to his treasurerGabriel von Salamanca-Ortenburg in 1524.References
External links
* [http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=royal_lineage&id=I048160 Rootsweb]
* [http://www.genealogie-mittelalter.de/ernste_ortenburg_grafen_von/familie_der_grafen_von_ortenburg.html Genealogie]* [http://www.gottschee.de/Dateien/Boden/Web%20Deutsch/Edgar%20Lehmann/01.htm Gottschee]
* [http://wwwu.uni-klu.ac.at/hleustik/gottschee/archiv/publikationen/digital/pdf/jh-buch11.pdf Jahrhundertbuch E. Petschauer über Gottschee und Ortenburger] (pdf 1,7 MB)
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