Counts of Lenzburg

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Counts of Lenzburg were a medieval Swiss noble family who ruled large parts of what are now Aargau and Zürichgau in the 11th and 12th centuries. They first appear around 1077 with Lenzburg Castle and probably descended from the Carolingian count Hunfrid of Rhaetia. Ulrich I and his descendants held key lands and offices, including control of Zürich lands gained by Ulrich II during the Investiture Controversy. In the early 1100s their lands were split: one line became the Counts of Baden, while the other kept the Lenzburg name. Ulrich IV, a close ally of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, died in 1173 without an heir and left his lands to the emperor, who divided them among Albert III of Habsburg and Otto of Burgundy. The male line soon died out, and the Lenzburg lands eventually passed to the Habsburgs. Habsburg expansion into central Switzerland helped spark conflicts that contributed to the formation of the Old Swiss Confederation in 1291. The story also includes notable church leaders from the family, such as Henry, Bishop of Lausanne, and Ulrich II, who held important abbey offices.