County of Gorizia
Encyclopedia
The County of Görz was a county based around the town of Gorizia
in the present-day Friuli-Venezia Giulia
region of north-eastern Italy
.
Count Meinhard, descendant of the Bavarian
Meinhardiner noble family with possessions around Lienz
in Tyrol
, is mentioned as early as 1107. As a vogt
of the Patriarchate of Aquileia
he was enfeoffed with large estates in the former March of Friuli
, including the town of Gorizia
, and from 1127 on called himself a Graf von Görz. The borders of the county changed frequently in the following four centuries, due to frequent wars with the Aquileia and other counties, but also to the subdivision of the territory in two main nuclei: one around the upper Drava
near Lienz, the other centered on Gorizia itself.
Meinhard's descendant Meinhard III, a follower of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen
, was appointed administrator of Styria
in 1248. He campaigned the Duchy of Carinthia
but was defeated by the troops of Duke Bernhard von Spanheim
and his son Archbishop Philip of Salzburg
at Greifenburg
in 1252. Nevertheless the county reached the apex of its power, when Meinhard III inherited the County of Tyrol
(as Meinhard I) from his father-in-law Albert III one year later.
After Count Meinhard I of Gorizia-Tyrol had died in 1258, his sons at first ruled jointly until in 1271 they divided their heritage: While Meinhard II
received the Tyrolean lands west of the Puster Valley, his brother Albert retained the hereditary lands around Gorizia. The Counts also controlled the March of Treviso
(Marca Trevigiana) and the remains of the Istrian march
around Pazin
, though for a short while. After the death of Albert's son Henry III, assassinated in 1323, the county was again partitoned into the inner county at Gorizia and the outer county at Lienz. In 1365 Count Meinhard VII of Gorizia was granted the prince
ly title by Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg
, the county was thereon called Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz. The Meinhardiner nevertheless suffered a steep decline under their powerful neighbours, the Republic of Venice
and the Austrian
lands of the Habsburg dynasty.
In 1429 the county was reunited under the single rule of Count Henry V. The last count of Gorizia, Leonhard
, died in 1500 and despite claims raised by Venice, according to a contract of inheritance the county fell to Maximilian I of Habsburg
. Until 1747 Gorizia formed an Imperial State
of the Holy Roman Empire
ruled by the Inner Austria
n Archdukes as part of the Austrian Circle
, governed by a capitano. Its territory included the upper valley of Isonzo River to Aquileia
, the area of Cormons
and Duino
, and the former Venetian fortress of Gradisca conquered by Imperial troops in 1511. In 1647 Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg
separated the County of Gradisca from Gorizia for his courtier Johann Anton von Eggenberg, until in 1747 both were again merged to form the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca
.
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
in the present-day Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli–Venezia Giulia is one of the twenty regions of Italy, and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The capital is Trieste. It has an area of 7,858 km² and about 1.2 million inhabitants. A natural opening to the sea for many Central European countries, the region is...
region of north-eastern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
History of Bavaria
The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empires to its status as an independent kingdom and, finally, as a large and significant Bundesland of the modern Federal Republic of...
Meinhardiner noble family with possessions around Lienz
Lienz
Lienz is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of Patriasdorf.-Geography:...
in Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
, is mentioned as early as 1107. As a vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
of the Patriarchate of Aquileia
Patriarchate of Aquileia (State)
The Patriarchate of Aquileia was an Imperial State in the Friulian region of Northeastern Italy under the control of the Patriarchs of Aquileia.- Foundation :...
he was enfeoffed with large estates in the former March of Friuli
March of Friuli
The March of Friuli was a Carolingian frontier march against the Slavs and Avars in the ninth and tenth centuries. It was a successor to the Lombard Duchy of Friuli....
, including the town of Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
, and from 1127 on called himself a Graf von Görz. The borders of the county changed frequently in the following four centuries, due to frequent wars with the Aquileia and other counties, but also to the subdivision of the territory in two main nuclei: one around the upper Drava
Drava
Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...
near Lienz, the other centered on Gorizia itself.
Meinhard's descendant Meinhard III, a follower of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, was appointed administrator of Styria
Duchy of Styria
The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...
in 1248. He campaigned the Duchy of Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
but was defeated by the troops of Duke Bernhard von Spanheim
Bernhard von Spanheim
Bernhard von Spanheim was Duke of Carinthia for 54 years from 1202 until his death.-Family:...
and his son Archbishop Philip of Salzburg
Archbishopric of Salzburg
The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire, its territory roughly congruent with the present-day Austrian state of Salzburg....
at Greifenburg
Greifenburg
Greifenburg is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is situated in the Drava valley on the southern slope of the Kreuzeck mountain range...
in 1252. Nevertheless the county reached the apex of its power, when Meinhard III inherited the County of Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
(as Meinhard I) from his father-in-law Albert III one year later.
After Count Meinhard I of Gorizia-Tyrol had died in 1258, his sons at first ruled jointly until in 1271 they divided their heritage: While Meinhard II
Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia
Meinhard II from the House of Meinhardin was ruling Count of Gorizia from 1258 until 1271 and Count of Tyrol from 1258 until his death...
received the Tyrolean lands west of the Puster Valley, his brother Albert retained the hereditary lands around Gorizia. The Counts also controlled the March of Treviso
March of Treviso
The March of Treviso was a medieval territory in Venetia, between the Garda and the Julian March. The territory corresponded roughly to the region around the city of Treviso, including Belluno, Feltre, and Ceneda and the dioceses of all four cities. It bordered the March of Verona and the Muson...
(Marca Trevigiana) and the remains of the Istrian march
March of Istria
The Margravate of Istria was originally a Carolingian frontier march covering the Istrian peninsula and surrounding territory conquered by Charlemagne's son Pepin of Italy in 789...
around Pazin
Pazin
Pazin is the administrative seat of Istria County in Croatia. The town has a population of 4,986 , the total Pazin municipality population is 9,227...
, though for a short while. After the death of Albert's son Henry III, assassinated in 1323, the county was again partitoned into the inner county at Gorizia and the outer county at Lienz. In 1365 Count Meinhard VII of Gorizia was granted the prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
ly title by Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
, the county was thereon called Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz. The Meinhardiner nevertheless suffered a steep decline under their powerful neighbours, the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
and the Austrian
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
lands of the Habsburg dynasty.
In 1429 the county was reunited under the single rule of Count Henry V. The last count of Gorizia, Leonhard
Leonhard of Gorizia
Leonhard of Gorizia from the Meinhardiner dynasty was the last Count of Görz at Lienz and Gorizia from 1454 until his death....
, died in 1500 and despite claims raised by Venice, according to a contract of inheritance the county fell to Maximilian I of Habsburg
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
. Until 1747 Gorizia formed an Imperial State
Imperial State
An Imperial State or Imperial Estate was an entity in the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet assemblies. Several territories of the Empire were not represented, while some officials were non-voting members; neither qualified as Imperial States.Rulers of Imperial States were...
of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
ruled by the Inner Austria
Inner Austria
Inner Austria was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and the Windic March, the County of Gorizia , the city of Trieste and assorted smaller possessions...
n Archdukes as part of the Austrian Circle
Austrian Circle
The Austrian Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. It was one of the four Imperial Circles created in 1512, 12 years after the original Reichsreform created six Circles....
, governed by a capitano. Its territory included the upper valley of Isonzo River to Aquileia
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...
, the area of Cormons
Cormons
Cormons is a comune in the Province of Gorizia in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 45 km northwest of Trieste and about 12 km west of Gorizia, on the border with Slovenia...
and Duino
Duino
Duino is a town at the Adriatic coast in the municipality of Duino-Aurisina, part of the region of Friuli – Venezia Giulia in the province of Trieste, north-eastern Italy....
, and the former Venetian fortress of Gradisca conquered by Imperial troops in 1511. In 1647 Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
separated the County of Gradisca from Gorizia for his courtier Johann Anton von Eggenberg, until in 1747 both were again merged to form the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca
Gorizia and Gradisca
The County of Gorizia and Gradisca was a Habsburg county in Central Europe, in what is now a multilingual border area of Italy and Slovenia. It was named for its two major urban centers, Gorizia and Gradisca d'Isonzo.-Province of the Habsburg Empire:...
.
See also
- List of Counts of Gorizia
- Gorizia and GradiscaGorizia and GradiscaThe County of Gorizia and Gradisca was a Habsburg county in Central Europe, in what is now a multilingual border area of Italy and Slovenia. It was named for its two major urban centers, Gorizia and Gradisca d'Isonzo.-Province of the Habsburg Empire:...
- History of Gorizia
- Austrian EmpireAustrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
- County of TyrolCounty of TyrolThe County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
- Republic of VeniceRepublic of VeniceThe Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
- History of SloveniaHistory of SloveniaThe history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovene territory from the 5th Century BC to the present times. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto-Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. The Holy Roman Empire controlled the land for nearly 1,000...