Guntram the Rich was a count in Breisgau

Breisgau

Breisgau is the name of an area in southwest Germany, placed between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest around Freiburg im Breisgau in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after that area...

, member of the noble family of the Etichonids

Etichonids

The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Frankish , Burgundian or Visigothic origin, who rose to dominate the region of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages from the seventh to the tenth centuries....

, and possibly the progenitor of the House of Habsburg, one of Europe's most important royal families.

Guntram the Rich lived in the mid-10th century. As a member of the Eberharde branch of the Etichonids

Etichonids

The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Frankish , Burgundian or Visigothic origin, who rose to dominate the region of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages from the seventh to the tenth centuries....

 noble family - one of the most influential families on both sides of Upper Rhine

Upper Rhine

The Upper Rhine is the section of the Rhine in the Upper Rhine Plain between Basel, Switzerland and Bingen, Germany. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometers 170 to 529 ....

 - Guntram possessed lands in Elsass and in Breisgau

Breisgau

Breisgau is the name of an area in southwest Germany, placed between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest around Freiburg im Breisgau in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after that area...

, from Vogesen to Kaiserstuhl

Kaiserstuhl

The „Kaiserstuhl“ is a relatively low mountain range – a Mittelgebirge – with a maximal height of 556.6 m above sea level. It is of volcanic origin and located in the South West of Baden-Württemberg, Germany in the districts of Emmendingen and Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald...

 and the Black Forest

Black Forest

The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....

.

Many of Guntram's possessions had been given to him by the king. In August 952 Guntram the Rich was convicted of treachery during a Reichstag

Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)

The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...

 in Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

, which resulted in King Otto the Great removing these lands from him. Guntram was however able to keep his possessions in Elsass, Breisgau, and near Aare and Reuß

Reus

Reus is the capital of the comarca of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague...

. The political influence of Guntram's family was restored by his grandsons. One of them, Radbot

Radbot, Count of Habsburg

Radbot, Count of Habsburg , also known as Radbot of Klettgau, was Graf of the county of Klettgau on the High Rhine in Swabia....

, a count in Klettgau

Klettgau

Klettgau is a group of towns in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Landgraviat of Klettgau to 1812.There is a border crossing into Switzerland at Erzingen to Trasadingen in Schaffhausen canton....

, founded the Muri Abbey

Muri Abbey

Muri Abbey was a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It flourished for over eight centuries at Muri, in the Canton of Aargau, near Basle in Switzerland...

, which became the first burial place of members of the House of Habsburg. It is possible that Radbot founded the castle Habichsburg

Habsburg castle

Habsburg Castle is a medieval fortress located in Habsburg, Switzerland in the canton of Aargau, near the Aar River. At the time of its construction, the location was part of the Duchy of Swabia. Habsburg Castle is the originating seat of the House of Habsburg, which became one of the leading...

, the residence of the Habsburgs, but another possible founder is Werner I

Werner I, Count of Habsburg

Werner I, Count of Habsburg . The great-great-great-great-grandfather of Rudolph I of Germany.He was sometimes called Werner The Pious. His father was Radbot, Count of Habsburg, and his mother was Ida de Lorraine...

.

The chronology of the Muri Abbey

Muri Abbey

Muri Abbey was a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It flourished for over eight centuries at Muri, in the Canton of Aargau, near Basle in Switzerland...

, written in the 11th century, states that guntradamus dives (Guntram the Rich), was the progenitor of the House of Habsburg. Many historians believe this indeed makes Guntram the progenitor of the Habsburgs; however, much about him and the origins of the Habsburgs is uncertain.

Literature

• Lexikon des Mittelalters. ISBN 9783423590570
• Werner Trillmich: Kaiser Konrad II. und seine Zeit, hrsg. aus dem Nachlass des Verfassers von Otto Bardong. Europa-Union-Verlag, Bonn 1991.
• Andreas Bönner: Die Religionspolitik der Habsburger Kaiser in der Zeit des Dreißigjährigen Krieges. GRIN Verlag, 2010.
• Heinz-Dieter Heimann: Die Habsburger. Dynastie und Kaiserreiche. ISBN 3406447546