House of Frohburg

The House of Frohburg (also Froburg) was a noble family in medieval Switzerland, with possessions in what is now the canton of Solothurn. They originate in the Wigger basin, near Zofingen. In the 10th century, they built Frohburg Castle on a hill near Trimbach. They had the title of counts from the later 11th century. They ruled the lands between Olten and Solothurn, and took parts of Aargau and Sisgau as fief from the bishop of Basel. They reached the peak of their power in the later 12th and early 13th century, building a number of castles, and founding towns such as Aarburg, Liestal, Olten (then a fortified river crossing), Waldenburg, Wiedlisbach and Zofingen. They also founded Schöntal Abbey near Waldenburg. The House of Frohburg was divided into three branches, Neu-Homberg, Waldenburg and Zofingen, in c. 1250. The Zofingen branch was extinct in 1307, followed by the Neo-Homberg one in 1325. The Waldenburg branch survived for another 40 years but declined in influence, being forced to sell most of its possessions, most of them to the ascending House of Habsburg. The last count of Frohburg was Hermann VI (d. 1367 as abbot of St. Urban's Abbey).

coat of arms
"The last of the House of Frohburg", a mural in Olten (Emil Kniep 1906), shows a legendary scene in which "Eberhard, count of Frohburg" is slain by lightning on the Aar bridge in Olten (historically, the last acting count of Frohburg was Johann, d. 1366, whose title was briefly inherited by his brother Hermann, d. 1367).

Counts of Frohburg

House of Frohburg
RulerBornReignDeathRuling partConsortNotes
Adalbero (I) ? c.1028-1050? ? County of Frohburg Unknown
at least one child		 First documented count of the family, in Breisgau.
Wolfrad ? c.1050-1095 c.1095 Frohburg Unknown
four children		 Possiby a son of Adalbero.
Volmar I ? c.1050-1114 1114 Frohburg Sophia of Pfirt
two children		 Son of Adalbero. Possibly co-ruled with Wolfrad?
Volmar (I) ? c.1095-1114 c.1095 Frohburg Unknown Mentioned in 1114, but not identical with Volmar I. Possibly his cousin?
Louis I ? c.1095-1114 c.1114? Frohburg Unknown
one child		 Co-ruled with his brother, Volmar (I). His son, Ortlieb, was Bishop of Basel.
Adalbero I ? 1114-1152 c.1152 Frohburg Sophia of Lenzburg
four children		 Sons of Volmar I, ruled jointly.
Herman I ? 1114-1125 c.1125 Frohburg Unmarried
Volmar II ? 1152-1175 c.1152 Frohburg Unknown
four children		 Sons of Adalbero I, possibly ruled jointly. Ludwig became Bishop of Basel in 1164.
Louis II ? 1152-1164 March 1179 Frohburg Unmarried
Herman II ? 1175-1213 1213 Frohburg A lady from the Kyburg family
eight children
Louis III ? 1213-1256/9 1256/9 Frohburg-Zofingen Gertrude of Habsburg
six children		 Founder of the Zofingen branch, with lands in the canton of Aargau. According to some theories, Gertrude, wife of King Rudolf I of Germany, was his daughter.
Herman III ? 1213-1233/7 25 January 1233 or February 1237 Frohburg-Waldenburg Heilwig of Habsburg
three children		 Founder of the Waldenburg branch, with lands in the canton of Basel.
Volmar III ? 1213-1226 1226 Frohburg Unmarried Co-ruler in Frohburg.
Ulrich ? 1213-1223 1223 Frohburg Unmarried Co-ruler in Frohburg. He was abbot at Frienisberg Abbey.
Louis IV ? c.1220-1257 1257 Frohburg-Zofingen Unmarried Co-ruled with his father.
Herman IV & I[1] ? c.1220-1253/6/9 15 May 1253 or 1256/59[2] Frohburg-Homberg A lady from the House of Homberg
four children		 Son of Ludwig III. Inherited, by marriage, the county of Homberg, and founded a new line of counts.
Louis V ? 1237-1279/81 22 November 1279/81[2] Frohburg-Waldenburg Agnes of Bechburg
three children
Hartmann I ? 1256/9-1281/5 Between 23 June 1281 and 6 December 1285 Frohburg-Zofingen Clementia
before 1263
no children

Ita of Wolhusen
before 1280
three children
Louis I[1] ? 1253-1289 27 April 1289 Frohburg-Homberg Elisabeth of Rapperswil
15 February 1283
six children		 Possibly co-ruled with his wife in the County of Rapperswil. He also-co-ruled with his brothers in his own fiefs.
Frederick ? 1253-1285 8 February 1285 Frohburg-Homberg Unmarried Took the title of count of Homberg
Werner I ? 1253-1273 6 February 1273 Frohburg-Homberg Kunigunde
two children
Herman V ? 1279/81-1291 After 1 December 1291[2] Frohburg-Waldenburg Unmarried Left no descendants. He was succeeded by his younger brother.
Louis VI ? 1281/5-1307 After 5 July 1307[2] Frohburg-Zofingen Unmarried Son of Hartmann I, left no descendants. With his death the line died out.
Werner II 1284 1289-1320 21 March 1320 Frohburg-Homberg Maria of Oettingen
(d. 10 July 1369)
11 June 1315 or 6 April 1316[2]
two children		 Son of Louis I and Elisabeth of Rapperswil, ruled jointly with his brother and cousin. He inherited his mother's fiefs in the canton of Schwyz. He was also a Minnesinger.
Louis II[1] ? 1289-1315 6 February 1273 Frohburg-Homberg Unmarried Brother of Werner II, ruled jointly with him and their cousin Herman II.
Herman II[1] ? 1289-1303 19 November 1303[2] Frohburg-Homberg Unmarried Son of Werner I, co-ruled with his cousins, sons of Louis I.
Volmar IV ? 1291-1320 20 January 1320 Frohburg-Waldenburg Katharina of Toggenburg
(d. 18 February 1313)
three children		 Left no descendants. He was succeeded by his younger brother.
Werner III 1316 1320-1323 Between 30 March and 22 September 1323 Frohburg-Homberg Unmarried Son of Werner II, died as a minor. With his death the line died out.
John I ? 1320-1366 Between 20 January and April 1366 Frohburg-Waldenburg Adelaide of Ramstein
(d. between 17 October 1367 and 29 May 1371)
3 November 1326
no children		 Sons of Volmar IV, probably ruled jointly. Herman was also abbot of St. Urban Abbey. After both deaths with no descendants, their line died out. Their properties were sold to the Count of Nidau.
Herman VI ? 1320-1367 19 October 1367 Frohburg-Waldenburg Unmarried

See also

References
  1. As Homberg was inherited from other family, the Frohburgs restarted their counting in this fief.
  2. Cawley 2001.

Bibliography
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