!!!Sponheimer, Herrschergeschlecht

Sponheim, name of an aristocratic family from the Moselle Area, as 
successors of the  Eppensteiner became Dukes of Carinthia 1123-1269. 
Engelbert I founded the Benedictine monastery of  Sankt Paul in 
Lavanttal in 1091, Bernhard the Cistercian monastery of  Viktring in 
1142. Duke  Hermann von Sponheim (1161-1181) acquired economically 
important regions and founded Klagenfurt and the market town of Sankt 
Veit; Ulrich II (1181-1202) continued his work.  Bernhard von Sponheim 
(1202-1256) called himself territorial prince of Carinthia (princeps 
terre), set up ties with the Bohemian Přemysl royal family and 
brought roads and passes towards the south under his control. He 
secured the rule over Carniola for his son  Ulrich III von Sponheim 
(1256-1269); the latter designated Přemysl  Otakar II of Bohemia 
as his successor (Podiebrad legacy of December 4, 1268). The last 
Sponheim, Ulrich's brother  Philipp von Sponheim, Archbishop of 
Salzburg, wanted to become Duke, but was prevented by Otakar II of 
Bohemia. He asked King  Rudolf of Habsburg for his support, but was 
not allowed to enter Carinthia, and died in 1279.

!Literature
C. Fraess-Ehrfeld, Geschichte Kaerntens, vol. 1, 1984.


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