Friedrich III. (Vianden)

Friedrich III. von Vianden was Count of Vianden and Vogt of Prüm until 1217 . He was the son of Friedrich II and the older brother of Count Wilhelm I of Niedersalm .

He married Mathilde (perhaps von der Neuerburg), they had at least five children:

Heinrich I. Count of Vianden
Siegfried II. Count of Vianden
Friedrich I. Lord of the Neuerburg
Gerhard cleric
Mathilde von Vianden , ⚭ 1) with Count Lothar I. von Hochstaden , 2) with Count Heinrich von Duras and Loos

Between 1195 and 1197 Friedrich fought against Archbishop Johann I of Trier . The aim of this war was arguably to regain Arras Castle . However, this did not succeed despite the archbishop's capture, as Heinrich I the Elder Palatine of the Rhine threatened to intervene on the side of Trier in this conflict. In 1197 or 1198 Friedrich and his uncle Gerhard Abbot von Prüm were witnesses of Heinrich I's declaration of renunciation of the Hohevogtei of Trier, which at that time resulted in peace between Vianden and Trier again. This also meant that there was no longer any danger from the Count Palatine near the Rhine who had opposed Vianden several times in the past generations. In 1198 Friedrich transferred his castles from Dudeldorf and Gerlande to the archbishop and received them back as a Trier fief .

Between 1191 and 1195 Friedrich took part in the conflicts over the election of a new bishop of Liège on the part of the Imperial Party with several of his relatives. In 1194 he was in this context among the participants in the campaigns of the dukes Henry I of Brabant , Henry III. von Limburg and Count Heinrich IV. of Luxembourg in the county of Namur against Count Balduin V of Hainaut . In the Battle of Noville , the Count of Hainaut defeated a part of this coalition decisively, the Duke of Limburg was captured while Friedrich von Vianden fled with his remaining allies. This conflict was only resolved in 1195 with the election of Albrecht II von Cuyck as Bishop of Liège and the Peace of Rupelmonde .

After the death of Emperor Heinrich VI. von Staufen and the double election in 1198, Friedrich sided with the Staufer Philipp von Schwaben . In 1201 Pope Innocent III called the high nobility of the empire , including Count Friedrich III. von Vianden, to pronounce the feudal oath on his candidate Otto von Braunschweig . By the beginning of September of the same year at the latest, Friedrich and his uncle Gerhard von Prüm followed this call and changed camps and supported the papal party from then on .

In 1205 Friedrich renewed the conflict with Trier by building Quintenberg Castle on the Moselle on land that he owned as a fiefdom of the Prüm Abbey. In the same year Archbishop Johann von Trier pulled against this fortification and stormed it after the garrison had been incapacitated by a delivery of wine. This was the last attempt by a Count von Vianden to expand his sphere of influence in the Moselle valley at the expense of Triers.

According to the Jesuit Bertholet, Friedrich and his brother Wilhelm I of Niedersalm fought against Count Theobald I of Bar and Luxemburg near Ocquiers in 1212 , where Wilhelm I then fell.

Between 1214 and 1215 Friedrich went to the Holy Land as a pilgrim or crusader and was captured by Muslims there. He owed his release to the Trinitarian Order, to whom he returned his ransom shortly before his death. During Friedrich's absence, his sons Heinrich and Siegfried ruled the County of Vianden jointly.

During Friedrich's tenure, Vianden also received the lordships and castles Dasburg and Schönecken , the courts of Mettendorf , Manderscheid and Oberweis in the lordship of Neuerburg, as well as patronage rights over seven churches including that of Bastogne as a fiefdom of Prüm in exchange for various other lands surrounding this abbey.

predecessor	Office	successor
Friedrich II.	Count of Vianden - 1217	Heinrich I and Siegfried II

personal data
SURNAME	Friedrich III.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Friedrich III. by Vianden (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Count of Vianden and Vogt of Prüm
DATE OF BIRTH	before 1191
DATE OF DEATH	after 1217