Guntram the Rich

A member of the Eberhard branch of the Etichonids noble family, one of the most influential families on both sides of Upper Rhine, Guntram possessed lands in Alsace and in Breisgau, from Vogesen to Kaiserstuhl and the Black Forest.^[1][2]

Many of Guntram's possessions had been given to him by the king. In August 952 Guntram the Rich was convicted of treachery during an Imperial Diet in Augsburg, which resulted in King Otto the Great removing these lands from him. Guntram was however able to keep his possessions in Alsace, Breisgau, and near Aare and Reuß. The political influence of Guntram's family was restored by his grandsons.^[2] One of them, Radbot, a count in Klettgau, founded the Muri Abbey, which became the first burial place of members of the House of Habsburg. It is possible that Radbot founded the castle Habichtsburg, the residence of the House of Habsburg, but another possible founder is Werner I.^[3]

The chronology of the Muri Abbey, written in the 11th century, states that Guntramnus Dives (Guntram the Rich) was the progenitor of the House of Habsburg.^[4] Many historians^{[example needed]} believe this indeed makes Guntram the progenitor of the House of Habsburg; however, much about him and the origins of the Habsburgs is uncertain.

Guntram had the following issue:

• Lanzelin of Klettgau. His son was:
  • Radbot, Count of Habsburg.
  • Rudolf of Altenburg, buried Ottmarsheim abbey

• Lexikon des Mittelalters. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag. October 2002. ISBN 978-3-423-59057-0.
• Werner Trillmich (1991). Kaiser Konrad II. und seine Zeit. Europa Union Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7713-0409-6.
• Andreas Bönner (2010). Die Religionspolitik der Habsburger Kaiser in der Zeit des Dreißigjährigen Krieges. GRIN Verlag. ISBN 978-3-640-50510-4.
• Heinz-Dieter Heimann (2001). Die Habsburger: Dynastie und Kaiserreiche. C.H.Beck. ISBN 978-3-406-44754-9.